Market for Alex Smith will be strong, Ian Rapoport says
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network thinks the Chiefs could get a solid trade haul in return for Alex Smith.
Kirk Larrabee - 3 hours ago 0
The Kansas City Chiefs should have no problem finding a trade partner for Alex Smith this offseason and could come away with a strong haul in return, according to insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Rapoport, who reported over the weekend the Chiefs would be listening to offers for Smith this offseason, was a guest on The Day Shift on 610 Sports Radio Kansas City Monday, where he was asked about the level of interest in Alex Smith and whether or not the Chiefs will be able to trade him.
"A lot," Rapoport said. "A lot, and yes."
Smith is coming off his best statistical season of his career as he threw for 4,042 yards in 2017 with 26 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 104.7 passer rating. Rapoport says it's that performance along with what Smith can bring to a team's quarterback room that makes him such a hot commodity.
"He was number one in the NFL in passer rating," Rapoport said. "He is a great person, so if you trade for him and then draft a quarterback high, you will get someone who's going to help him. All you need to do is ask Patrick Mahomes. It's actually an amazing thing what a great person Alex Smith is because he's dealt with a lot of crap in his career despite mostly awesome and has come out the other side of it."
There have been several teams speculated to be good fits for Smith, with different situations among each of them. There's the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, playoff teams that are still fighting quarterback woes; there's the Arizona Cardinals, a team whose starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, just retired, but still has enough talent to be competitive next season; and there's a team like the Cleveland Browns, who might be interested in acquiring Smith to not just help the team start winning again but to be a mentor to a quarterback they might select in the draft.
The latter situation might not seem like an ideal one to many quarterbacks, but Smith has done it before, and Rapoport thinks he might not have a problem doing it again.
"If I was a franchise quarterback, would I really want to help the guy who is brought in to replace me? I don't know," Rapoport said. "For some ridiculous reason, Alex Smith has done it several times, and he's continued to be a great guy. He's going to end up benefiting from all this because first of all, he's probably going to wind up being traded somewhere great. Second of all, I think his legacy will sort of live on and people will know what a good person he is."
Trading Smith would free up $17 million in cap space for the Chiefs, a much-needed amount for a team currently projected to be over the cap next year, and would also allow them to replenish some of the draft picks they traded away in multiple trades in recent months. It cost a 2013 second round pick and a 2014 conditional pick (which turned out to be another second round pick) for the Chiefs to acquire Smith from the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, and Rapoport thinks the Chiefs could get even more in return for Smith than that.
"I think they might do better this time," Rapoport said. "He is a hot commodity, and they are in unbelievable position."
Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19:
There's no chance Alex Smith isn't traded. That's going to get you cap room and draft pick(s).
I have trust issues with Reid and moving on from players and coaches that he respects.
Lets also not forget that this could be the off season that Peters wants an extension. That won't be cheap. [Reply]
A top 5 pick for Alex Smith? C'mon man! LOL if we get Arizona's #15 in the 2nd round I'll be ecstatic. Best case is Cleveland's 2nd round pick #33? [Reply]
Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19:
There's no chance Alex Smith isn't traded. That's going to get you cap room and draft pick(s).
Saints turned a shit defense into a quality defense in 2 offseasons. We can turn this around with better coaching, money for FA’s and a hitting on our picks. [Reply]
Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19:
I see on WalterFootball's mock they have Cleveland taking Michigan DT Maurice Hurst with the 35th pick. I watched that guy absolutely wreck some games this year. So explosive off the ball.
If we can get that pick and he is somehow there, that'd be great.
We have our QB now so ALL fatties can come on down. [Reply]
I've been thinking this for a while now. QBing in the NFL has NEVER been worse, and this is a terrible draft class. I legit think all of the following teams will strongly pursue Smith, which equals a legit bidding war:
Bills
Jets
Browns
Jags
Cardinals
And you might even be able to throw in:
Giants
Redskins (if Cousins leaves, duh)
Broncos (probably get shut down instantly)
And as it goes, as a Smiff hater, he would help all those teams, particularly a team like the Jags. After they get bounced badly this week, you know they'll be wishing they had a net-positive at QB to compliment their great defense rather than fucking Bortion. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TEX:
I think it would be different if Kelce hadn't gotten hurt. Tenn had no answer for him. With him out, KC is much easier to defend.
And why Andy panicked and sh** the bed in play calling going sideways and conservative as if he were setting on a lead that he could afford because we have such an elite defense according to some:-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Has anyone considered that maybe andy didn’t actually change his play calling but smith just started checking down and panicking?
Andy's play calling is not the problem. We have all seen the 22's. Smith screws up all the time. It's not Andy calling for Smith to only throw sideways. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Red Dawg:
Andy's play calling is not the problem. We have all seen the 22's. Smith screws up all the time. It's not Andy calling for Smith to only throw sideways.
