Kansas City Chiefs: Should Alex Smith be on a short leash?
By Randy Gurzi
After the Kansas City Chiefs gave up a future first and third round pick to move up for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is starter Alex Smith on a short leash?
Often times in the NFL players are “put on a leash” for one thing or another. Most cases where this happens to a quarterback is because of wild play which results in a lot of turnovers. Those athletes have to learn to play it safe, or risk having their leash yanked back on them as they’re told to sit. For the Kansas City Chiefs, it may be the exact opposite.
Starting quarterback Alex Smith has been ridiculed for much of his career ever since being selected first overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He was benched more than once with the Niners before finally being dealt to the Chiefs in 2012.
In his four seasons as a starter for the Chiefs, Smith has a record of 41-20, with his worst season under center resulting in them winning eight and losing seven games. The problem is that Smith is viewed as “too safe” and that label contributes to the feeling that he is mainly responsible for a 1-3 postseason record since joining the franchise.
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The Chiefs apparently have agreed. They made their statement loud and clear when trading their first-round pick in 2017 along with a third-rounder and their 2018 first-round pick to move up 17 spots for Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II. Such a move indicates that a team believes they found their guy, and Smith understands that as he said himself the Chiefs are only committed to him for this year.
Here’s what the quarterback had to say to Adam Teicher of ESPN about the current situation in Kansas City:
"“I think [the Chiefs are] committed to me through this year,” Smith said. “That’s just the nature of it. If you don’t go out there and perform, I mean, coach [Andy] Reid and [quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy] are very honest. You’ve got to go out there and do your deal.”"
Could Smith be overestimating it though? Despite completing 64.5 percent of his passes and having 76 touchdowns compared to just 28 interceptions for Kansas City, Smith is still considered the ultimate “game manager.” He plays his role in a run-first offense and doesn’t push them forward any — or ever take chances. Should he come out and continue to be the guy that throws the ball away on third-downs, will the Chiefs pull the plug and him and insert the rookie?
They may, as Mahomes brings much more to the table than Smith. He has a stronger arm, is more mobile (although in fairness to Smith, he is no statue in the pocket) and could bring enough energy to give the whole offense a shot in the arm.
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In three seasons at Tech, Mahomes completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 11,252 yards. He had 93 touchdowns and just 29 interceptions — while adding another 22 scores with his legs. If he shows at all that he’s ready to start translating that talent to the NFL, Smith needs to be concerned about lasting through the whole season as a starter.