Report: 49ers to trade Alex Smith to Chiefs
The 49ers have agreed to trade Alex Smith to the Chiefs. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images Sport)
The San Francisco 49ers will trade Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs, reports Jay Glazer on Twitter.
The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami reports San Francisco will receive Kansas City's second-round pick this year (34th overall) and "a similar pick" in 2014. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the 2014 pick will be a "conditional mid-round" selection.
Smith was having the best season of his career before an injury knocked him out of the lineup in November. Colin Kaepernick took over and led San Francisco to the Super Bowl. With a weak draft class and few other potential starters available, Smith was one of the top targets for teams looking to upgrade at quarterback.
CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reported Sunday that the 49ers had a deal for Smith "effectively completed." But the other team was not known at the time.
Most of the speculation pointed to the Chiefs, who struggled at quarterback last season. Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn split the job and combined to throw 20 interceptions and only eight touchdowns. The Chiefs hired former Eagles coach Andy Reid in the offseason, and improving at quarterback was expected to be among his top priorities.
Kansas City owns the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, normally a spot where teams find a quarterback. But this year's class -- headlined by prospects like West Virginia's Geno Smith and USC's Matt Barkley -- lacks a clear answer at the position so early in the first round.