Brett Veach sounds ready to splurge big on another Chiefs offensive lineman

The Kansas City Chiefs are wise to the ways of NFL success, and one such maxim reminds teams to invest in the trenches if you're going to make a deep postseason run. The Chiefs have already committed maximum resources to the offensive line as it is, but it sounds like their financial commitment is ready to grow with the latest reports from the 2025 NFL Combine.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has made no secret of his hopes for re-signing Trey Smith to remain at right guard for the next several seasons in Kansas City. As a homegrown talent, Smith is exactly the sort of player teams want to develop and extend to keep in house as a franchise favorite. The primary concern is the finances involved.

Smith is expected to set new highs for the NFL's guard market after multiple guards earned $20 million annually with deals signed in the last calendar year. Smith is among the most coveted free agent prizes this offseason and teams will be hungry to sign a 25-year-old who just made his first Pro Bowl and would likely help anchor the interior for any team for the next half-decade.

The problem in this instance, for the Chiefs, is that they are already splurging along the offensive front. They just handed out a big-money extension to center Creed Humphrey that set new marks for the position. They rewarded Jawaan Taylor in free agency with a deal back in 2023 that still stands as one of the most expensive tackle deals in the NFL even two years later. And of course, Joe Thuney was the major free agent prize when the Chiefs remade their line after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.

Taylor's cap hit this coming season is over $27 million. Thuney is right behind him at just under $27 million. Fortunately, Humphrey is lower at $10M before escalating in subsequent seasons.

The Chiefs already have three big-money starters on the o-line, but a fourth sounds like he's on the way.

The good news, however, is that the salary cap went up much more than expected for the 2025 campaign. Per Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the total is between $7M to $11M more than the Chiefs expected, and those totals will only climb in future years. That extra bandwidth could help Kansas City retain Smith's services, especially as they can space out the cap hits over multiple years.

Veach spoke directly about the state of negotiations with Smith and mentioned that talks have already been had at the NFL's Combine and more discussions were expected. With that amount of smoke, it seems like there's a potential fire that might keep Smith from hitting free agency after all.

Thuney comes off the books after this season and it's possible that Taylor will be gone as well with only one season left on his deal and an easier dead cap swallow. Humphrey will command much more at that point, but other expiring deals creates room for the Chiefs to go all-in on Smith.

The real question is whether the Chiefs are going to give Smith market-leading money and/or whether the Tennessee product would be up for giving K.C. a bit of a discount to remain with the team that drafted him. Will the Chiefs want to spend big on a right guard knowing the list of positional priorities make that a cheaper role to fill with at least someone decent? Can they afford to lose Smith on a line that already has needs?

These are not easy questions to answer, but the cap difference is giving Veach more room to maneuver if he wants. And it sounds as if that's what he has in mind with another big money deal for his men in the trenches.