Tuesday marks a critical day for all NFL teams — including the Kansas City Chiefs.
Beginning on February 18 at 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time, the franchise-tag window opens, meaning clubs around the league can officially designate franchise or transition players. It stays open for two weeks, closing on Tuesday, March 4, at 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time.
What’s the franchise tag again?
As a reminder, the “franchise tag” is a tool that allows NFL teams to retain a key player who is due to become an unrestricted free agent. There are several types of tags, including the non-exclusive franchise tag, the exclusive franchise tag and the transition tag.
The most common version is the non-exclusive tag, which permits tagged players to negotiate with other teams, with the original team reserving the right to match the offer. If the original team chooses not to match, the new team surrenders two first-round picks to the original team.
Tags can be used to buy time to facilitate a trade (as Kansas City did with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed last offseason) or work out a long-term deal (like Kansas City did with defensive tackle Chris Jones in 2020).
Kansas City’s franchise tag candidates
Kansas City’s most likely franchise-tag candidate is right guard Trey Smith, followed by linebacker Nick Bolton and then safety Justin Reid. According to data from Over the Cap, the 2025 numbers are approximately $25.2 million for offensive linemen, $27 million for linebackers and $19.6 million for safeties.
It remains unlikely that Kansas City uses the tag on any of these players.
To accommodate the tag number, the given team must have the free salary cap space available. Though of course there could be maneuvers to be made that could free up space for the Chiefs, right now we estimate the current space to be $4.3 million, far less than it would take to use the tag.
Up ahead: the NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL’s Scouting Combine runs from February 24 to March 3, bringing together coaches, general managers and player agents in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Along with on and off-the-field evaluation of draft prospects, the week also offers general mangers and agents time to discuss and negotiate long-term contracts.
Head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach typically address the media early in the week. Veach will likely confirm ongoing talks with the representatives for Smith and Bolton.
