Alex Smith might remain in Kansas City . . . but he might not. The quarterback doesn’t know what the future holds, and perhaps the Chiefs don’t know -- or haven’t decided -- either.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of speculation out there on what’s going to happen, what could happen,” Smith told Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star. “I don’t think anybody totally knows.”
Smith has one year remaining on his contract with the Chiefs. He’s scheduled to count $20.6 million against their salary cap, and the Chiefs can save $17 million by trading him or releasing him.
With Patrick Mahomes waiting in the wings, speculation about Smith’s future began even before the Chiefs lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
“I don’t know that this is limbo, but if this is, it [stinks],” Smith said. “But the one [good] thing is knowing that you put a good product out there. You feel good about it, and you know that, hopefully, if it comes to [a trade], there is some place [for you].”
Smith, 33, said he feels he has a long career ahead of him wherever he ends up.
“[Retirement] is not on the close horizon,” Smith said. “I know that.”