FanPost

What's Alex Smith really worth?




I've never written a fanpost before, but I write for the local newspaper every day at work, so I think I should be fine.

I was stumbling across the Interwebz today and found an intriguing article by Grantland (here: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9322488/bill-barnwell-vanishing-value-veteran-quarterback ).

There's been discussion for some time about whether or not Alex Smith was the best bet to lead our overhauled Chiefs team, and we won't know until November.

The Grantland article, in summary, compares the Gang of Four (Russel Wilson, RGIII, Andrew Luck and Colin Kaepernick), each of which are in within their rookie contracts, to middle-of-the-pack guys like Philip Rivers and Tony Romo. (Note: I'd throw Smith in with that sub-elite group.)

It's interesting seeing the contract comparison between the QBs. Wilson is slated to make a mere $700K in 2013 whereas Smith is bound to a contract worth 10 times that. And who knows what we'll get out of Smith.

Here's where the article gets interesting for me. Even guys like our beloved $6 million back-up, Chase Daniel, aren't safe with this new rookie QB trend.

Enter Tyler Bray.

For what most NFL organizations would consider chump change, the Chiefs took a flyer on the Tennessee product. He's certainly a project player, but the risk Kansas City's front office took on Bray could eventually be outweighed by the reward.

Bust or (Hall of Fame) bust, or somewhere in between, Bray is a significantly cheaper option even as a No. 3 QB on the roster.

The reason for the pique: get used to this kind of thing in the NFL.

Cheap quarterbacks are a better option than guys like Rivers or Smith, simply because of low cost and higher potential. We know what we're getting out of guys like Rivers since they've been here and done that. It's human nature, however to wonder, "What if?"

What if Smith flops and Daniel steps in as a playoff-caliber guy. What if Both Smith and Daniel suck and Bray tears it up? What if we finish in the cellar again in 2014 because of shoddy QB play?

We'll learn these things soon enough, but in the mean time, keep an eye on guys like Bray.

Maybe Arrowhead Stadium will be his new home in the near future.

Or maybe not.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.