Kansas City Chiefs: Alex Smith market is heating up already

The 2018 NFL offseason hasn’t even officially begun, but the Kansas City Chiefs are already seeing a market for Alex Smith. Here is the latest on a potential trade.

One of the biggest conversations in Chiefs Kingdom right now is how the Kansas City Chiefs will address the Alex Smith situation. The conversation ranges from what the team should do, to what kind of compensation they could get for him. Some believe this won’t be a big move for KC. However, the early reports suggest it will be.

I have broken down my view of the Alex Smith market from both in terms of potential suitors and what kind of return the Chiefs could get. If the rumor mill is to be believed, those breakdowns are on the right track. The most encouraging report right now comes from Ben Allbright who says the opening offers for Smith involve second-round picks.

That is great news for Kansas City because this is still very early in the process. If teams are ready to talk about giving up a second-round pick now, that can change quite a bit over the next month or two. As the market develops, teams will have to adjust their offer to gain an advantage. That puts the Chiefs in the driver’s seat.

Two Teams Emerge As Early Candidates

Another big development to take place early on for the Kansas City Chiefs is a recent report from Adam Schefter. The ESPN insider went on the air with Steven A. Smith and told listeners that the Jaguars would move on from Blake Bortles if they could acquire either Alex Smith or Kirk Cousins. That is the first major domino to fall for KC.

Another rumor has gained some traction, though this one is more circumstantial than insider reporting. Bills general manager Brandon Beane had a lengthy conversation at the Senior Bowl with super agent Tom Condon. Alex Smith is one of Condon’s top clients this offseason, and the fit between Buffalo and Smith makes sense.

Related Story: Kansas City Chiefs: Alex Smith To Cleveland Makes Sense

The Bills would have to be thinking about a long-term contract for Alex Smith if they acquired him. So having early talks with his agent would make a lot of sense. Of course, Tom Condon represents a lot of players, including Eli Manning and Sam Bradford. Both of those quarterbacks may be available as well. Still, this is something to keep an eye on.

Expect The Rumors To Heat Up Even More

The fact that there is already this much chatter around the Kansas City Chiefs trading Alex Smith is a good thing. It shows that a number of teams are looking to address the quarterback position without using the draft to do it. That also jives with a lot of reports that teams aren’t that impressed with this year’s quarterback class.

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We will also see some other dominoes start to fall soon. You can expect a number of potential free agents to be re-signed by their current teams. We’ve already seen the Giants say that they intend to keep Eli Manning around, but may still draft a quarterback as well. That would be a huge win for the Chiefs.

Other options like Case Keenum and Kirk Cousins may end up getting re-signed soon as well. That would take a pair of major piece off the board for teams currently in the market for a new quarterback. The market has started strong for the Chiefs, and it seems likely to only get stronger moving forward.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in an excellent position to get a good return on trading Alex Smith. That would open up a number of options for the Chiefs this offseason. Kansas City controls their own fate here too, seeing as how they don’t have to trade Smith at all if nobody makes an offer. This is an excellent position to be in.