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 Pestilence:
It looks to me like there's 4 teams that could use his services.
1. Browns
2. Jaguars
3. Bills
4. Cardinals
Those are some good teams to start a bidding war. The Browns have a high enough 2nd pick that the other 3 would have to throw their 1st round pick to beat their offer.
Or I could be over valuing Alex Smith and they just offer a 3rd. I'm fine with that as well.
Would think your advise to all those teams is just take him and his salary and he is yours, correct? Not worth a freaking thing from the post I've read. I'm sure they've all been in here reading all of the great post on how Alex sucks donkey dick so maybe we wont get a thing for him? But of course, you all are smarter than say a Gruden or all the other HC's/GM's so not to worry someone will make the trade, whew! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Quesadilla Joe:
I don't think the Chiefs are going to get a great return for Alex Smith. Maybe a mid, to late 2nd rounder or a 3rd.
Originally Posted by Pestilence:
Here's the thing. Yes they could all make a play for Cousins....but you're going to be bidding against each other and whoever gets Cousins is going to severely overpay for his services.
Not just overpay but Cousins, no matter where he goes, will be the highest paid QB in the league.
Originally Posted by Pestilence:
And the Bills, Cardinals and Jaguars don't have the draft capitol to move up for a QB. The Bills have the #21 and #22 picks which aren't going to be worth enough to move up into the Top 10....let alone the Top 5 for a QB. And if a team DOES have enough to move up....you're basically drafting that QB and forcing him to start because you have nothing else.
And all those teams have done that in the recent past.
Originally Posted by Pestilence:
I still think the best team for Alex is the Browns but I'd be down with the Cardinals or the Jaguars giving us a 1st for Alex.
I would have agreed if Dorsey had hired Nagy. They didn't.
If Smith is a FA he won't sign with Cleveland and it's obvious why he wouldn't want to go there at this point in his career. Honestly, I don't think Andy/Hunt would send him there... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Quesadilla Joe:
I don't think the Chiefs are going to get a great return for Alex Smith. Maybe a mid, to late 2nd rounder or a 3rd.
There will not be a bidding war for Alex Smith.
But how much would he bring in return if he were a Bronco? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Quesadilla Joe:
I don't think the Chiefs are going to get a great return for Alex Smith. Maybe a mid, to late 2nd rounder or a 3rd.
There will not be a bidding war for Alex Smith.
I could see it for sure. Denver would love to have Alex,(wont happen). The Chiefs, if not for Mahomes would be fine with Alex. Lots of teams would love to have the top rated passer in the league.
What a great spot for the Chiefs to be in! Thank You Alex!! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pestilence:
Here's the thing. Yes they could all make a play for Cousins....but you're going to be bidding against each other and whoever gets Cousins is going to severely overpay for his services.
And the Bills, Cardinals and Jaguars don't have the draft capitol to move up for a QB. The Bills have the #21 and #22 picks which aren't going to be worth enough to move up into the Top 10....let alone the Top 5 for a QB. And if a team DOES have enough to move up....you're basically drafting that QB and forcing him to start because you have nothing else.
I still think the best team for Alex is the Browns but I'd be down with the Cardinals or the Jaguars giving us a 1st for Alex.
In his attempt to shit troll Chiefs fans with a negative position, he overlooked one thing.
If teams make a play for Cousins (that team would likely be the Broncos, mind you) then the Redskins now enter the pool of QB needy teams. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefnj2:
99% of the posts on Chiefsplanet - Smith sucks. He's a cuck. He misses open receivers. Our playoff losses are all his fault.
Then, in the trade Smith discussion - he's so much better than [x], he's worth at least a first. Team [y] really needs him, he can help them.
He's a total piece of shit. His appeal is that he's less shitty than about 12 other quarterbacks in the league...and we'll gladly pawn our fool's gold off on some other rube. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefnj2:
99% of the posts on Chiefsplanet - Smith sucks. He's a cuck. He misses open receivers. Our playoff losses are all his fault.
Then, in the trade Smith discussion - he's so much better than [x], he's worth at least a first. Team [y] really needs him, he can help them.
The difference is he can get you to the playoffs but that's not good enough anymore. Some franchises that is good enough and that's why he's valuable. We are at different places and expectations than most teams. [Reply]
I think Denver would be one of the few teams who'd be serious about trading for Smith. If Smith would agree to sign a sub-$20M per year contract extension they'd be all over it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefnj2:
99% of the posts on Chiefsplanet - Smith sucks. He's a cuck. He misses open receivers. Our playoff losses are all his fault.
Then, in the trade Smith discussion - he's so much better than [x], he's worth at least a first. Team [y] really needs him, he can help them.
Smith is an above average QB. If there was a great list of FA QBs out there that teams could go after.....then we wouldn't get dick in return for Smith.
BUT there are about 4-5 teams that could use a QB next year and the projected top QB that is going to be available is Kirk Cousins. So if you're one of those 4-5 teams.....are you going to pay Cousins north of $25 million a season to get him? One of those teams has the draft capitol to draft a top QB in the draft but has a history of drafting QBs and then ruining them by throwing them to the wolves.
The Browns have 5 picks in the first two rounds and have $100 million in cap space. They could easily take the QB they want, trade for Smith and let the rookie sit for a year. Smith could get them back to being a respectable 8-8 and then hit FA the year after. Or the Browns could draft a rookie with the #1 pick, throw him to the wolves and hope they don't ruin another QB. [Reply]