When Former Chiefs QB Knew It Was Mahomes' Time

When head coach Andy Reid became the Kansas City Chiefs, he knew what quarterback he wanted to bring in and to Kansas City. He wanted a veteran quarterback who could be the leader of his team. Reid went after veteran quarterback Alex Smith when he first came to Kansas City. Reid turned Smith's career around in Kansas City as well.

Smith and Reid had their success during their time together in Kansas City. The Chiefs made the playoffs in all but one season when those two worked together in Kansas City. But the Chiefs and Reid wanted to get over the hump of losing in the playoffs and not getting to the Super Bowl.

So, the Chiefs started looking for a quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft. They ended up trading up and taking quarterback Patrick Mahomes in he first round of the 2017 draft. Mahomes sat behind Smith and learned the system and the NFL game in his first season.

But Reid had seen enough from Mahomes that after the 2017 season, he made the tough decision to move on from Smith and let Mahomes become the starter in 2018. And the rest is history for the Chiefs, and it is still going.

Smith recently spoke about it and knew when it was time for Mahomes to take over as the starter.

"I think as the season went on..." said Alex Smith on The Rich Eisen Show. "There were throws that he made throughout—you know, you'd see on the practice field and you'd start to see how fast he was processing—and then certainly that last game [of the 2017 season]. To go out there in an NFL game and play the way he did, I think everybody that was there that day knew that he was ready."