How salary cap change affects Chiefs — and their chances at No. 1 free agent target
Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said, internally, the team estimated that the NFL salary cap for next season would be around $270 million.
So, what does it mean now that it will instead increase to the $277-281 million range?
“That,” Veach told a small group of reporters Tuesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, “could put Trey back into play.”
“Trey,” in this instance, is Chiefs free-agent right guard Trey Smith, who will be one of the most sought-after players this offseason after reaching free agency at age 25.
It’s been widely assumed that Smith — ESPN’s second-ranked free agent this offseason — could price himself out of the Chiefs’ plans. Pro Football Focus, for instance, estimates that Smith will receive a four-year contract for $86 million, with $52.5 million guaranteed.
However, an extra $7-10 million in the budget has made Veach more optimistic that the Chiefs can realistically compete to bring the Pro Bowler Smith back to KC.
When asked by The Star on Tuesday whether Smith was the team’s top free agent priority, Veach confirmed he was.
“You guys see what’s out there in free agency,” Veach said. “As far as (Smith) checking off the boxes of young guy, great guy and position that we want to say strong at ... we’ve been solid in the interior.”
Veach also said KC valued knowing what Smith was about from his time with the team. Smith has started all 67 regular-season games in his four year with the Chiefs after being selected with a 2021 sixth-round pick.
“When you look out there, it’s like, ‘Are we gonna invest in a couple average guys, or we have a guy right here?’” Veach said of Smith. “So I think that might come back into play now, just because of what’s out there, and what’s best long-term for the team.”
Signing Smith would certainly come at a cost. The Chiefs also need to address left tackle, and paying up for right guard would leave limited dollars for other free agents like linebacker Nick Bolton, safety Justin Reid and receiver Hollywood Brown.
Smith, though, would fit into Veach’s overarching goal this offseason, which is to continue investing in the team’s offensive and defensive lines.
“I think our priority is always on the fronts first,” Veach said, “and this will be no different.”
One piece of good news in that regard: This year’s NFL Draft is particularly deep at defensive tackle and edge rusher. The Chiefs also have four of the top 95 picks if they don’t trade any of them away.
Veach also spoke in the days before the Super Bowl about the team’s top offseason goal being to re-sign Smith. Even though the Chiefs were exposed at left tackle in a subsequent 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Veach said the result didn’t change his overall mindset regarding the team’s needs.
“Obviously the outcome of the game didn’t go as we would have liked, but we probably were still looking at the same issues,” Veach said. “So even if we won the game, it would have been deodorized to a certain extent, because we would have won. But I mean, we still would have had to figure out ... Trey’s a free agent, left tackle, all that kind of stuff.”
Veach said the team has often stressed protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the past, and that would not change this offseason.
“We got blown out. It only exposed an issue that was at the top of our priority list anyway,” Veach said. “So maybe the urgency goes up a tick, but it would have been up there anyway.”
