This season, the Kansas City Chiefs are nearly must-watch TV for Tennessee football fans. The NFL franchise employs two former Vols, with both offensive guard Trey Smith and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott playing significant roles this year. However, in Kansas City’s 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football, neither saw the field.
The good news is that it’s not because either player was relegated to the bench and lost their role on the team. The bad news is it was because of injury. In the case of Smith, he is dealing with a back injury that shouldn’t be too long-term of an issue. For Norman-Lott, he will miss the remainder of his rookie season with a torn ACL suffered the previous Sunday.
Smith got a significant payday this offseason to remain with the Chiefs. He is the team’s starting right guard when healthy and is playing at a high level. According to PFF, he has a strong grade of 71.5 on the season. He is graded at an 81.2 in pass blocking and 61.5 in run blocking.
Smith was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 draft by Kansas City. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion and is coming off a Pro Bowl season. At Tennessee, he was a three-time All-SEC member.
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Norman-Lott is in his rookie year after being picked 63rd overall in the second round by the Chiefs. In five games, he’s earned five tackles and a sack so far in his career. He suffered his torn ACL injury against the Raiders which promptly has shut him down for the remainder of his opening year.
Norman-Lott began his career at Arizona State before transferring to Tennessee, where he played a pair of seasons. He was a part of the Vols’ defensive line which was considered one of the best in the country a year ago.
