Nothing is official yet, and nothing can be made official until the league year starts on March 12, but according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Chiefs and 49ers have settled on a trade, and quarterback Alex Smith will be shipped to Kansas City.
49ers have completed a trade with the Chiefs for Alex Smith, tho can't be official til March 12. Chiefs really made a commitment to Smith
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) February 27, 2013
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the compensation for the trade will be a 2nd round pick from this year's draft and possibly another pick next year.
With so much time between now and March 12, it's always possible that the trade could fall through or that another team could give the 49ers a better deal, which could start a bidding war for Smith. Still, the reports do confirm that Alex Smith will not be staying in San Francisco.
The biggest hurdle for the Chiefs will be Alex Smith's contract situation. At $7.5 million for one year, the Chiefs will likely be looking to sign the former first overall pick to a longer term deal and not risk the possibility of having him for only one season.
The trade opens up options for the Chiefs at the top of the draft order. With a quarterback in place, the Chiefs will likely be looking past Geno Smith to begin rebuilding their team. Offensive tackle Luke Joeckel has been a popular analyst pick at the top of the draft, but his combine performance wasn't great. Still, that shouldn't kill his stock value going into the draft, and the Chiefs will be looking to protect their new investment.
