The possibility of keeping Alex Smith.

[Direckshun]

Alright, let's get down to some nitty gritty here, folks.

What if Alex Smith is amazing in 2017? The Chiefs hand will be forced -- keep him. 2018 will be the final year of his contract and it's a $20m cap hit. Not unreasonable for a guy playing extremely well.

So, what would the Chiefs have to do?

First, we pretty much have the cap met RIGHT NOW, assuming we bring back absolutely no one who is a free agent. So our cap is royally ****ed.

The two most popular ideas right now are cutting DJ/Hali, or letting them both retire, or whatever. Cutting them saves us a combined $15m. We likely have DJ's replacements already on the roster, and Ford will be entering his contract year in 2018.

We can also cut (or trade) Allen Bailey if we want to elevate RNR to a starting slot. Trading Bailey saves us $8m (and nets us a draft pick or whatever). Cutting him saves us $6m.

If Eric Fisher has a really good 2017, maybe we just extend/restructure him at the end of the season. That would lower his cap hit in 2018 (right now it's slated for $14m).

I wouldn't touch Allen Bailey, but I'd cut DJ/Hali and extend/restructure Fisher. That allows us to keep Mr. Smith and have roughly $20m in cap space, $5m of which can go to our rookie class.

I think it's non-negotiable that we bring back Terrance Mitchell, but he shouldn't cost a ton. Bennie Logan might be a good idea -- although, again, we could just play RNR at the nose and be fine (which is what I would do if we kept Smith on the roster).

So my recommendation, keeping Alex rather than trading him:

1. cut/retire DJ
2. cut/retire Hali
3. restructure/extend Fisher
4. extend Terrance Mitchell
5. let basically all of our FAs walk: De'Anthony, Fulton, Logan, Sherman, Albert Wilson, Gaines, Colquitt
6. make a few choice re-signings (Santos, KPL, maybe Gaines?)

That'll leave us thin at DL, OL, and OLB -- which I hate. And the best draft pick we'll have in 2018 will be at the very bottom of the 2nd.

But hey, if your QB is balling out, who cares?

Food for thought.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I think the Patriots have totally misplayed the Brady - Garoppolo situation and they should be the case study on not to handle the QB position.

They should have traded jimmy or moved on from Tom

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

They should have traded jimmy or moved on from Tom

I think they'd have traded Garapollo had they gotten a 2nd round offer for him. The rumors were that they wouldn't even take a 1st but that was an obvious smokescreen.

We'll never know, but Belichick has never been loathe to trade a player, let alone a backup QB, in the past (hell, he traded Brissett right before the season started). Had he been able to get a mid 2nd for JG, he'd have done it.

But Garapollo is starting to get an 'injury prone' label and nobody truly knows what they have there.

I'm not sure what else the Pats could've done. You don't trade Brady to clear a space for a guy like Garapollo who, apart from Patriot hype, hasn't shown a ton. And you don't just dump your backup when you have a 40 year old starter.

I think the Patriots have handled it fine.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by threebag02

Smith will get an extension (team friendly) and he will continue to run the offense. Mahomes will wait a couple years for his shot. It won't cost the Chiefs anything they aren't spending now to have two good quarterbacks. (Just in case something happens to one of them) The Chiefs have 3 years to get Mahomes on the field then they can sign him long term.

Andy's health may play a role in what happens to the roster in that time.

[Sassy Squatch]

I hope it happens just to see the kicking and screaming on CP.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I think they'd have traded Garapollo had they gotten a 2nd round offer for him. The rumors were that they wouldn't even take a 1st but that was an obvious smokescreen.

We'll never know, but Belichick has never been loathe to trade a player, let alone a backup QB, in the past (hell, he traded Brissett right before the season started). Had he been able to get a mid 2nd for JG, he'd have done it.

But Garapollo is starting to get an 'injury prone' label and nobody truly knows what they have there.

I'm not sure what else the Pats could've done. You don't trade Brady to clear a space for a guy like Garapollo who, apart from Patriot hype, hasn't shown a ton. And you don't just dump your backup when you have a 40 year old starter.

