Kansas City Chiefs: Say Good-Bye To Sean Smith
The Kansas City Chiefs franchise tagged safety Eric Berry on Tuesday afternoon. What does this mean for Sean Smith’s future in Kansas City?
Well, Chiefs fans, it was fun while it lasted, but the Sean Smith era is likely over for the KC Chiefs. The team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Eric Berry on Tuesday, meaning they won’t be using it on Smith.
Smith is going to hit free agency and he’s going to get paid like one of the best cornerbacks in the league.
While it would be in the best interest for the Chiefs to re-sign Smith, I just don’t see them being able to compete with the salaries of other teams, in particular the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders have a lot of money they can afford to spend on top talent, and they’ve been linked with Smith on multiple occasions.
The Chiefs also have been preparing for the eventual departure of Smith the past two years in the draft. They took Phillip Gaines in the third round in 2014 and selected Marcus Peters in the first round last year. The Chiefs also took Steven Nelson in the third round last year, but he didn’t have too much of an impact during the regular season.
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Peters had a great rookie year though, earning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award and proving that he was worthy of the 18th overall pick. Peters and Gaines are a young duo in the secondary, and if Gaines can get healthy from an ACL injury he sustained last season, this could be a reliable duo for years to come.
Going back to Smith, any Kansas City Chiefs fan who expects him to take a discount from the team is out of their minds. He was on a very team friendly deal after being signed in 2013 and now he deserves to get a big paycheck.
Honestly, it seemed pretty evident that fans were anticipating Smith being gone for sure. He played like a top corner last season and the Chiefs have too many other guys to get signed.
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The good news is that Berry will be a Chief for at least one more season (I’m sure he’ll be getting a long-term deal before too long), and maybe this will open up a possibility of re-signing guys like Husain Abdullah, Tamba Hali, Jaye Howard, and Derrick Johnson.
Again, the Chiefs have way too many other needs to sign in free agency, and bringing Smith back would simply ruin their chances of re-signing anyone else. Yes, it’s going to suck if Smith does indeed sign with the Raiders, but this is the right move for the franchise.
Sure it’s painful, but just blare the theme song from Dawson’s Creek and watch film from Smith’s days in a Chiefs uniform. That should ease the pain a bit.