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By Pete Sweeney
As I send this newsletter, we’re near the official beginning of the new league year.
Of course, the new year has been unofficially underway since Monday, beginning with the NFL’s “legal tampering” period. During this time, unrestricted free agents can legally negotiate with teams on a new home.
Over these last few days, we’ve seen the initial renderings of the offseason blueprint for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach. On Wednesday morning, Veach (with the help of Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones) cleared out the space necessary to comply with the new league year requirements.
In this newsletter, I’ll hand out some grades on the 10 most important decisions the Chiefs have already made since its beginning:
Kansas City applied the franchise tag on right guard Trey Smith, who has already signed the deal. | Grade: B
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, general manager Brett Veach shared that he was excited about how far the NFL’s salary cap had increased for 2025. Now – he optimistically described – retaining right guard Trey Smith was back in play.
He made quick work: Veach applied the franchise tag on Smith late during combine week, guaranteeing him $23.4 million for the 2025 season. In my estimation, the Chiefs viewed Smith – one of their own – as the No. 1 player on the NFL’s entire free-agent market. Why not keep him in the building?
Smith has already signed the tag, signaling he plans to join the offseason program and doesn’t mind playing on the one-year deal. Meanwhile, Veach will work on a long-term extension.
My grade of Bwill quickly change to an A should that extension happen soon; until it does, the club has to hold that big $23.4 million number against its cap space.
Kansas City traded left guard Joe Thuney to Chicago for a 2026 fourth-round pick. | Grade: B+
When the Chiefs decided they would retain Smith and commit to that number, they knew they needed the cap space to do so. Knowing it is bad business to house two of the most expensive guards in the league, Kansas City traded left guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
I liked the deal for two reasons:
By trading Thuney, the Chiefs freed up $16 million worth of cap space – the space necessary with Smith’s tag and other additions that we will grade in this newsletter.
Forced to choose between Smith and Thuney, the Chiefs opted for the younger option — Smith is seven years Thuney’s junior.
You’ll notice I graded this particular a B+ – that’s because the favorite to replace Thuney at starting left guard is second-year lineman Kingsley Suamataia. While I like the trade (getting a fourth-rounder for a 32-year-old in 2025 is a win), that’s an awful amount of faith in a player who had to transition to borderline redshirt year because the product was so bad at left tackle.
What else is in this edition?
Pete provides grades on eight more of the Chiefs’ decisions thus far.
A link to the full hour-long episode of the “Editors Show” (preview below).
The Editors Show
Here is apreview of this week’s Editors Show featuring Pete Sweeney and John Dixon.
What else is included in a subscription?
During the offseason, we provide a weekly update on Wednesday, with additional coverage on major events, such as free agency and theNFL draft. During the season, You can expect 3 weekly newsletters , as outlined below:
In our game preview newsletter on Thursdays, Pete shares his three thoughts heading into the game, Rocky Magaña highlights a pivotal matchup to watch — and John Dixon shares some background on one of the upcoming game’s biggest storylines.
In our post-game newsletter, Pete shares his three thoughts stemming from each performance, Ron Kopp delivers his very first look at the film — and Jared Sapp captures everything being said about the turning point of the game.
Brandon Kiley is our in-season Arrowhead Pride Premier Tuesday columnist.
How to sign up for Arrowhead Pride Premier
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