The Chicago Bears are poised to make a strong run at offensive guard Trey Smith next month, but it appears they will have to fend off more competitors for his services than just the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mina Kimes of ESPN noted the Minnesota Vikings, one of the Bears’ primary rivals inside the NFC North Division, as a team that could come out of the woodwork and make a strong offer to Smith.

“You mentioned the Bears, by the way, who I think are a really good name for Trey Smith. I’m gonna throw out another one to you and introduce a hypothetical,” Kimes said to guest host Kevin Clark on “The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny” podcast on February 19. “They both have a lot [of salary cap space], they’re both comfortable right now. If you’re the Vikings, do you rather go on to J.J. McCarthy but improve the interior of the offensive line, which is a problem, or do you rather pay Sam Darnold? … [Darnold] is gonna cost way more than Trey Smith, which is hilarious because one player is obviously near the top of the position, one is not. I’m pretty sure if I’m the Vikings, I’d rather pay Trey Smith.”

Bears Will Have Salary Cap Advantage Over Vikings, Chiefs in Bid for Trey Smith

Kansas City Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith.

Kimes and Clark predicted that Smith will command more than $100 million in what would have to be a five-year contract as part of a deal that will pay him more than $20 million annually and reset the market at the position.

The Vikings have nearly $59.5 million in salary cap space, while the Bears have nearly $74.7 million as of Sunday. Both of those figures will go up when the NFL readjusts the salary cap across the league, which should increase every team’s numbers by around $25 million, give or take. In other words, both NFC North squads will be able to dig deep and offer Smith a monster agreement to address one of the biggest weaknesses on their respective rosters.

“I agree,” Clark responded, “which is also an expensive problem.”

Chicago Has Draft Options if Trey Smith Proves too Expensive

The biggest difference between Chicago and Minnesota when it comes to bolstering their offensive lines is that the Bears own three picks in the first two rounds (Nos. 10, 39 and 41) to address the weakness, while the Vikings have just the No. 24 pick until a compensatory selection comes up at the end of round three (No. 97 overall).

Chicago could feasibly draft a couple interior offensive linemen and a pass rusher across those three spots and address all of their biggest weaknesses to at least some degree before dipping into what could be $100 million in salary cap space by the time the dust settles.

Based on timing, the Bears will have to approach free agency first, as the draft doesn’t take place until the end of April. But the point is that Chicago doesn’t have to drastically overpay for Smith to achieve its offseason goals, though making him the highest-paid offensive guard in league history will probably prove a necessity for whichever franchise inks Smith in the coming weeks.