Alex Smith open to talks with Kansas City Chiefs — but not for long
By Cory Buck
Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs have high hopes for 2014 after shocking the NFL with a playoff appearance in 2013 one year removed from having the league’s worst record. With just one year on his contract, it’s safe to say the Chiefs want to keep Smith and the stability he provides the offense in town — at the right price anyways.
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While Smith has mentioned a ‘cutoff date‘ for contract talks in the past, he didn’t specify when recently asked by The Kansas City Star. “I feel like I’ve kind of been locked into games and practicing. With camp winding down here, preseason winding down, certainly we’ll see. But sorry. No answer for you today.”
So it continues for Smith and the Chiefs. Kansas City certainly wants to retain Smith, who isn’t a world beater by any means but is certainly better than any quarterback to roll through KC in a while. Smith will play out the 2014 season with a $7.5 million contract figure, then he’ll be a free agent.
While the team wants to sign him, it’s safe to say the Chiefs would like to avoid applying the franchise tag to Smith. Not only do they have other players in mind for that tag, but they likely don’t want to pay Smith like a top-five quarterback in the league. The best case scenario for both parties is to have a deal in place before the season begins. For now though, it appears progress is scant.