The Answer (Probably)

Here it is, everyone. Here's the big news we've all been waiting for- the answer to the biggest question concerning Kansas City football. The Chiefs have chosen their new quarterback, and agreed to terms to bring him to KC. Probably.

Since San Fran officially announced a willingness to trade Alex Smith, the Chiefs have clearly emerged as the team with the most interest. According to Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com, the deal between Smith and KC is “all but done.” A few hours after this news broke, Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports tweeted that the 49ers told other interested teams that a deal involving Smith was “effectively complete. Can't be finalized til league year begins 3/12.” This followed several other tweets from around the league that were essentially announcements from teams pulling out of negotiations for the San Fran QB. By late Sunday night, Kansas City appeared to be the only candidate still in the race.

If it's all true, the search is over. The new franchise QB is here- or at least, he'll be here on March 12^th. We can all move on from the QB situation once and for all. Probably.

In another NFL.com report, Ian Rapaport mentions that because of the odd situation in San Francisco last year, the Chiefs know that Alex “won't tear the place apart if he's replaced.” That's a very important and understated point. Several sources have pointed out Reid's interest in using the first draft pick on offensive lineman Luke Joeckel. However, with this move the Chiefs leave themselves the option to draft whichever 2^nd or 3^rd round QB catches their attention. If Ryan Nassib or Matt Barkley or Tyler Bray become the apple in Andy's eye, the Chiefs can still grab him, probably in the 2^nd round. Probably.

Everything is still up in the air, unfortunately. Who knows how we'll use our 2^nd round without knowing the 1^st round pick? We could trade down and change the draft order. We could trade the 2^nd round pick in free agency. It could be gone already; for all we know, the Chiefs already traded the 2^nd round draft pick for Alex Smith and signed the official/unofficial contract.

Since every theory is built on a foundation of probable-truths and hearsay, nothing will be clear fact until we hear it from the mouth of someone within the Chiefs organization. At the very earliest, this would come on March 12^th, the technical start to the new football year. For now though, it seems as if all the rumors and all the reading between-the-lines point to Smith being the answer. With the mediocre Matt Flynn and the untested Nick Foles* as the other legitimate options in free agency, Alex Smith seems to be the optimal choice. As much as I can read into it, Smith is coming to Kansas City, and the Chiefs made the best decision possible for this situation.

You know, probably.

* The Foles/Chiefs situation has supposedly ended with another stern rejection from the Philadelphia front office. According to USA Today, the Eagles reiterated to Reid on Saturday that Foles was not currently on the market. Why they said this publicly the first time while simultaneously naming their price is still a worthy question. Nonetheless, it seems Foles is officially off the list. That is, until a few weeks from now, when free agency begins, draft stocks shift, and every team's long-term plans become more concrete. Don't let the strong posturing fool you- if Smith isn't coming to Kansas City, Foles still looms in the shadows as an intriguing dark-horse.