Kansas City Chiefs: Common sense reasons to start Patrick Mahomes Sunday

Smith’s Value

The notion here is that Smith could improve his possible trade value by playing one more game. Actually, the notion is that if Smith could get four more touchdowns he would have 30 touchdown passes and a quarterback with 30 would gain more value than one with less.

I’ll bite on that. That is a statement I agree with. What would bring even more value in the trade market is a quarterback that just led his team deep into the playoffs. Even a possible Super Bowl run would see Smith’s value skyrocket.

To counter that, if Mahomes wasn’t going to start and Smith suffered an injury such as a torn ligament in his throwing arm or the notorious ACL injury, there would be absolutely no value whatsoever.

If Mahomes were to injure himself in the same way, there would be that chance that the Chiefs keep Smith another season or take their chances on a quick recovery. In this sense, perhaps not as common as the title suggests, Smith is more valuable sitting this meaningless game out than Mahomes playing in it.

Fine tuning of the Chiefs game plan may just work better behind closed doors than on the television anyhow.