The NFL Scouting Combine is still underway in Indianapolis and the biggest to come out of the event has nothing to do with college prospects, as reports came out that Alex Smith is being traded and a deal is complete.
Reports are coming from CBSSports.com and SBNation.com that the team is the Chiefs, although that has not been confirmed by the San Francisco 49ers. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee said that the team does not have a trade in place for Smith yet, but they will soon.
No matter what happens, no deal can go thorough until the new league year begins and that still leaves a solid amount of time for the 49ers to finalize a trade to the Chiefs or another team like the Cleveland Browns. If the deal is for the Chiefs, it would open up new deals for Tim Tebow or Matt Flynn around the NFL, as they would be the likely next players to be moved.
Kansas City was expected to be in the running for one of those quarterbacks and if not, there was a good chance they would draft one of them with the number one overall pick. The team has some options in Mike Glennon and Geno Smith, but if they grab Smith instead, that would give head coach Andy Reid a chance to take another position at the top, including someone like Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M.
Smith was having an excellent season before suffering a concussion and was one of the top completion percentages among quarterbacks in the league, but Jim Harbuagh decided to bring in Colin Kapeernick for the rest of the year and clearly that worked out as the 49ers made it to the championship before losing to the Baltimore Ravens. The fact that Kaepernick was made the starter made speculation that Smith would be traded a near certainty.
If Smith does go to the Chiefs, it would be a huge upgrade over players like Brady Quinn and Matt Cassel, who were extremely disappointing as the team went just 2-14 last year. The trade would also open up options for Matt Flynn and Tim Tebow, who could be the next to go for teams that are looking for quarterbacks like the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars have said they are not interested in Tebow, but Flynn could be an interesting option as he was made expendable despite signing a big free agent contract last year when Russell Wilson became the starter,
The Cleveland Browns are also under a new regime of head coach and general manager and could be in the running for another quarterback after having a rough season under rookie Brandond Weeden. Both teams could be going after Flynn now that Smith is off the market and he could provide a slight upgrade over the rookie passer.
