The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off an impressive win over the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in Week 1. Veteran quarterback Alex Smith had the game of his life out playing superstar Tom Brady at Foxborough by throwing four touchdowns and leading the Chiefs to a dominant victory on the road, 42-27.
Although the Chiefs got off to a strong start and could be on their way to solid season, Smith is thinking about the future, and he seems to believe this may be his last season in Kansas City. Smith recently made an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger and didn't hold back on his thoughts about the future.
Smith said the following about whether this could be his last season with the Chiefs.
“For sure,” Smith told Bensinger. “It absolutely does. Without a doubt. I only say that because my mindset when I got traded here was no different. Like this could be my only year here…structurally the contracts don't…the guarantees are less, and that's just the reality. You've got to prove yourself year in and year out. If you can't get the job done, every team is going to try to find somebody else that can. That's the reality of the deal. I don't care who you are. That's the thing; you cease to be this developmental project. A rookie guy that's on a rookie contract that maybe has years to grow.
“You're a veteran. You're expected to perform and play at a certain level, and if you don't, they're not just going to keep going. They're going to try and find somebody else that can, and so, no different this year than every year. That's just been the way it is. I don't think that's a bad thing either, necessarily. I think every player would love to say they have a ton of guarantee, but that's it. You're going year to year. This will be my 13th year in the league. That's the nature of the business at this point anyway.”
Article Continues BelowThe Chiefs selected a promising young quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft in Patrick Mahomes. The team seems to feel as if he's the future face of the franchise and ultimately Smith's successor.
With that being said, it's not all that surprising that Smith would feel as if his time in Kansas City coming to an end even with the Chiefs being a playoff-caliber team year in and year out.
If the Chiefs struggle at any point this season, it'll be interesting to see whether the team starts to consider making the transition to Mahomes. At this point, however, Smith is playing well and could hold onto that starting job a little longer if that continues.