Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Donovan Smith is now kicking off a new chapter of his life with the newly crowned team Patrick Mahomes‘ Kanas City Chief.
During the 2015 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked the Penn State OT in the second round. However, the Buccaneers discharged their veteran player this season after he had played for 8 seasons and started 124 games.
Donovan Smith is on his way to Mahomes’ team
Smith is signing a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday in free agency, according to NFL reporter Tom Pelissero, shortly after ending his tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March. The deal is estimated to be worth $9 million.
Veteran OT Donovan Smith is signing with the #Chiefs on a one-year deal worth up to $9 million, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 3, 2023
The 29-year-old played 92.9% of the Bucs’ offensive snaps throughout the past eight seasons, establishing him as an essential asset and an ironman for the team. The Buccaneers scored a league-best 30.4 points per game under his leadership and ranked third with 404.5 yards from scrimmage per game, peaking at 511 points in 2021. Each season from 2018 through 2021 experienced the team set a new single-season record for points scored.
“He stepped in as our starter at left tackle in 2015 and his durability and dependability at one of the most important positions in football played a significant role in our offensive success during his time here,” General Manager Jason Licht stated after releasing him.
In 2022, he had a 5.0 percent pressure rate putting him in 17th place among left tackles, and in just 13 games, he gave up six sacks, resulting in being tied for 11th place among left tackles.
Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie, the starting offensive tackles for the Kansas City Chiefs, left the team in free agency this offseason. In order to fill the left tackle positions, the Chiefs signed Jawaan Taylor, and Lucas Niang and Wanya Morris are expected to compete for the right tackle position.
The team was still lacking a veteran offensive lineman, yet Donovan’s signing fills. The OT and Tom Brady led his former team to the Super Bowl title in 2020 and now joining the newly championed team, we can expect him again to moonlight as a hero in the offensive lineup of the Chiefs.
