Chiefs projected $71 million superstar heads to Vikings in free agency prediction

When you're on top of the NFL mountain, every other team is constantly trying to knock you off your perch.

That holds true in 2024 for the Kansas City Chiefs, who have scratched and clawed their way to 5-0 despite losing more offensive star talent to injury than any other team to this point. But even if keeping the band together is difficult during the regular season, it's always much harder in the offseason.

When free agency opens, it will be open season for other teams to pluck the Chiefs' stars in free agency. And one recent prediction sees the Chiefs losing a key starter to the other 5-0 team in the NFL: the Minnesota Vikings.

Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department predicted recently that the Vikings would poach the Chiefs' top guard, 25-year-old Trey Smith, in free agency this spring.

"Guard is a trouble spot on Minnesota's roster right now, as (Dalton) Risner is expected to replace Ed Ingram when the former comes off injured reserve. However, Risner is a free agent in the offseason, meaning the position will be one of the organization's biggest offseason needs," the authors said.

"Smith will arguably be the best guard available on the open market as he's been an excellent player during his four-year career. Through five games in 2024, the 25-year-old earned an 84.5 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus and had only surrendered 10 pressures with no sacks."

Smith has been an integral part of the Chiefs' last two Super Bowl runs, starting every game but one since the start of 2021. He's a 6-foot-6, 321-pound monster who the Chiefs somehow stole in the sixth round of the draft, but soon, he won't be paid like a sixth-rounder anymore.

Smith's current free-agent contract projection is four years and $71 million, according to Spotrac. That's going to be tough for the Chiefs to swing, and sadly, it could result in their homegrown star walking to a team like Minnesota after one last playoff run.

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