Kansas City Chiefs: Time To Give Chase Daniel A Shot

By Leigh Oleszczak | Oct 24, 2015

The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2015 season is basically over with, and we’re only heading into week 7 of the regular season.

With that said, it’s time to consider giving backup quarterback Chase Daniel a shot at starting. I mean, what do the Chiefs have to lose by doing this?

Alex Smith hasn’t been good this season, and while a lot of that could be put on the offensive line’s shoulders, Smith hasn’t been the type of quarterback that’s going to win a team games. He’s panicked in big moments, and it’s shown greatly.

It hurts having to say all of this because I’ve been an Alex Smith supporter since he came to Kansas City in 2013, but it’s time to give Daniel a chance. What’s been missing from the Chiefs’ offense are the big “WOW!” plays. Smith doesn’t provide those plays for the Chiefs. He can’t throw the deep ball and again… He panics in big moments.

Daniel has had two starts in his five year career. Going undrafted out of the University of Missouri, Daniel spent time with the Washington Redskins before finally settling in with the New Orleans Saints. He was on the Saints’ Super Bowl winning team, but didn’t take the field once that season.

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Daniel, despite three years in the Big Easy, didn’t make his first NFL start until the 2013 when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs. He signed with Kansas City after the 2012 season and was instantly named Smith’s backup.

In Daniel’s two starts as a Chief, he compiled a 1-1 record (really should have been 2-0) and looked decent subbing in for Smith. Also, it is worth noting that Daniel put together a pretty impressive preseason. Yes, preseason means virtually nothing especially since Daniel was playing against backups, but he looked efficient on offense.

Often criticized for being too short is likely Daniel’s down fall in the pros, but I don’t see the harm in giving Daniel a start or two this season. The Chiefs are going nowhere in 2015, and maybe putting Daniel out there will give the offense some type of positive spark.

RELATED: FIVE WORST STARTING QUARTERBACKS IN CHIEFS HISTORY

Heck, why not give third string quarterback Aaron Murray a chance as well? Murray was drafted in the fifth round in 2014 and has beat Tyler Bray out for the spot two years in a row (even though Bray is still on the roster technically) and was terrific in college for the Georgia Bulldogs.

If the losses continue to pile up this season, Andy Reid needs to strongly considering giving Chase Daniel or Aaron Murray (or both) a chance to showcase their talents. While Smith is still tied with the Chiefs for four more years, he hasn’t earned his $17 million pay check yet and maybe some time on the bench will help him get to that point.

You just never know.

Next: Chiefs Are Better Than Their Record

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