Atop many Minnesota Vikings fans’ free-agency wishlist is improved interior offensive linemen — and no pending free-agent guard is as dominant as Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowler Trey Smith.
Minnesota Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling previously reported that the Vikings would be aggressive in addressing the offensive line and named Smith as a target in free agency.
However, that plan may never materialize if history is an indicator of how the Chiefs will operate in the aftermath of their Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles made Mahomes mortal, sacking him a career-high six times and pressuring him on 53.3% of his dropbacks in a 40-22 Chiefs loss. According to PFF, Mahomes had faced a higher pressure rate just once in his whole career — in his Super Bowl 55 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kansas City invested heavily in its offensive line following that 31-9 loss to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
They signed Joe Thuney to the largest center contract in league history and drafted Creed Humphrey and Smith. Those three played pivotal roles in the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2022 and 2023.
Had the Chiefs won their third consecutive Super Bowl, they may have felt comfortable letting Smith, who had not allowed a sack in 19 games heading into the Super Bowl, walk.
But now, the spotlight is on the Chiefs’ offensive line struggles and the chances of Kansas City allowing Smith to even reach free agency seem slim.
“The last time the offensive line got beat up this much the Chiefs did everything in their power to fix the offensive line. While their biggest issue is at left tackle, keeping the integrity of the offensive line with Smith at right guard,” A to Z Sports’ Tyler Forness wrote on February 10. “This could derail the Minnesota Vikings’ free agency plans, as they were set to attack free agency looking for Trey Smith.”
