Alex Smith leads the league with a 148.6 passer rating. He won AFC offensive player of the week honors for Week 1. Yet, Smith expects to play elsewhere next season.
That’s what the Chiefs quarterback said during a recent interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger.
“For sure,” Smith said when asked if he felt like 2017 would be his last in Kansas City. “It absolutely does. Without a doubt.”
The Chiefs traded up to 10th overall to select Patrick Mahomes to groom behind the 33-year-old Smith.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Smith said. “It’s like, man, [we] could’ve added this or this or this position or this player.”
Smith’s contract runs through the 2018 season. The Chiefs gave up a first-round 2018 choice and a 2017 third-rounder to Buffalo for Mahomes, who completed 34 of 54 passes for 390 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the preseason.
Smith understands the NFL is a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” business, and he wants to make it a hard decision for the Chiefs in the offseason.
“Structurally, the contract, the guarantees are less, and that’s just the reality,” said Smith, who has a 2-4 playoff record. “You have to prove yourself year in and year out and if you can’t get the job done, every team is going to go and try and find somebody else that can. That’s the reality of the deal. I don’t care who you are.”