Update: Chiefs, Alex Smith do 4-year, $68M extension

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

Unfortunately for Smith, I'm not sure he's going to get that kind of payday without taking a deal like Dalton did. It's obvious at this point that the Chiefs view Smith just as many people who track the NFL think of him, a game manager. Albeit a great one this day in age.

 

I think if they thought of him differently, they would have already jumped on this contract extension.

[KempBolt 498]

I vote they keep him forever.

[AL_Royalty 489]

I vote they keep him forever.

I can't wait for the Chargers games.

[BLUE 1,026]

Per Rotoworld.com:

Chiefs agreed to terms with QB Alex Smith on a four-year, $68 million extension through 2018.

Because Smith was owed $8 million in 2014, the deal is actually worth $76 million over five seasons -- a $15.2 million annual average -- with $45 million guaranteed. If you treat Andy Dalton's Bengals deal similarly, Smith is collecting roughly $1.3 million more per year, but is still well south of Jay Cutler and Joe Flacco money. Even with Smith's passing limitations considered, this seems like a fair deal for both sides. The Chiefs will continue to lean heavily on running back Jamaal Charles and a talented defensive front seven to carry them in games. Smith seemed to grow as a quarterback over the course of his first season under Andy Reid, posting career highs in passing touchdowns (23) and rushing (76-431-1). He's a low-ceiling QB2 in fantasy leagues and will probably remain that way for the rest of his career. Aug 31 - 6:35 PM

Source: Terez Paylor on Twitter

[KempBolt 498]

This is wonderful news.

 

Hugs all around. Bring it in guys.

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

 

Because Smith was owed $8 million in 2014, the deal is actually worth $76 million over five seasons -- a $15.2 million annual average -- with $45 million guaranteed.

 

Alex Smith won't get 15+ on the market next year if he holds out this season nor do I think the Chiefs would be mad or stupid enough to tag him. The way I see it is that Chiefs easily have the upper hand here and are right in their evaluations.

 

welp. you weren't wrong (didn't go on the market), but he still got 15+

[KempBolt 498]

I get why teams make these deals, but I still think they're terrible.

 

Smith isn't a franchise QB. He's not an upper echelon guy capable of carrying a team. A team can win with him, obviously. But those teams need to be stacked elsewhere or at least run through a more talented conduit. So he's fine while he's cheap. But when he becomes expensive, he's a mill stone around the neck.

 

And yet, he's still good enough that the teams he leads typically won't drop below 6 wins. So they aren't going to often be picking in the top 5 where the elite QB prospects reside. So the team that pays him becomes mired mediocrity. Not good enough to win it all and not bad enough to be in position to get someone who likely can change that.

 

I'm all about division rivals making these deals.

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

QB purgatory is a scary thing breh.

[KempBolt 498]

QB purgatory is a scary thing breh.

 

It's easy for me to avoid it in theory from my computer, but it would be a seriously dicey thing for a front office. Because signing Smith to big money might relegate a team to mediocrity, but not signing him and then finding a bad option to replace him might get a whole staff fired. The fact that jobs and livelihoods are at stake is probably one of the least considered and most influential reasons behind a lot of moves that seem peculiar from the outside.

 

All that said, I hope the Chargers are never there and I'm glad that a team in our division is. Hopefully Derek Carr and Brock Osweiler turn out to be equally promisingly middling.

 

Alex Smith... may he live forever.

[AL_Royalty 489]

I get why teams make these deals, but I still think they're terrible.

 

Smith isn't a franchise QB. He's not an upper echelon guy capable of carrying a team. A team can win with him, obviously. But those teams need to be stacked elsewhere or at least run through a more talented conduit. So he's fine while he's cheap. But when he becomes expensive, he's a mill stone around the neck.

 

And yet, he's still good enough that the teams he leads typically won't drop below 6 wins. So they aren't going to often be picking in the top 5 where the elite QB prospects reside. So the team that pays him becomes mired mediocrity. Not good enough to win it all and not bad enough to be in position to get someone who likely can change that.

 

I'm all about division rivals making these deals.

Tell me, please, what QBs can carry a team to a SB win? Who's done that? Who's going to do that? I know you just beam and beam about how great Rivers is, but how far has he taken the Chargers all by himself? The Chargers have had a lot of "really good" 9-7 years with one-and-done playoff runs. I know you said that you wouldn't want them to be in a situation like the Chiefs are in, but—even if Smith is a terrible as the picture you paint him in—based on results, it seems like they already are.

 

Chargers aside though, I'm good with the deal they signed. Smith is pretty good, and for the last few years he's gotten better every season. We'll see how it all plays out once the season starts, but on paper everything is fine. The sky is not falling on Arrowhead.

[KempBolt 498]

Tell me, please, what QBs can carry a team to a SB win? Who's done that? Who's going to do that? I know you just beam and beam about how great Rivers is, but how far has he taken the Chargers all by himself? The Chargers have had a lot of "really good" 9-7 years with one-and-done playoff runs. I know you said that you wouldn't want them to be in a situation like the Chiefs are in, but—even if Smith is a terrible as the picture you paint him in—based on results, it seems like they already are.

 

Chargers aside though, I'm good with the deal they signed. Smith is pretty good, and for the last few years he's gotten better every season. We'll see how it all plays out once the season starts, but on paper everything is fine. The sky is not falling on Arrowhead.

 

No QB carries a team all on his own. But great ones shoulder a lot more of the load than those of Smith's caliber.

 

You can be successful with a guy like Smith, but the rest of the roster has to be better than you would need to replicate that same success with a guy like Manning, Brees, Rodgers, and yes- Rivers. So if you're being led by a QB with more limitations like him, it's more important than it would be otherwise to keep the team around him playing at a really high level. Less margin for error elsewhere, in other words.

 

So on teams with elite running attacks and defensive play (not to mention a cakewalk schedule if we look specifically at last year), teams with Smith under center can and do win. No argument there, obviously. But in order to maintain that sort of supporting cast, you need cap space and draft picks. They've sunk two 2nd rounders into him to begin with, and now have made him their highest paid player. So they're without two talented young players they'd have on the roster otherwise to maintain the level of play he needs to be successful, and we've already seen some of the financial results of extending him preemptively. Their offseason was marked by losses that were not replaced because of cap restraints. You can already see the effects by just looking at the depth chart along the offensive line, at receiver, and in the secondary.

 

Obviously there is a breaking point at which the rest of the roster is just so bad that not even a great QB can overcome it. That breaking point is fluid based on how good the QB is. A Peyton Manning led team has a higher tolerance for a bad roster than a Philip Rivers led team does. From 2010-2012, the team around Rivers deteriorated to the point that he could not overcome. I'm reminded specifically of the 2010 team where we were #1 on offense and defense, but had the worst special teams season in NFL history. He couldn't overcome that. But now we have some reasonable help around him on offense, and we can have a chance again. The defense is still bad, the offensive line is still meh, but we don't need elite we just need those things around him to be good enough.

 

In other words, what he needs to put great seasons together is less than what Smith does. Not that Rivers needs nothing. Just less. I know you already understand this, but I'll say it twice for the emphasis. And now that Smith is eating up more salary, it's going to be hard to come up with that more that Smith needs around him to make things go. If your argument is that Rivers and Smith keep their teams in the same situation just because Rivers doesn't have a ring yet, you clearly haven't watched him play with anything close to objectivity. Nobody wins it all until they do. But looking around the league, it's pretty obvious that guys like Rivers give their teams a better chance than guys like Smith.