NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans have hired former Kansas City Chiefs Assistant GM Mike Borgonzi to become the team's next General Manager. 

Borgonzi was offered the job on Friday afternoon and came to an agreement with the Titans on a five-year contract. 

Borgonzi and Chad Brinker (President of Football Operations) will now begin the process of trying to turn things around and build a competitive roster after a 3-14 finish for the Titans in 2024. They'll get some help from the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and about $35 million in effective cap space.

With cap space comes opportunity. And Borgonzi has the perfect opportunity to make a big splash in free agency by bringing a former Tennessee Volunteers star back home. 

Keep an eye on the Titans to sign Kansas City Chiefs right guard Trey Smith, who played for the Vols from 2017-2020. Zach Ragan of AtoZ Sports is all too familiar with what Smith brings to the table after watching him for years in Knoxville.

Trey Smith was a first round talent coming out of Tennessee, but he fell to the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft due to concerns over blood clots in his lungs that cost him the final five games of his sophomore season in college. The former five-star recruit started every game as a true freshman in 2017 and he started the first seven games of the 2018 season before he was sidelined. Smith returned to the field in 2019 and started every game for the Vols over the final two seasons of his collegiate career (Smith was All-SEC first team in 2019 and 2020). 

In four seasons with the Chiefs, Smith has started all 77 games in which he’s appeared (67 regular season games and 10 playoff games). The Jackson, TN native has regularly displayed toughness on the field, even earning the moniker “the enforcer” from Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. Smith earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024.

– Zach Ragan, AtoZ Sports (Tennessee Vols)

"Trey Smith baby," said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in 2023 when asked who serves as the enforcer for QB Patrick Mahomes. "He's a dog, he's a dog. Just a F–ing beast." 

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Titans need at RG

The Titans have a pretty clear need at right guard. The right side of the offensive line was a real weakness in 2024 that hindered the offense. While Dillon Radunz showed some flashes, he's an unrestricted free agent this offseason. As are veteran backups Daniel Brunskill and Corey Levin.

Smith would immediately fill that hole and give the Titans an All-Pro caliber talent next to the solid foundation that has already been built on the left side. If Travis Kelce knows how much of an "enforcer" Smith is and how important he is to Kansas City's success, I'd be willing to bet Borgonzi does too. 

Smith grew up in Jackson, TN and went to high school just two hours away from Nissan Stadium and downtown Nashville. It all just seems to fit too perfectly. 

Spotrac's market value calculator projects Smith to get a contract in the ballpark of $78 million over four years. That's $19.7 million in AAV, and I wouldn't be surprised if a fifth year was included in Smith's contract. 

By all accounts, his free agent deal will be in the same area code as the contract extensions Chris Lindstrom ($102M) got from the Falcons and Robert Hunt (($100M) got in Carolina. On the open market, the Titans may need to pay $90-100 million for a guard if they want Smith's services…but it may be worth it.

Protecting and supporting the quarterback should be Borgonzi's top priority in 2025, especially if it's a rookie selected first overall. 

Tennessee Titans appear to have found their new GM in Mike Borgonzi of the Kansas City Chiefs

Titans hire Mike Borgonzi as new GM.