The Kansas City Chiefs are officially on offseason break ahead of training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri. 

To effectively pass the time, I'll do a mailbag every week leading up to training camp to answer some Chiefs Kingdom's burning questions. I asked those of you who follow me on X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky to submit questions, but for those of you who don't follow me on social media, you can submit questions here. 

This week, we're covering questions on how the Chiefs will replace some departed special teams standouts, the role of rookie RB Brashard Smith in 2025, Travis Kelce's offseason body transformation, and the radio silence regarding a Trey Smith contract extension. 

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Kansas City Chiefs Offseason Mailbag – June 26th, 2025

Who do you think is going to be the new star on Special Teams now that Justin Reid and Mecole Hardman have moved on? – Laura Piil-Cerqua

Leo Chenal will probably take up Justin Reid's mantle on the PAT block unit. They were virtually 1A and 1B in terms of the quickest get-off there, and Chenal was involved in both of the team's blocks last season. Tyquan Thornton is another name to consider for Reid's role on the PAT block team, and also for one of the starting gunner positions on punt coverage.

They're loaded with options this year on kickoffs and punts as far as return specialists go. I'll say that if Nikko Remigio wants to make the 53-man roster, he will have to hold down one of those roles, if not both, as a big-time standout. Other names to watch on special teams at returner include Brashard Smith, Skyy Moore, Elijah Mitchell, and second-year WR Xavier Worthy, who should get the "Year 3 Tyreek Hill" treatment as a punt returner. They'll use him sparingly, in high-leverage situations, and always have the threat of using him.

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We have RBs Hunt, Pacheco, and Mitchell, how will Andy Reid utilize Brashard Smith? I think his pass catching and speed skills will make him Andy Reid's favorite player. – ホッケーの歯がない人

I tend to believe that Smith will be more of a change-of-pace, gadget-type player to start his rookie season, with a heavier workload on special teams. If you look at the team's mandatory minicamp, Smith's big standout play was one where he motioned from the backfield out wide and caught a deep pass down the sideline. His experience as a receiver will undoubtedly influence his role. He should get accustomed to wheel routes, Texas routes, screen passes, shovel passes, and orbit motion.

Smith has a strong chance to carve out a larger role as the season progresses, just as we saw with Isiah Pacheco in his rookie year. Maybe not to the extent that he's viewed as a starter, but rather seeing multiple opportunities to impact a given game. I'm really anxious to see how he handles things once the pads come on, especially in pass protection drills. If that's an area where he excels during training camp and the preseason, it could accelerate his ability to see the field early and often on offense in Kansas City. 

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Love that Kelce is locked in and has lost 25 lbs, but wondering then about last year. Was he or others on the team not focused or does this just represent an attempt to do something different in 2025? – SageLloyd

Let's make sure we kill the big fib about Kelce before it gains any more steam — he hasn't lost 25 pounds. He said as much during his most recent press conference at mandatory minicamp. I think the body "transformation" this offseason isn't necessarily indicative that he was out of shape or not focused during the 2025 NFL season. The thing about Kelce is that this guy doesn't want to come off the field, and I think, to an extent, the team intentionally bulked him up for 2024. Some of that had to do with just staying healthy throughout a 17-game season, while some of it had to do with his role. 

Kelce's 372 blocking snaps were the most he'd had in a single season since 2019. Kansas City saw Rashee Rice's trajectory and felt that No. 4 could fill a similar bucket in the passing game. Then, suddenly, Hollywood Brown is hurt, Rice is injured, and Isiah Pacheco breaks his leg. That plan went out the window, but it's not as easy to reshape your body on the fly during the season, especially when you're 34 years old. So, I think this year, he recognized that it put him in a bad spot to do what he does best in 2024. If 2025 is his last ride in the NFL, they want to put him in a position to be at his best and do what he does best. 

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Do you look at the radio silence as a positive or negative in the Trey Smith long term deal talks? – sam mansker

I don't think it's necessarily a good or bad thing. I'd be more concerned if he hadn't attended mandatory minicamp. His camp is probably playing their hand, which is that the franchise tag in 2025 and potentially another franchise tag in 2026 should be the starting point of the conversation. The Chiefs are likely arguing that the market for the guard position would realistically pay him much less than the sum of those two franchise tag prices (over $50M). 

Ultimately, I think Trey's camp blinks first in this game of chicken. I understand they want the absolute most for Smith, and they should. He thought his career was over before it truly began because of the blood clot situation in college. Going into the 2025 NFL season without a long-term deal would be a massive risk, though. All it takes is one injury to upend the chance at a fair deal that keeps him in Kansas City long term, which Smith has made clear he wants. At the same time, perhaps Smith has clarified to his agents that he's willing to take the risk and bet on himself over the next two seasons. The two sides have until July 15 to reach a new agreement, and the absence of one could have a domino effect on the timing of deals for players like Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis.  

Chiefs 53-Man Roster 2025: One interior defensive line role remains mysterious, but could be solved during or after training camp

Are the Kansas City Chiefs done adding to their interior defensive line? It sure doesn’t feel like it. . .