With a need to improve the interior of the offensive line this offseason, some have anticipated that the Minnesota Vikings will make a significant attempt to sign Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith when he becomes a free agent in March.
But after the underwhelming performances Smith just had in the Chiefs' three 2024 playoff games, including Sunday's loss in the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Vikings might want to consider other options before handing him a bunch of money.
Against the Eagles, Smith was given a 49.2 pass-blocking grade from PFF (out of 100) after he allowed three pressures and gave up a sack. During the entire 2024 postseason, only six guards had a worse pass-blocking grade from PFF than Smith's 40.8 grade (out of 22 qualifying guards).
Minnesota Vikings might be better off passing on Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith in free agency
Currently, Spotrac.com has the Kansas City guard with a market value of $19.7 million per year, which would give him the fifth-highest average annual salary among all guards in the NFL.
Minnesota definitely needs to improve the interior of their offensive line, but potentially overpaying Smith might not be the solution, especially since he seems to struggle against the top teams in the league.
In eight matchups against non-playoff teams in the 2024 season, Smith averaged a 72.1 pass-blocking grade from PFF. During Kansas City's 12 contests against playoff teams in the 2024 campaign, the veteran guard saw his PFF pass-blocking grade average drop to 57.6.
The Vikings not only need interior offensive linemen who are better than the guys they put out on the field last season, but they also need them to perform well against top competition. So, based on his 2024 numbers, that's not something that can really be said about Smith.
Minnesota will likely still look into what it might take to sign Smith this offseason. But don't be shocked if the Vikings back away if things turn into a bidding war for the current Chiefs guard.