On Sunday and Monday, league sources said that the San Francisco 49ers do not currently have a trade deal in place that would make quarterback Alex Smith a member of another NFL team. However, that doesn't mean that the team does not have a deal with another team ready to go once March 12 hits. No player trade can be made official until the start of the league year on that date.
There had been much speculation that the Kansas City Chiefs were very interested in the 49ers quarterback. In late January, it was reported that new Chiefs head coach Andy Reid really liked Smith.
On Sunday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported on Twitter that the 49ers had expressed that a deal to trade Alex Smith is already done and will be finalized once free agency begins.
@JasonLaCanfora:
The 49ers have expressed to others that a deal for QB Alex Smith is effectively complete. Can't be finalized til league year begins 3/12 so it's not official, both clubs view it at as it's effectively done. I do not know the other team. KC and JAX are 2 teams that make sense
Jacksonville Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell was quick to text Ryan O'Halloran, a beat writer of the Florida Times-Union, that the Jaguars were not the team that had a deal in place for Smith.
The Cleveland Browns, another team linked with possibly wanting Smith, said that they were not the team either.
That strengthened speculation that the Chiefs were the ones that had a working agreement to trade for Smith. CSN Bay Area's Matt Maiocco expressed two reasons why the Chiefs would be very interested in Smith. One being that Chiefs GM John Dorsey said that there is not one quarterback in this year's draft where one could say, "He's a first-round pick."
The other reason being the way Smith dealt with his mid-season demotion as the 49ers transitioned from Smith to second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who would lead the team to the Super Bowl. This would bode well for the Chiefs, who may look to draft a 'quarterback of the future' in this year's draft.
On Monday, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee said that the team will continue to shop Smith. Obviously they will try to get the best offer that they can, even if they are already working on a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Pro Football Central even went as far as to state that they believe the Chiefs would be willing to ship their third round selection (63rd overall) as well as another pick to the 49ers for Alex Smith. However, it is unknown if this is speculation or if there is an actual source for this report.
After stating that the 49ers would keep shopping Smith, Matt Barrows answered a question on Twitter from a fan asking if La Canfora was wrong about his report of a trade deal:
@mattbarrows:
Not wrong. 49ers feel conf. @ future trade; but not done shopping.