Alex Smith traded to the Chiefs

Eric Branch reports that Kaepernick spoke highly, and carefully, of Smith when asked about his take on the deal. “Nothing can be finalized yet. Whether Alex is with us or he is somewhere else next season, he has been a great teammate, a great friend, (and) a great mentor. Anywhere he goes - or if he is still with us - he is going to be successful,” said Kaepernick on the NFL Network.

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• Alex Smith completed 70.2 percent of his passes in 2012 for 1,737 yards, 13 TD, 5 INT, 8.0 yards per attempt, and a QB rating of 104.1. He is still just 29 years old.

We also know that no quarterback prospect in this particular draft seemed to fit all that well with Kansas City. The consensus top prospect at the position, Geno Smith, comes with more question marks than your average “top overall” pick. In general, the top of this draft is particularly “whelming” for many onlookers and there seem to be better years to have a top 10 pick. Especially if you want a quarterback.

Smith was performing well before going down, as he was completing an absurd 70 percent of his passes. However, he lacked the big-play ability of Kaepernick, and wasn’t able to produce the dominating games that he did.

Kansas City now gets an accurate, steady quarterback. He will be an upgrade of last season’s mess, but he isn’t the type to dramatically improve an offense’s output.

The first major move of the 2013 NFL offseason occurred Wednesday as San Francisco and Kansas City agreed to a deal which will make Alex Smith a Chief. Smith, however, was just one of several players thought to be available via a trade, and Wednesday’s deal could set the market for other available quarterbacks.

The Eagles could ask for a larger return in exchange for Foles. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Foles could be had for a third-round pick, but that was before the Smith deal. While Foles’ track record doesn’t quite match Smith’s, he is cost-controlled for three more seasons under his rookie contract. Smith is scheduled to be a free agent after next season and will cost significantly more than Foles over the next three seasons.

That left Alex Smith as the best option available for the Chiefs. And that’s why Kansas City made the move that they did.

Smith is a clear upgrade for the Chiefs, so in terms of roster development, it’s a solid move. However the rumored price tips the scales in another direction. Smith, after all, is not without question marks of his own, and the supposed price tag of a second-round choice in the upcoming NFL Draft along a similar future pick makes this cost prohibitive.

Heading into the day, the Niners already likely had 14 picks to work worth. Eleven of the picks are set in stone, with four coming from trades made in previous years. Three more are likely compensatory picks, though those will not be officially determined until March.

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The deal is in place, but can’t be official until March. Glazer said the “compensation (is) unclear but I’m told again Chiefs have made a clear commitment to Smith.”

Subsequent reports have pegged the compensation as involving a second-round pick and possible two.

For San Francisco, it makes much more sense to trade Smith to the Chiefs. Why send a quarterback upgrade to a division rival when you can ship Smith to the AFC, seeing him only once every four years?

The Chiefs believe they can get the best out of Smith -- the highest rated passer at the time of his benching last season -- with new head coach Andy Reid in the fold.

From Ian Rapoport on Twitter:

To recap: The Chiefs, Browns, and Cardinals are all rumored to have interest, but there is nothing verifying anything.

Smith is due $8.5 million in 2013 and the Cardinals would have to shuffle some things around to fit him under the cap, but releasing Kolb would go a long way to making enough room for Smith.

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Alex Smith is on his way out of San Francisco. According to some reports, it’s a matter of who Smith is traded to and when, not a matter of if.

After all, Chiefs’ quarterbacks posted a quarterback rating of 63.8 in 2012 -- the second-lowest number in the entire NFL. As pass-happy as Reid is, he needs a smart and accurate quarterback to fit his system -- and Alex Smith is just that.

Smith may never live up to his high draft status, but he’ll be a passable stopgap for a team looking to develop a young quarterback.

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