KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Smith would like to stay in Kansas City. He just doesn’t want to waste his time dealing with the negotiations that could keep him with the Chiefs beyond next season.
"My agent and representatives handle all that," Smith said. "That’s why you hire them."
Smith did confirm that his agent, Tom Condon, has been talking with the Chiefs about a new deal. Smith is due to make $7.5 million in the final year of a contract he signed in 2012, when he was still a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
"I have no date as far as expectation (of getting a deal done)," Smith said on the first day of the off-season program. "I still have a year on my contract, so for me, no, I don’t have any expectations. I don’t know when it’ll get done."
Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid have both expressed their desire to keep Smith in Kansas City.
Smith completed 66 per cent of his passes with a career-best 23 touchdowns and only seven interceptions while leading a team that had been 2-14 the year before his arrival to an 11-5 mark and a spot in the playoffs. Kansas City lost to Indianapolis in the first round.
"I’ve played long enough, going into Year 10 now, it’s all year to year in my mind anyway," Smith said. "At this point, you have to continually prove yourself, so I don’t think it changes anything as far as my mindset or my approach to the game at all."
The Chiefs traded what turned out to be a second-round pick last season and their second-rounder this season to San Francisco to acquire Smith. That leaves them with only one pick in the first 86, and could make it difficult to surround their quarterback with help.
They’ve already lost left tackle Branden Albert and both of their right guards, Jon Asamoah and Geoff Schwartz, during free agency. They have also struggled to find a complementary wide receiver for Dwayne Bowe, and could select a wide receiver with their first-round pick.
Smith said he doesn’t worry about any of it.
"I knew some of that was to be expected. It’s tough. Those were all good players," he said. "I knew we weren’t going to keep everybody. That’s part of the deal."
Along with turning his focus toward next season, Smith is also working on a commencement address that he will deliver May 1 at Utah. He was approached a while back by the president’s office at his alma mater, though he wasn’t sure how far down he was on the pecking order.
"Humbled to give it. It’s kind of sitting in the back of my mind this entire off-season, knowing I have to give this speech," he said.
Asked if there was a theme, he glibly replied: "Yeah, they should work really hard on running fast and throwing the ball far."
