The Chiefs have been busy this offseason with respect to retaining in-house players from the 2023 Super Bowl-winning team. Three key contributors remain as extension priorities ahead of Week 1. 
Maintaining a strong trio along the interior offensive line in particular is a top goal for Kansas City. The team is eyeing extensions for center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith before the start of the campaign, as detailed by The Athletic’s Nate Taylor (subscription required). Both players are entering the final year of their rookie contracts; that is also true of linebacker Nick Bolton, whom Taylor notes is on the Chiefs’ extension list.
“They are three really good players and they’re fantastic people,” general manager Brett Veach said of the trio (via Taylor). “Throughout this camp, hopefully, we’re able to get more than one done. It’s just going to be a systematic approach and exchange of communication. We would want nothing more than for them to be here (long term) and I’m sure they would want nothing more than to be here.”
Humphrey established himself as a top center prospect during his college career, and he has served as a full-time starter since his rookie campaign. The Oklahoma alum was PFF’s top-ranked player at his position during each of his first two seasons in the league, and he drew the fourth-best evaluation in 2023. Humphrey should therefore have a strong chance at topping the center market on a new deal, something which would entail an AAV of $13.5MM or higher.
Smith was a highly-touted prospect coming out of high school, but his college tenure was marked by injuries and blood clot issues. The Tennessee alum’s draft stock took a hit as a result, but things have gone according to plan at the NFL level so far. Smith, 25, has missed only one contest to date with Kansas City. PFF has slotted him between 10th and 15th amongst qualifying guards every year, so he too could command a major raise on his next contract and potentially price himself out of Kansas City.
The guard market has surged in recent years. 2024 saw the number of players earning an average of $20MM or more increase to four, and the Eagles’ Landon Dickerson leads the way at $21MM per season. Given the gap between the guard and center positions, a Smith accord could check in at a higher price tag than a Humphrey extension. The Chiefs’ left guard, Joe Thuney, has two years remaining on his contract and is set to carry a cap hit of just under $27MM in 2024 and ’25.
While that figure will factor into Kansas City’s offensive line planning, it will also need to be taken into account for Bolton. The team’s second-round selection in 2021 has been productive from the start of his Chiefs tenure, reaching triple-digit tackles in each of his first two seasons. Bolton was limited to eight regular season games in 2023 due to a wrist injury, but he was healthy in time for Kansas City’s postseason run.
Willie Gay signed with the Saints this offseason, and his departure created a vacancy in the starting lineup. Drue Tranquill was retained on a three-year deal, though, and he and Bolton will be counted on to remain productive in the middle of the Chiefs’ defense. The latter will help his market value with another productive season in 2024 on a new Kansas City accord (unless an extension is worked out shortly) or one taking him to a new team on the open market.
Taylor names kicker Harrison Butker as another extension candidate for Kansas City. The 29-year-old is set to earn $3.84MM in 2024, the final year of his current deal. A raise could be on tap given his consistency during his Kansas City tenure, although considerable resources will of course be needed to keep as many members of the Humphrey-Smith-Bolton trio as possible. It will be interesting to see how many deals the Chiefs – currently projected to have roughly $13MM in 2025 cap space – work out before the offseason comes to a close.