Kansas City Chiefs rumors: ‘Significant difference’ between Alex Smith, Chiefs on extension

The Kansas City Chiefs would like to lock quarterback Alex Smith up to a contract extension. Smith would like to re-up on a deal to keep him in Kansas City for a long time.

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On that point the two sides agree. What they cannot agree on, however, is what that actual contract extension will look like, both in terms of years and dollars.

Anytime a team even starts to consider a change at the quarterback position, they have to ask themselves one simple question: what is out there that’s better than my current option? That was the question that confronted the Chicago Bears this off-season. Maddening though Jay Culter can be, Chicago realized that they were not going to find a better option at the most important position on the field.

That is the same question that now faces the Chiefs and their contract negotiations with Smith. Sure, they might not want to pay top dollar for him and his ambiguous but not altogether inaccurate “franchise quarterback” label. But if they do not believe they have a better option at quarterback if they were to try and move on, they might not have much of a choice.

As things stand now, Terez Payton of the Kansas City Star reports that the two sides are still far apart in contract negotiations.

A lot can change in a short period of time, especially considering the fact that it is still just July. These negotiations are certainly worth monitoring, however, as they will provide interesting insight into just how valuable second-tier quarterbacks like Smith truly are to NFL franchises.