Chase Daniel: Should Chiefs be exploring a trade?

The Kansas City Chiefs first preseason game was on Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals, and they came away with their first “victory” of the season.

Several players during the game stood out in Arizona. Fred Williams had the best game for Chiefs wide receivers, catching six passes for 82 yards and a score. Running back Charcandrick West also stood out in the run and pass game, combining for 92 total yards.

But perhaps the most impressive player was the one that many thought would be long gone from Kansas City this offseason, former Mizzou Tiger Chase Daniel. Daniel stood out among the entire team, completing 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards with three scores.

His performance got a lot of the Kingdom talking about his value to the team. Daniel is entering his third year of a three-year deal, making about $3.8 million to be a backup.

His contract is quite steep in comparison to the rest of the league for backup quarterbacks. A great example thanks to SportTrac.com Daniel’s 2015 cap hit is $4.8 million. Compare that to a potential starter for the Buffalo Bills and former Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel. It is only $50,000 more. He will actually be making more than current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, which is staggering to think about.

Many thought he might be a cap casualty with the Justin Houston contract needing to get done, or maybe reworked. Neither happened and the Chiefs find themselves with an overpaid backup.

However, that could possibly not be the case in the coming weeks.

As teams continue to go at it full speed there will be a string of injuries to quarterbacks. It happens every year. Some are not even on the field as New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith found out when he as cold-cocked and broke his jaw.

Now, not saying having a sure-fire backup in Daniel is a bad thing. He is a great backup. He has shown in the times he has taken over for Alex Smith that he is a viable option if Smith ever goes down.

Aug 15, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Fred Williams (83) celebrates with quarterback Chase Daniel (10) after a second quarter touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in a preseason NFL football game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

However, Daniel might very well be a starter on another team if given the chance to compete for the job. He is not going to beat out Smith for the job in Kansas City. Smith has shown he is a good quarterback and one of the most winning quarterbacks over the last few years.

So the question remains; if the Chiefs are not going to reduce his salary, or cut him, is there trade value?

Daniel will not bring a higher than a third-round pick. Not many backups get traded for even that high a price. Perhaps more realistically he could warrant perhaps a fifth-round pick from a team interested in him. Expecting anything higher than the fourth or fifth is too high a price.

Could there be a player swap? Maybe, but obviously it would not be a big-name player from another team. And to be honest, who knows what kind of player swap there could be. The Chiefs don’t really have a pressing need for a positional player right now.

They do have some injuries, but nothing so serious they will start to look for trade partners with Daniel on the table.

Daniel is a solid backup for Kansas City . If Smith, heaven forbid, should ever go down, he will be a great replacement.

If, for some reason Daniel does leave K.C., he would be a great option for a starter for a worthy team, but for now Chiefs fans can rest assured that Daniel is in the wings.

Let you have it, Addicts. Do you think there is trade value in Daniel? What would you like to see in return for the former Tigers star? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.

GO CHIEFS!