NEED TO KNOW
- As he gears up for another season playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, offensive lineman Trey Smith weighed in on Travis Kelce’s future with the team
- Amid rumors that the tight end might be retiring, he tells PEOPLE on Wednesday, Feb. 4 that he’ll support whatever decision Kelce makes
- Smith also weighs in on the Chiefs not making the playoffs this year, explaining what the team has learned from their latest season
Trey Smith is gearing up for another NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he weighed in on Travis Kelce’s future with the team amid rumors that the star tight end might be retiring.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the 26-year-old offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs caught up with PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein in San Francisco at the SiriusXM set at Media Row.
As questions about Kelce’s future in the NFL remain unanswered, Smith says that he will “support him wholeheartedly” no matter what he does. However, he wasn’t going to spill any secrets about this teammate’s plans.
“You know, at the end of the day, I want to keep his privacy, his privacy,” he explains. “Like I said, whatever decision he makes, you know, that’s my brother. That’s a guy I’ve gone to war with countless times and a dude that I love wholeheartedly.”
Smith, who has played with the Chiefs since joining the NFL in 2021, also weighs in on the increased interest in his team since the start of Kelce’s high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift and their back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 2023 and 2024.
He says that he “got used to” the increased attention “a little fast” after experiencing similar attention while playing football at the University of Tennessee.
“For me, it was just making sure I live up to it,” he says, explaining, “Making sure that I don’t bring the standard down. And honestly, you know, with the spotlight, I’m a lineman. I’m in the shadows. You know what I mean? So it isn’t too hard for me, you know? Yeah. It’s cool to just watch those guys keep excelling.”
After the Chiefs fell short of securing a spot in the playoffs ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl, Smith reflects on the team’s “tough year” with a bit of positivity.
“It was really more so a welcome NFL moment, you know,” he says, “Everything’s not gonna be sunshine and roses. You’re gonna have hardship; you’re gonna have bad times. And I think for us, it was just as a team sticking together through the tough times, experiencing that, understanding we don’t wanna experience that again.”
He and his teammates are feeling united by “a common goal” during the off-season as they get ready for a comeback.
The team is also continuing to nurture the bond that they develop on the field.
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“We have a group chat,” Smith confirms, saying that they use it and are always “sending memes or goofy stuff on Instagram.”
Who sends the best memes? According to Smith, the answer is offensive lineman Creed Humphrey.
While he’s not playing in the 2026 Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 8, Smith did get to compete in the 2026 Pro Bowl on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
He jokes that his team got “robbed,” but says that he had a good time regardless.
“It was something that I’ve wanted to do in my career for a while. Haven’t had the opportunity, but it was nice to check that off my list,” he says, adding that it was “cool to be able to just have conversations with guys that you respect across the league” and that he gained “a newfound respect” for a lot of players across the league.
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