As first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Alex Smith has been traded in principle to the Kansas City Chiefs. The rumored compensation for Smith will be sending a 2013 second round pick and a conditional 2014 pick for Smith. The trade cannot be finalized until March 12th due to league rules.
While Alex Smith being offered in trade talks was no shock due to the success of Colin Kaepernick in the 49ers run to the Super Bowl last year it is still shocking to see what they got for him. If the rumors are correct they give up the 34th pick in the draft (2nd pick in the second round) and another pick in 2014. Think about that for a moment. Alex Smith, who by all accounts was a bust before Jim Harbaugh came to town, was dealt for a second rounder plus more. Is he worth it?
What does the Twitterverse think?
Mark Schlereth of ESPN
Good for Alex Smith, Andy Reid, and the KC Chiefs. I think it’s a great fit for both.
— mark schlereth (@markschlereth) February 27, 2013
Former Chiefs Running Back Christian Okoye
Alex Smith to the Chiefs? Not a bad move. I am happy to see my Chiefs looking to upgrade to improve the team. — Christian Okoye (@ChristianOkoye) February 27, 2013
49er Alex Dixon
Congrats to my dawg Alex Smith on getting his fresh opportunity…great guy great teammate..learned a lot from him…he will be missed…
— Anthony Dixon (@Boobie24Dixon) February 27, 2013
Well if you consider who his coach will be he probably is. Andy Reid made Kevin Kolb and Nick Foles look respectable. Without Reid, Kolb has been downright awful since going to Arizona (traded for a second round pick and a Pro Bowl corner I might add). The Chiefs keep the overall number one pick in the draft and get a quarterback still in his late 20s. It is reasonable to think the Chiefs might trade down or use the pick to shore up the line with a player like Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M. I would not be surprised to see the Chiefs use a third or fourth round pick on a quarterback to groom behind Smith.
Alex will get to play with a coach with quarterback success; he gets to hand the ball off to Jamal Charles (who is an upgrade to Frank Gore at this point in their careers). Dwayne Bowe will be a motivated and happy man considering who was throwing to him in the past. A great pass-catching tight end is there for the utilization. It is not a bad fit from Alex Smith’s perspective but now he will have to prove he matured and that it was not Jim Harbaugh that made him respectable.
San Francisco is loaded with picks in the 2013 draft which will only improve a team coming off of a Super Bowl appearance. Consider this, the 49ers have the following picks this year: first round, two second round, two third rounds, a fourth rounder, two fifth, two sixth and two seventh rounds picks. This affords them the opportunity to stockpile talent or trade up for almost any player they want. Would they possible make a run at Darrelle Revis of the Jets?
There is much more to follow for both teams at this point. What is known is that the Chiefs knew they needed a quarterback and obviously felt none in the draft were NFL ready so they got Smith. The 49ers managed to parley a guy they debating cutting to a couple of solid draft picks. The quarterback situation in San Francisco is finally over. And the draft is coming. This trade should just make things even more interesting at the top of the draft now.
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