They Can Be Fatal: Chiefs Guard Trey Smith Recalls Doctors Finding Blood Clots in Both Lungs

Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith has started every game but six since entering the league in 2021, yet the path to becoming a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion was nearly derailed before his NFL career began. During an otherwise routine offseason workout at the University of Tennessee, Smith felt his body shut down without warning.

“I can’t stand up straight. I can barely catch my breath,” Smith recalled. “I’m like, ‘Damn. Am I that out of shape? What is going on?’ …I lost 13 pounds in a day. I feel horrible.”

The then-college lineman received an urgent call from the team physician: stay put; an ambulance was on the way. Hours later, doctors delivered a sobering diagnosis—blood clots had formed in both of his lungs. The physician’s next words remain seared into Smith’s memory: “They can be fatal.”

Catching the clots early likely saved his life, though physicians still classified the episode as severe. While the diagnosis rocked his world, Smith’s first concern reflected the single-minded focus that would later define his professional career. “I just remember thinking at the time, almost ignorantly, like, ‘Will I still be able to play football?’” he said. “Like, what’s my timeline for getting back?”

Only after doctors reiterated the life-threatening nature of the condition did the offensive lineman grasp the gravity of his situation. Following treatment and a full recovery, Smith entered the 2021 NFL Draft with a clean bill of health. The Chiefs selected him in the sixth round with the 226th overall pick, and he immediately became a mainstay on the league’s most explosive offense.

Smith’s durability and performance earned him Pro Bowl nods in both 2024 and 2025, and last summer the Chiefs locked him up with a four-year, $94 million extension that made him the highest-paid guard in football. Given both his on-field production and the medical scare he overcame, few players have proven more worthy of the lucrative deal.