NFL Free Agency Hasn't Even Started, And The Kansas City Chiefs Are Spending Money Like Crazy
Last week they traded the 34th overall pick and a 2014 third-round pick for San Francisco 49ers outcast Alex Smith. He's owed $8.5 million this year and the conventional wisdom is they wouldn't have traded for him if they weren't going to sign him long-term.
They followed it up with a flurry of moves today.
They signed wide receiver Dwayne Bowe to a five-year deal, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. The terms aren't known, but Bowe would have been a top-10 free agent so it's probably close to ~$10 million per year.
They also placed the franchise tag on offensive tackle Branden Albert, which costs ~$10 million for 2013.
To top it all off, they made Dustin Colquitt the highest-paid punter in the NFL, paying him $18.75 million over five years.
So they're definitely making moves, but whether or not they're smart moves is an open question.
Two relatively high picks for Alex Smith is steep. Smith played excellently last year, but he was also on a run-first offense that got better after he was benched. Before 2012, Smith was always considered nothing more than a replacement-level QB.
The two signings look good on paper. Both Bowe and Albert would have been hotly pursued free agents. But they were both on the team last year and they still lost 14 games.
We'll let Grantland's Bill Barnwell analyze the Colquitt deal:
The Chiefs are betting that last year was a fluke, and that they're way closer to Super Bowl contention than their 2-14 record in 2012 indicated.
That's a crazy bet, but it should make for an intriguing beginning to the Andy Reid era in KC.