Alex Smith: Why Chiefs QB doesn’t deserve big money

It’s not difficult to see who Alex Smith is, or what he does well. He’s a careful, often meticulous quarterback who’s a perfect fit in a specific system. There’s value in that.

He’s a quarterback who can be trusted to make the proper read and right decisions, as we saw when he threw only seven interceptions on 508 pass attempts during his first season with the Kansas City Chiefs. Going back further to his time in San Francisco, Smith has thrown only 17 interceptions over his past three seasons. There’s value in that, too.

He has underrated athleticism, and in 2013 rushed for a career high 431 yards. There’s a whole lot of value there as well.

But how much value? Surely not $18 million annually.

Smith is entering the final year of his current contract, making him the next quarterback up in the payment line. He’ll earn $7.5 million this season, a pretty sweet bargain for a quarterback in today’s NFL. His situation moves to the forefront now because the deal struck between the Cincinnati Bengals and Andy Dalton provides the ideal blueprint.

There was horror when the total value of the contract coming Dalton’s was first announced ($115 million). But the reality is he’ll likely never see most of that, as only $17 million is guaranteed. It’s a pay-as-you-go structure after 2015, the best approach for a young quarterback who has flashed plenty of promise, but still hasn’t proven himself worthy of a long-term commitment.

Take out the word “young” there, and that aptly describes Smith too. He’s nearing the wrong side of 30, which is somewhere in the vast, murky age middle for quarterbacks. For Smith, though, that’s more motivation to cash in now. He doesn’t want a Dalton contract, and has said as much. Instead, he wants to paid for a status he hasn’t earned: a top-tier quarterback.

Throughout the offseason, reports have indicated he wants a cash dump on par with what Jay Cutler received this past January. Cutler was signed to a seven-year contract worth a total of $126 million, $54 million of which is guaranteed. In base salary that’s an average of $18 million.

Say what you will about Cutler. Mostly, you can say he’s inconsistent, and often makes poor decisions. But he has a booming arm, and can push an offense through the air. He’s a risk both financially and on the football field, but risks can lead to great rewards.

Smith? He’s safe. He’s secure, and there’s comfort in knowing crippling mistakes will be kept to an extreme minimum. But that doesn’t describe a quarterback worth guaranteed top-tier money. No, Smith is a quarterback who needs to operate under an incentive-based deal. In the quarterback market he’s an Andy Dalton, even if he’s in denial.

Under Andy Reid the Chiefs have minimized Smith and their passing game as a whole, leaving little motivation to throw an overflowing briefcase at him. In 2013, Reid’s offense averaged only 34.1 pass attempts per game (tied for 20th), and much of Smith’s accuracy and efficiency was the result of short, high percentage passes in a west coast scheme. The Chiefs averaged only 6.5 yards per attempt (27th), and 208.8 per game (24th).

The Chiefs offense also used Jamaal Charles as its heartbeat, and sense of existence. Charles had a career high 320 touches in 2013, which he turned into 1,980 yards. While doing that he scored 19 touchdowns. The highest Chiefs scorer behind him? Dwayne Bowe, with five touchdowns.

Charles accounted for 36.6 percent of the Chiefs’ total offense, but the highest lean on him — and the most glaring evidence of Smith being minimized — comes from his receiving numbers. Charles is a damn good running back, and who knows, if he can maintain his current production he may even be a hall of fame running back. But he’s still a running back, and he led the Chiefs in receiving yards (693), receiving touchdowns (7), and receptions (70).

That’s a lot of dinking and/or dunking by Smith, which isn’t exactly a top-tier quarterback skill. Taken to its limit, the Chiefs offense made Smith a mere bridge to Charles at times last year. In a Week 14 win over the Raiders, Smith threw five of his 23 touchdown passes on the season, all to Charles on screens and swing passes. Charles did the rest, taking long Sunday jogs for 39, 49, and 71 yards.

How many yards did Smith’s passes travel through the air on those five touchdown passes? 15 yards. Just 15 yards.

Smith is a fine arm to anchor an offense, and he certainly has value and a role when used properly. But his current role is that of a minimized, sheltered quarterback.

So why would the Chiefs pay top-tier money for that?