For one quarterback, 2017 marked the beginning; for the other, the beginning of an end. But tension? No. Not between Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and the rookie his team had traded up for. Patrick Mahomes could play. Smith could help him play better, faster—if, that is, he wanted to mentor rather than stave off.
Their coach, Andy Reid, didn’t tell Smith to do anything, necessarily. But he still expected that Smith, one of the respected NFL players of the past 20 seasons, would anyway.
He did, welcoming Mahomes in all manner of ways except for asking whether the first-round draft pick wanted to move in. Smith would ping the group text chain on an off day, planning out a collective workout, lunch and film review session. On Thursdays, he’d organize the most coveted meal in Kansas City: “QB Dinner.” It was invite-only, position specifics required for entry. Some weeks they’d wear sweats, bring their kids and sample different BBQ spots—speaking from experience, everyone knows the best one is Jack Stack—while other times they’d dress up and take their wives or girlfriends out somewhere with white linen tablecloths.
