The Kansas City Chiefs made Trey Smith the highest-paid guard of all time on Tuesday, sneaking in a four-year, $92 million contract extension right before the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign a new deal. That was a must-do for the Chiefs this offseason, but it puts their books in an even more compromised state. It also complicates future plans for their AFC rivals, the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland now looks ahead to the 2026 offseason with mounting dread. Smith's deal resets the market for elite offensive linemen. While not very many will receive his remarkable $70 million in guaranteed money, a lot of free agent guards will be looking for a substantial raise. Among them will be Cleveland's Pro Bowl guards, Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio.
Teller, 30, will be integral to protecting whomever wins the starting QB job in Cleveland next season. A two-time second team All-Pro, Teller has the résumé necessary to command a significant new contract.
Bitonio, 33, is a seven-time Pro Bowler with two first team All-Pro nods under his belt. He won't be cheap either.
Chiefs' blockbuster Trey Smith signing complicates future of Browns' Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio
Smith is four years younger than Teller and more valuable. He's seven years younger than Bitonio, so the Browns won't need to drop $92 million on either free agent guard. But it's hard not to look at the Cleveland cap sheet without feeling a mounting sense of dread.
Deshaun Watson is still under contract. Myles Garrett just signed his own record-breaking deal worth $160 million over the next four years, with over $120 million guaranteed. The Browns are going to continue cheaping out at QB until Watson's albatross comes off the books, but Cleveland is already limited in terms of flexibility. Giving Teller and Bitonio big contracts as they age into his 30s won't do the Browns any favors.
Bitonio has been in the Pro Bowl seven straight seasons and spent his entire 11-year career in Cleveland. Teller has stacked his three Pro Bowls back-to-back and spent six of seven NFL seasons as a Brown.
Browns are at a crossroads that could lead to trade rumors
Cleveland can wield the franchise tag and get creative in an attempt to keep at least one, if not both star guards in the clubhouse. But with age a factor, especially with Bitonio, one has to wonder if the Browns start to field trade calls. Like the Chiefs did with Joe Thuney before the Smith extension, sometimes tough cuts are necessary — even inevitable.
Plenty of contenders need to beef up their O-line. It's not even clear if the Browns can compete for a playoff spot right now. Watson was the worst starting quarterback in the NFL before sustaining a severe knee injury, then re-injuring it. Joe Flacco is 40 and was hit-or-miss for the Colts last season. Kenny Pickett is Kenny Pickett. Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are rookies. The Browns' QB situation (and the offense at large) are unsettled.
So don't be shocked if the news of Smith's contract leads to dramatic changes in Cleveland. If the Browns start this season slow, the pressure to render a decision on the futures of Teller and Bitonio will only intensify.