Was Trading for Smith a Good or Bad Move for The Chiefs?

When Andy Reid became the head coach of The Kansas City Chiefs last month you knew that change would be on the horizon. The Chiefs were tied for the worst record in The National Football League last season as they have earned the number one overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. With no clear cut quarterback prospect to waste the top pick on, Reid has taken the bait on quarterback Alex Smith as he will send The Chiefs second round pick this year (34th overall) as well as a conditional pick in 2014 to The San Francisco 49ers.

Smith was the number one overall pick of The 2005 NFL Draft by The 49ers. The Niners had a revoliving door at both the head coaching and offensive coordinator positions until 2011 when Jim Harbaugh became the head coach. Under Harbaugh, Smith had the only 3,000-yard passing season of his career as he helped The Niners reach The NFC Championship Game in 2011.

Smith suffered a concussion in a Week 10 game against The St. Louis Rams last season which opened the door for Harbaugh to place second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick into the starting lineup. With Kaepernick at the helm, San Francisco made The Super Bowl for the first time since 1994. We all saw the writing on the wall that Smith’s time in The Bay Area was coming to an end.

Knowing that this year’s draft class for quarterbacks was weak, Harbaugh and 49ers general manager Trent Baalke knew that they were holding a strong hand as several teams would be in the market for a starting quarterback.

In The NFL it is an unwritten rule that when a new head coach takes over a team that he will draft a quarterback unless you’re Barry Switzer taking over The Dallas Cowboys when Troy Aikman is the starting quarterback. Reid definitely wasn’t going to roll with current Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel as his starter. Now with Smith is in the fold you can expect Cassel to be released soon. Former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli traded a second-round pick to The New England Patriots to acquire Cassel in 2009. Cassel’s record in his four seasons with Kansas City was 19-28 with one AFC West Division Title in 2010. Now are The Chiefs on their way down the same path with Smith?

Cassel shined in 2008 as he threw 21 touchdown passes as he subbed for an injured Tom Brady. It was easy because The Patriots basically had the same offense in tact that went 16-0 the previous season with Brady at the helm. The Chiefs took the bait on him and the rest his history. Smith wasn’t a serviceable NFL quarterback until he met Harbaugh. The Chiefs acquired Smith, but Harbaugh won’t be with Smith on the sidelines this fall at Arrowhead Stadium.

If anyone can build upon what Harbaugh started with Smith it is Reid as he consistently showed the magic touch during his 14 seasons as the head coach of The Philadelphia Eagles. Under Reid’s guidance in 2006, quarterback Jeff Garcia went 5-1 as he subbed for an injured Donovan McNabb as he led The Eagles to The NFC Divisional Round. After throwing 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in his four seasons as an Eagle quarterback, Reid suckered The Arizona Cardinals to trade for Kevin Kolb. The Cardinals gave The Eagles a second-round draft pick and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The Cardinals immediately signed Kolb to a six-year, $62 million deal to be their starter. In his two seasons with Arizona, Kolb has only started 14 games while he has posted a record of 6-8.

The only way for Smith to be successful in Kansas City is by having a strong team around him. Since Harbaugh took over in San Francisco, The Niners have boasted a top-five defense which makes the game easier for a quarterback like Smith who has been labeled as a “game manager”. Kansas City’s 2,395 rushing yards were fifth in The NFL last season as the running game will be very important for a quarterback in Smith who has questions about his arm strength. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is a pending free-agent, but it would make sense for Reid to keep a big target for Smith to throw the ball to. 

This is indeed a wait and see scenario for The Chiefs. Trading for Smith was a “choose the best answer” scenario. Smith could be a stop gap guy for Reid as Texas A&M University quarterback Johnny Manziel will be on everyone’s radar in 2014 unless Reid can pull a rabbit out of the hat this season with Smith.