NFL Rumors: Kansas City Chiefs Open To Trading QB Alex Smith
Though Alex Smith will be the man at center when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Titans to kick off the NFL playoffs, it turns out his days could be numbered.
Reports have been circulating that the Chiefs are willing to trade Smith during the offseason if the right deal is put on the table.
Smith signed with the Chiefs in 2013, with the team paying the price of two second-round picks. The two-time Pro Bowler has the league’s top quarterback rating and led the Chiefs to a 5-0 start during the regular season, the first win being a 42-27 victory over the Patriots.
So why the trade rumors?
Some might say the competitive quarterback market, but 2017 first-round draft pick Patrick Mahomes II is the real reason why. After clinching the AFC West title with a win over the Dolphins, Mahomes started in their Week 17 game against the Broncos. The apparent heir to the Kansas City QB throne went 22-of-35 for 284 yards and an interception in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale.
The Chiefs were impressed by his performance and believe that transitioning Mahomes to starting quarterback will be the best move to improve the odds of Kansas City becoming a Super Bowl team in 2018.
Smith will be coming off of a career season should he be traded in the offseason, throwing for 4,042 passing yards and 26 touchdowns with a QB rating of 104.7. Any team would be getting a phenomenal quarterback should they become a trade partner, but early talks put Smith on the radar for the Browns and Cardinals.
John Dorsey was named as the general manager for the Browns in December, but was the GM for the Chiefs when Smith was first acquired. The Cardinals also expressed interest during his 2013 trade from the San Francisco 49ers, and though Carson Palmer recently retired after 15 seasons, Smith is likely still an attractive option.
All of these talks could of course disappear should the Chiefs win the National Championship in February. As it stands, the Chiefs are 9-point favorites heading into their Wild Card match against the Titans during the first round of the NFL playoffs. There are also +1800 betting odds for Kansas City to win the Super Bowl, and given Smith’s playoff success this is a real possibility.
Smith is no stranger to the playoffs, making appearances with both the 49ers and the Chiefs. Over six playoff contests, Smith has 12 touchdown passes and two interceptions. If the Chiefs were to win against the Titans, it would be their first playoff victory at home since the 1993 NFL season.
With some time before the offseason begins, BestUSASportsbooks.com thinks the main focus of the Chiefs and their current starting quarterback is not trade rumors nor breaking a home playoff drought, but to get past the Wild Card round and continue to win games.
“All the work we’ve been putting in as this team, from Day 1, this team, and putting in our goals and talking about them,” stated Smith. “We completed the first step. And now it’s on to the second one, which is winning this game. It’s tough to add any more motivation of historic streaks or things like that. I’d love for those to be byproducts of obviously hard work and getting a win.”