Former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said he made a promise to support Patrick Mahomes after his team drafted the quarterback to be his successor in 2017.
Smith was ultimately traded to Washington ahead of the 2018 season in order for Mahomes to take over as the starter.
The former NFLer told ESPN’s Nate Taylor he didn’t want his relationship with Mahomes to be like that between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, who reportedly clashed after the Green Bay Packers drafted Rodgers as Favre’s heir apparent in 2005.
“Aaron and I were drafted the same year. I heard about he and Brett and that it wasn’t great. We signed up to play a team sport,” Smith told Taylor. “I remember just promising [Mahomes] that I would never undercut him.”
In Green Bay, Favre ultimately spent three more seasons as the Packers’ starter with Rodgers waiting in the wings. He later described himself and his former backup during the time as “strong enemies.”
Smith, on the other hand, spent just one season ahead of Mahomes in the depth chart before his trade away from Kansas City.
That trade reportedly didn’t come as a surprise to Smith. The former Chiefs quarterback told Rich Eisen he could tell by Mahomes’ progression at practice throughout the 2017 season that the rookie quarterback would be ready to start in 2018.
Both Mahomes and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid have credited Smith with helping the future Super Bowl MVP develop on the sideline in 2017.
Reid said in February, per NBC Sports’ Michael David Smith: “I’m not saying he couldn’t have been as great as he is now if he didn’t sit, but being with Alex Smith I thought was something you can’t buy. He was able to sit there and watch a guy who’s the ultimate professional, on and off the field, and just get an idea of the lay of the land of how things work in this league.”
Mahomes, meanwhile, said in a July appearance on CBS Mornings: “The next step you take, the more your mind’s in play more than your physical ability… when I really took that next step was that year I sat and learned that from Alex Smith. I’ve always been a guy that could physically make stuff happen, but when I learned how to make my mind really work, that’s when I really took that next step in my game.”
In part thanks to Smith’s mentorship, Mahomes and the Chiefs went on to win three Super Bowls over a five-year span between 2019 and 2023.
After a third straight trip to the Super Bowl ended in heartbreak to the Philadelphia Eagles this past February, the Chiefs will look to seek redemption by improving on their 2-2 start to the 2025 season, starting with Monday night’s Week 5 matchup at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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