On Tuesday night, the Kansas City Chiefs made the surprising decision to trade Pro Bowl quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins.
It was a move that caught star running back Kareem Hunt completely off guard as he revealed on Wednesday morning that it was devastating to see Smith be moved, according to Edward Lewis of NFL.com.
“Actually, I was at dinner when I found this out,” Hunt said on Good Morning Football, just hours after the trade agreement took place. “I kind of just stopped eating. I was a little bit in shock. You know, Alex is such a great leader, a great quarterback and he's a competitor. Loves to win. He's a guy you want on your team and after a great season like this, it's kind of heartbreaking to see him go.”
In his five seasons with the Chiefs, Smith brought much stability to the franchise leading them to four playoff appearances with a pair of AFC West division titles while winning double-digit games in the regular season four times. He had also put up some of the most productive campaigns that earned him his three Pro Bowl selections while with the team.
Smith was also coming off a career-best season in 2017. He posted career highs across the board with 4,042 passing yards with 26 touchdowns to just five interceptions while holding a league-best 104.7 passer rating. He also finished the year third with a 67.5 percent completion rate, eighth in passing yards, and ninth in touchdown passes.
The stability that Smith provided also helped pave the way for Hunt to have a breakout rookie campaign that saw him break numerous records while finish as the league-leader with 1,327 rushing yards. His absence could have an impact on his level of effectiveness next season as he adjusts to playing alongside second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes II.
Although the tea leaves were on the wall, it was still clearly a shocking move for many of Smith's now-former teammates to see transpire.
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