The Kansas City Chiefs are wrapping up a busy offseason and shifting focus to the 2025-26 campaign. The franchise’s moves helped put them in a good position to compete for another Super Bowl, and not everything was external.
Locking up homegrown talents served as an overarching theme in the month of July. Headlining that group is right guard Trey Smith. Smith, who was previously on the franchise tag, received a four-year contract extension on July 15.
In his first public appearance since signing the deal, Smith spoke at Chiefs training camp on Tuesday. Following practice, he opened up about the process.
Trey Smith Continues to Follow Through on Key Promise
Smith referred to the original tag application as a “tremendous sense of honor” for him. He’s more than glad a long-term pact eventually got reached, and not just for financial reasons.
It marked the continuation of a promise Smith made to his late mother, Dorsetta.
“I lost my mom when I was 15,” Smith said. “I made two promises to her: that I’d get my degree and play in the NFL. I didn’t promise her I’d be the highest-paid, but I made a promise, man. My parents sacrificed so much for me to be here. So much. To have that moment with them, it’s special bro. Special. It’s something I won’t take for granted.”
Everything about Smith’s story makes it easier to appreciate his journey. After losing his mother, the former Tennessee standout dealt with blood clots in his lungs that put his football career in jeopardy. That contributed to his slide in the 2021 NFL Draft, when he got swooped up by the Chiefs in the sixth round.
The rest is history, as Smith has cemented himself as an elite run blocker, a durable presence on the field and a tremendous leader in Kansas City.
Smith Maintaining Bar Set by Joe Thuney Before Chiefs Departure
That leadership component is something that will be put to the ultimate test. Left guard Joe Thuney, the elder statesman of the Chiefs’ line, is now with the Chicago Bears. Kansas City traded him this offseason, opening the door for the Smith extension.
The Chiefs are confident in Smith and others to keep the bar set high. Without Thuney, even more pressure is on the former youngsters to now be true veterans.
“Man, one, I miss him,” Smith said. “That’s the first thing right there: I miss Joe. Second part is, obviously, it’s the presence that’s missed. Not just the leadership on the field, but the things you guys don’t see – the times in the locker room, keeping morale high. At the end of the day, it’s sort of a natural thing. Father Time sort of just spaces it out a little bit.”
That group includes Smith, center Creed Humphrey and right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
“Obviously, it’s Creed, JT [Jawaan Taylor] and I just in an older situation,” Smith said. “It sort of sets on us, just with our age, to be the leading presence in the room. The beautiful thing about it is Joe Thuney was such a great leader that he gave us an example and a standard to set by. For us, we know what it looks like to be great. For us, it’s just coming close to that.”
Smith remaining a Chief was always the best outcome for both sides. Now, it’s a reality that keeps one of football’s most heartwarming stories alive.
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