Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
"No reason to just outright cut..."
Sure there is - if you believe Mahomes can give you average play at the position, you cut Smith. That's it. You don't pay for a $17 million backup quarterback. The opportunity cost is far too great.
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Even IF there's that possibility, they'd be better off keeping Smith until just before Week 1 at his current salary, just in case there's a possible trade.
As for my understanding, Smith's $14.6 million dollar salary won't guaranteed until Week 1 of the season, so while they might take a gamble on his roster bonus and workout bonus ($2.5), they'd still eat his prorated $3.6, regardless of when he's cut.
Peter King mentioned this morning that in 2011, QB's when 8-10-12 (Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder). Only Gabbert's still in the league and that's as a Vet Min backup with the Cards.
It's a long ways into the future and no one knows what the future holds. Expecting Mahomes to be ready Week 1 to take over and lead this team to double digit wins and the playoffs is setting up very high expectations, IMO, especially when the kid hasn't taken an NFL snap.