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 jd1020:
Even if you want to give credit for 2015 (:-)) your golden boy led a "good" passing offense in 2/5 years in KC by your own standards?
Teams might actually prefer it if we traded him rather than releasing. 17 million for 1 year with none guaranteed or whatever Tom Condon will demand. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RINGLEADER:
I could see us getting our first back from Buffalo.
I don’t think Dorsey will give us one of the Browns number ones (maybe we could have gotten one before Dorsey got there because Cleveland is so dysfunctionally stupid, but not now).
Jacksonville might give us a two...maybe. I think Alex could take them to the Super Bowl with that defense so wouldn’t be my first choice.
Arizona might give up a one but they’re rebuilding and may just want to blow the whole thing up.
Alex couldn't lead the '85 Bears to the Superbowl! Buffalo would have beaten Jacksonville 3-0 if Alex was the quarterback of the Jaguars 2 days ago! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
Teams might actually prefer it if we traded him rather than releasing. 17 million for 1 year with none guaranteed or whatever Tom Condon will demand.
If you're giving up a 2nd round pick (or more) for a player you're going to want him on your team for multiple years. Whoever trades for Alex will most likely want him to sign an extension. I could see Alex balking at a multi-year deal with Buffalo. Nobody wants to play in Buffalo.
Buffalo could offer a 4th plus a conditional 2nd or 3rd rounder in 2019 if Alex is on the team in 2019. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rausch:
He will be traded or released.
Once everyone in the ****ing world knows we don't want him his value is nil.
0.
Nothing.
His only value is some team wanting to skip over the FA process...
I don’t think that’s true. There’s going to be enough teams that could upgrade this position that I don’t think they will wait it out. Now if Kc is greedy they may get stuck with him, but even then I don’t think we cut him outright. Bench him, sure, wait for a team to have their QB go down and then trade him. I think Veach would like to get picks for him AND have the cap room, but I would be floored if we outright cut him or traded him for less than a third. I don’t think he will start next year for us, but to cut him or give him away for nothing would be dumb. [Reply]
Originally Posted by prhom:
I don’t think that’s true.
We differ, but fair enough.
Originally Posted by prhom:
I think Veach would like to get picks for him AND have the cap room, but I would be floored if we outright cut him or traded him for less than a third.
We will not get a 3rd because every team in the league knows we have to get rid of him.
He could be the league MVP this year and it won't matter because teams know we don't want him... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rausch:
He will be traded or released.
Once everyone in the fucking world knows we don't want him his value is nil.
0.
Nothing.
His only value is some team wanting to skip over the FA process...
A trade will be viable because of this exact thing. If you trade for Smith, you control the cost for Year 1 and have some negotiating power for an extension. If you wait for him to get cut and get to FA, then you have to compete in the market and are susceptible to a few other teams driving up your price.
Now... how much the return is certainly is to be determined. But it definitely makes sense to trade for Smith rather than take chances in FA. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Quesadilla Joe:
If you're giving up a 2nd round pick (or more) for a player you're going to want him on your team for multiple years. Whoever trades for Alex will most likely want him to sign an extension. I could see Alex balking at a multi-year deal with Buffalo. Nobody wants to play in Buffalo.
Buffalo could offer a 4th plus a conditional 2nd or 3rd rounder in 2019 if Alex is on the team in 2019.
Buffalo can go fuck itself and we'll go talk with the Cardinals or Jags or any other team with QB help. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bewbies:
Correct me if I'm wrong but Smith is under contract in KC for next year. And we can keep him if we wanted to.
I can also hold a fart in for a long time.
Originally Posted by Bewbies:
KC has a lot of leverage, and they need to get more than 1 party involved so as to drive up the compensation we get.
KC has absolutely no leverage, every team in the NFL knows we want to be rid of him, and our only hope is someone trading a 6th/7th pick just to avoid the clearly eventual release... [Reply]