I think the Patriots have handled it fine.

Say they traded Jimmy G for at worst a 2nd and a conditional mid-rounder before the start of 2017. Then Brady blows his ACL against the Chiefs, forcing Brisset (or better yet some shiftless vet FA) to start. They go 4-12 or worse, they'll be in a better position to draft a dude that you can justify sitting a few years to wait out Brady's swan song.

If he doesn't get hurt then it doesn't really matter that they don't have Jimmy G anyway.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Say they traded Jimmy G for at worst a 2nd and a conditional mid-rounder before the start of 2017. Then Brady blows his ACL against the Chiefs, forcing Brisset (or better yet some shiftless vet FA) to start. They go 4-12 or worse, they'll be in a better position to draft a dude that you can justify sitting a few years to wait out Brady's swan song.

If he doesn't get hurt then it doesn't really matter that they don't have Jimmy G anyway.

"eh **** it, it'll make it easier to rebuild..." is not an acceptable attitude for a defending Super Bowl champion who'd added to their defense and had aspirations to repeat.

Not, it's not likely that JG would take them to a championship, but that was still a team that added weapons in several key areas. Garapollo can win 10-11 games with that team much like Cassel did.

It's not okay to write a season off when you're in the midst of a dynastic run. That's a losers mentality and one that we fell into when we were so desperate to get a QBOTF. For the Chiefs, it's a fair outlook and justifiable approach. For a team that's made more Super Bowls than it's missed over the last decade, that's not okay.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

"eh **** it, it'll make it easier to rebuild..." is not an acceptable attitude for a defending Super Bowl champion who'd added to their defense and had aspirations to repeat.

Not, it's not likely that JG would take them to a championship, but that was still a team that added weapons in several key areas. Garapollo can win 10-11 games with that team much like Cassel did.

It's not okay to write a season off when you're in the midst of a dynastic run. That's a losers mentality and one that we fell into when we were so desperate to get a QBOTF. For the Chiefs, it's a fair outlook and justifiable approach. For a team that's made more Super Bowls than it's missed over the last decade, that's not okay.

They had some great additions for sure but it's weird to me they didn't address the pass rush.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by O.city

They had some great additions for sure but it's weird to me they didn't address the pass rush.

They did. The guys that they brought in ended up on the IR.

[Black Bob]

You know what's gonna happen right? Things will be handled the Chiefs way. We will let Alex go and sign Drew Brees to start for a couple years. Lol

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

They did. The guys that they brought in ended up on the IR.

Losing Rivers and even McClellin (who I think had solid rotational pass rush ability) certainly didn't help. And Kony Ealy had the ability to be a boost as well.

No they didn't go get a premier pass-rush but I do think that adding 3 different guys that were guys who could get after the QB and get in that 5-8 sack range (better for Rivers) is a fair effort.

It just didn't work out. They were clearly loading up for this year; which is the absolute right approach for that team.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

They did. The guys that they brought in ended up on the IR.

**** you're right I forgot about them

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I think the Patriots have totally misplayed the Brady - Garoppolo situation and they should be the case study on not to handle the QB position.

Way to overreact over one game.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Way to overreact over one game.

Garoppolo should have been traded before this season began.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Garoppolo should have been traded before this season began.

Ah, no.

The main thing about Belichick is he's going to rip the bandaid off before it's too late.

What that means is Jimmy Garoppolo is getting the job in 2018 and Brady is released/traded/retires.

While fans obsess over hanging on to limpdick players, the elite teams stay one step ahead. Kraft has already given him the green light to dump Brady.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Ah, no.

The main thing about Belichick is he's going to rip the bandaid off before it's too late.

What that means is Jimmy Garoppolo is getting the job in 2018 and Brady is released/traded/retires.

While fans obsess over hanging on to limpdick players, the elite teams stay one step ahead. Kraft has already given him the green light to dump Brady.

That's yet to be seen. Yeah he can dump players before they drop off a cliff....but can he do it to the most important player on the team? Will he be able to do it and deal with the blowback from fans when it's time to dump Brady? Or will he just ride off into the sunset with Brady and go out on top?