Alex Smith says he’s doing his best to embrace the “awkward” situation of Patrick Mahomes’ presence on the roster.
There’s no need to explain anything to Alex Smith. The Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback says he completely understands the team’s push to acquire Patrick Mahomes II in the 2017 NFL Draft, despite the “awkward” situation that it creates.
Smith calls the quarterback position the most important on the team and knows why the Chiefs had to do what they did. With so little guaranteed talent behind Smith on the team, with only Tyler Bray and Joel Stave as back-ups, the team had to secure a long-term future with a high-ceiling asset.
"“I get it,” said Smith on Wednesday. “If any of us were the GMs, this is, maybe the most timportant position in all of sports, and it would be crazy not to be stockpiling talent. You’d be nuts not to.”"
Smith says the best thing that he knows to do as the veteran starter is to “embrace” the scenario he’s in, to face it and make the best of it for all parties involved. He reached out to Mahomes after the draft and now the two are working together to make the situation the best it can be for the Chiefs going forward, not only in the short-term but the long-term as well.
"“I don’t think you want to shy away from anything — I just think you want to be real,” Smith said. “You want to be honest, almost even embrace (it). Sometimes it can be awkward, and it is. But you just embrace that and be real, and I think everybody kind of appreciates that. I just kind of emphasized that to him, that any of that extra curricular stuff that goes on elsewhere just doesn’t take place here. That’s just kind of the environment we have.”"
Smith has generated the immediate confidence of everyone around him in leadership, from head coach Andy Reid to general manager John Dorsey. The team has been vocal about having Smith start the 2017 season as soon as the team lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs, so there’s little reason for Smith to worry for now. When it comes to 2018, however, anything is possible.
Smith will serve his own interests for the long-term by making his play better in the short-term. Even if the Chiefs make the difficult decision to move on after a successful season, Smith will have plenty of teams scrambling for his services in the very near future.