Report: 49ers set to deal Alex Smith to Chiefs

SANTA CLARA - A 49ers squad already bursting both with talented players and selections in the upcoming draft is soon to grow even richer.

The 49ers not only will trade quarterback Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs, it appears they will be rewarded more handsomely than previously expected.

The San Jose Mercury News reported Wednesday that the Chiefs have agreed to send their second-round pick this year, 34th overall, and a conditional pick in 2014 for the former 49ers starter. That 2014 pick currently is a third-round selection that could improve to a second-round pick if the Chiefs' win total in 2013 reaches a certain threshold, the newspaper reported.

The 49ers cautioned that any reports of a trade are "premature" given that a deal can't be official until the new league year begins March 12.

Arizona, for instance, also has expressed interest in Smith. But it's very hard to see another team topping the Chiefs' offer.

Kansas City's commitment also indicates that Smith is on board with the move and is seen as more than a stopgap on a Chiefs squad that won only two games last year. Smith and his wife, Elizabeth, recently had dinner with 49ers general manager Trent Baalke to discuss possible trade scenarios.

ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer, who played alongside Smith in 2006 and 2007, said Smith would quickly pick up new Chiefs coach Andy Reid's version of the West Coast offense. Smith has been playing in a West Coast attack for two years under 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and learned the system early in his career as well.

"Every quarterback wants to play in that system because you start the game with 10 completions that any quarterback can make," Dilfer said. "You get in a rhythm."

Once the trade is official, the 49ers will have five, top-100 picks in the draft: Nos. 31, 34, 61, 74, and 93. In addition, they are expecting a third- or fourth-round pick as compensation next month for losing wide receiver Josh Morgan in free agency a year ago.

In all, the 49ers expect to have 15 picks in the upcoming draft. That's plenty of ammunition to move up in the first round and target a player - perhaps a defensive lineman who can eventually replace Justin Smith - they covet. It also will remove Alex Smith's $8.5 million salary from the books for the upcoming season.

That's one of the reasons the 49ers had to move Smith. The other is that keeping him as a backup to Colin Kaepernick would have been unpopular in the 49ers' locker room. Indeed, several 49ers were quick to tweet their support once word of the deal broke.

Wrote safety Donte Whitner: "Good luck to Mr. Alex Smith. I know you'll do great under Andy Reid in KC. The ultimate pro!"

Added left tackle Joe Staley, perhaps Smith's best friend on the team: "Best of luck to Alex in KC. Amazing teammate, friend, and person. I know he will do great things there."

As coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in recent years, Reid had to deal with a boom-or-bust quarterback in Michael Vick.

In Smith, he will get the opposite.

Smith had one of the league's highest passer ratings - 104.1 - when he suffered a concussion Nov. 11 that set forth a series of events that led to him losing the starting job to Kaepernick. He threw 13 touchdowns against five interceptions in his nine starts this past season. In 2011, he had a league-low five interceptions and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game.

Kansas City, meanwhile, ranked fifth in the league in rushing offense in 2012 but got little out of quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn. They combined for a 63.9 passer rating, and the Chiefs finished last in the NFL in passing offense.

Dilfer said Reid was seeking a quarterback who made smart decisions while surveying the defense at the line of scrimmage.

"Alex is as good as anybody in the league at the line of scrimmage," Dilfer said.

• Read more articles by Matthew Barrows

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