Alex Smith Seeking Top Tier QB Money in Extension With Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs wisely swung a trade to land Alex Smith last year, leading to a dramatic turnaround from a dreadful 2-14 season to a playoff appearance. The cost wasn’t cheap, as it robbed KC of a second round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
More thievery could be on the way.
According to reports, Smith hasn’t budged much in contract extension talks, as he is said to be seeking “top tier” quarterback money.
On one hand, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect Smith to want big time money. After all, he helped get the San Francisco 49ers to an NFC title game, was well on his way to potentially doing it again the next season, and pushed the Chiefs from the depths of the league’s cellar to a 9-0 start and a playoff appearance.
On top of that, Smith showed more upside than he has in his entire career in head coach Andy Reid’s offense in 2013, hitting career highs across the board with 3,313 passing yards and 23 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. Smith also rushed a career high 76 times for 431 yards and another score.
A former number one overall draft pick, Smith has always exhibited the talent and athleticism to be a quality NFL starter, but only began finding success over the past three seasons. With that said, the player he became under Jim Harbaugh’s tutelage three years ago is now the player we see today, giving the Chiefs a rock solid starter, potentially for years to come.
At the right price, of course.
While Smith has made marked improvement and seems to only be getting better, the other side of the argument is that he’s not actually an elite talent, doesn’t put up elite numbers and hasn’t won a Super Bowl yet.
If the Chiefs hold firm on that side of the debate, negotiations could stall. If that happens, we could see Smith play out his final year of his deal and then hit free agency in 2015.
Something in the middle is the most likely result here, however, as Smith and his agents are merely trying to get paid appropriately for what Smith brings to the table. While criticized for not having a cannon arm or dominating with monster stats, Smith is still in his prime at just 30 years old and has clearly displayed over the past few seasons that he’s a natural leader and winner.
The Chiefs know they can win with him. Now they just need to figure out how much it’s going to cost to keep him around.
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