Pat McManamon of ESPN reports that the Browns offered one of their second-round to the Chiefs for QB Alex Smith. However, the Browns weren’t willing to pay to Smith the four-year, $94 million contract he got from the Redskins.
McManamon says that the Browns are expected to use one of their two first-round picks on a quarterback.
Mary Kay Cabot first reported that the Browns tried to trade for Smith too before Kansas City agreed to send him to the Redskins for a 2018 third-round pick and CB Kendall Fuller.
There were other teams interested in Smith including the Cardinals, but Kent Somers reports that the Chiefs became focused solely on trading Smith to the Redskins, which is why a deal with the Cardinals never gained any serious traction.
It’s worth mentioning that the Browns will have around $110 million of available cap space to work with this offseason.
Smith, 33, is a former first-round pick of the 49ers back in 2005. After seven years in San Francisco, Smith was traded to the Chiefs in 2013.
Smith is in the fourth year of his five-year, $76 million contract that includes $45 million guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $10.8 million for the 2017 season.
According to OverTheCap.com, trading Smith will free up $17 million of available cap space while creating $3.5 million in dead money.
In 2017, Smith appeared in 15 games for the Chiefs and threw for 4,042 yards while completing 67.5 percent of his passes to go along with 26 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 355 yards and a touchdown. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 7 quarterback out of 40 qualifying players.
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