Kansas City Chiefs: The Future of Chase Daniel
The Kansas City Chiefs’ season came to a close on Saturday, and with that comes the NFL free agency conversation. Could quarterback Chase Daniel’s career with the Chiefs be over as well?
Chase Daniel, the former Missouri Tiger and Heisman Trophy finalist, has been a backup his entire career. After being a stud with the Mizzou football program, he went undrafted in 2009 and was with Washington for a short amount of time before the regular season began.
He then spent the first three years of his career in New Orleans as the second-string to Drew Brees, where his team won the Super Bowl in 2010. While in New Orleans, he only attempted nine passes, so it was hard to gauge his potential as a starting quarterback.
In 2013, when Andy Reid and John Dorsey came to Kansas City, they targeted Daniel as the backup to their biggest off season acquisition, Alex Smith. At the time, Smith was coming off an injury-filled season with the 49ers, and the Chiefs needed a talented backup in case Smith went down.
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While Smith has been relatively healthy over these last three seasons, Daniel has had the opportunity to prove his worth, and has done rather well. In his two starts in Kansas City, Daniel has thrown 37 completions for 357 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, Kansas City won one of the games, and should’ve won the other had it not been for a field goal controversy.
In those two starts, Daniel proved to the Chiefs and the rest of the NFL that he is capable of being a starting quarterback. The problem is that the Chiefs don’t need a starting quarterback. They already pay $16 million per year to one.
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Something else to consider here is that the KC Chiefs already have two potential backup quarterbacks on their roster in Aaron Murray and Tyler Bray. Bray went undrafted in 2013, but the Chiefs have stuck with him despite not taking a single snap in three seasons.
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Murray was a fifth round pick in 2014, and while a lot of talk surrounds him and his potential talent, fans don’t know what they’d be getting with him as a backup. Daniel was a safe choice behind Smith for sure.
There are teams with serious quarterback issues that Daniel might be the solution to.
One of those problems is in Philadelphia. New head coach (and former Chiefs offensive coordinator) Doug Pederson is about to build the Eagles according to his style. That may or may not include current quarterback Sam Bradford. Maybe Pederson saw enough from Daniel in Kansas City to bring him with him to Philadelphia.
If Pederson doesn't think Bradford is worth ~$20 million, Chase Daniel paired with a rookie draft pick could be a far less expensive option.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) January 14, 2016
While a Chiefs-Daniel renewal would be nice for Missouri Tiger fans in Kansas City, it just isn’t practical. It’s time for Chase Daniel to spread his wings, and show his abilities to be a quality starting quarterback in the NFL.
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Would you want the Kansas City Chiefs to re-sign Chase Daniel next season, or do you want to see Bray or Murray backup Alex Smith?