The Kansas City Chiefs ran right up against the deadline, but eventually managed to hammer out a new long-term contract for Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith. The 26-year-old lineman as agreed to terms on a four-year, $92 million contract with $70 million guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

This makes Smith the highest-paid guard in NFL history.

Chiefs officially agree to terms on four-year contract with Trey Smith

This is a huge win for the Chiefs front office. Brett Veach made strong proclamations about the desire to extend Smith, but it took him longer than expected to deliver results. Smith was the only franchise tag recipient left without a long-term deal as of Tuesday morning. The only other player franchise tagged this summer was Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, who got a four-year, $115 million contract months ago.

Now the Chiefs’ depth chart is set ahead of training camp, although one key weakness remains around Patrick Mahomes.

Chiefs still have weakness at left tackle after Trey Smith signing

Mahomes’ production has been waning for a couple years now. He remains absolutely elite and the Chiefs still stand tall as the favorites to come out of the AFC this season. Another couple Super Bowl rings for Mahomes and company is not out of the question.

But, he’s getting older and the Chiefs’ roster is getting more difficult to maintain. Before the Smith signing, Kansas City already had the fourth-lowest available cap space in the NFL and a payroll north of $216 million. Smith joins Creed Humphrey in the record books as the highest-paid guard and center of all time, respectively.

And yet, left tackle remains an open question mark for an offensive line that struggled to protect Mahomes in the playoffs. Kansas City’s three-time Super Bowl MVP was sacked six times in their Super Bowl LIX loss to Philadelphia. Josh Simmons, a first-round pick out of Ohio State, is slated to start at left tackle for the Chiefs, but it’s hard to depend on a rookie so soon. The Chiefs will be banking on Simmons acing his NFL adjustment out of the gate and holding up over the 18-week grind of professional football, plus a deep postseason run.

With Mahomes, Smith, Humphrey, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce all among the record-breaking contract recipients on Kansas City’s star-studded (but increasingly thin and past-prime) roster, the Chiefs feel as mortal as ever. The Super Bowl was an eye-opening defeat. The Chiefs didn’t just lose. The Eagles ran them into the ground. That game was over by the end of the first quarter.

Smith is a sensational talent and extending him was an absolute necessity for Kansas City. This contract should ease the cap burden compared to his $23.4 million franchise tag, too. But it also leaves the Chiefs with even less flexibility as their AFC rivals (and those pesky Eagles in the NFC) stockpile talent and gear up for a run at the former champs. Kansas City is still enemy No. 1 in the NFL. Teams are building their rosters for the express purpose of exploiting the Chiefs’ pressure points.

If the O-line cannot improve around Smith, Kansas City will be right back to the drawing board next summer.