The Kansas City Chiefs saw their Super Bowl hopes crushed after a disappointing 22-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans, which has made questions concerning Alex Smith's future grow louder. Smith has been the leader under center for the Chiefs since 2013, but with the rookie Patrick Mahomes patiently sitting on the bench to replace him, the Chiefs need to make some big decisions this offseason.

Smith and the Chiefs

In his five seasons with the Chiefs, Smith had a career record of 50-26 and led Kansas City to the playoffs in four of his five seasons.

Before Smith was brought into the organization, the Chiefs only made three postseason appearances since 2000.

Smith has thrown for 17608 passing yards, 102 passing touchdowns, and 33 interceptions in his time with the Chiefs. In 2017, Smith led the league in interception percentage and passer rating.

Though the Chiefs have been a top team in the league during the regular season since Smith was paired with Kansas City, the team only has one playoff win since the 1993 playoffs. While it is great to be able to make it into January football every year, it would be even nicer to win a game or two.

Assessing blame would be one of the first steps that the Chiefs organization will take before making a decision on Smith.

Is Smith the problem in Kansas City or is there something deeper than that? Maybe Andy Reid should have to worry about his job more than Smith, but the odds of Reid being out of the job or less likely, though this playoff loss had more to do with coaching than anything.

Smith or Mahomes

The last time a team got rid of Smith for a young, mobile gunslinger, that team found themselves in the Super Bowl the year they made the switch, but slowly declined until they were the worst team in the NFC West all in two seasons.

Now, Smith finds himself with the best passer rating in the league and Colin Kaepernick is roaming on the market, though that could be due to other reasons other than his skill.

It would be the smartest decision to move Smith out while he's playing at the top of his game because they can get the greatest value out of him. They are obviously prepared to part ways with the two-time Pro Bowler.

The Chiefs are open to trade offers for Smith come this off season and a team in dire need of a quarterback with a decent chunk of cap space and picks might be able to come around and scoop him up.

If they did trade Smith, do I think that Mahomes is going to bring the Chiefs to the playoffs next season? No. Do I think it would be worth making him a starting quarterback? Yes. Short-term, keeping Smith might be the best choice to make, but if you're looking at things for the long run, then Mahomes is the better option.

Mahomes has a lot of talent that he could bring to this team, but if he isn't on the field, then that is just talent wasted.

He needs time to develop as a quarterback, but he won't get that sitting on the bench. Peyton Manning wasn't great, or even good for that matter, in his first season as a starter and I don't think Mahomes will be great either, but just like other talented quarterbacks before him, he just needs time. Mahomes has the intangibles and capabilities of being a top 10 quarterback in the league if he is given the time to develop.

What should the Chiefs do?

Trade Smith. There are a lot teams out there that would have enough to give up to get Smith and a lot of teams in need of a playoff caliber quarterback.

Just off the top of my head, the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Jacksonville Jaguars would all be prime spots for Smith to end up. I imagine the Chiefs would like to send him to the NFC is possible because the Jets or Jaguars could be potential playoff threats.

Trade away Smith and add players that can help Mahomes thrive, in specific, a defense that can keep him in games, since the offense is already stacked with weapons. Patrick Mahomes is ready to lead this team.
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