Kansas City hasn't been particularly successful in recent years; you may be surprised to learn they haven't won a playoff game since 1994. But they've now landed one of the league's more successful head coaches since then in Andy Reid, and it looks like they're determined to get things straightened out in a hurry.
Last week came news that the team had traded for Alex Smith -- not a marquee quarterback, but an upgrade on what they've been putting out there the last few years. And yesterday they made sure that two critical pieces of the offense would return in 2013, inking Dwayne Bowe to a multi-year deal and franchising left tackle Brandon Albert.
Oh yeah, they also locked up their Pro Bowl punter.
The most interesting thing about the Smith and Albert moves is that quarterback and offensive tackle are typically the favorites to go No. 1 overall in the draft; Kansas City of course owns that No. 1 pick. There's not a quarterback viewed as deserving of the top spot, but there are a couple of tackles in contention (Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel, Central Michigan's Eric Fisher). With Albert retained for at least this season, Kansas City could look to trade down, acquiring more picks and (in theory) stockpiling additional talent.
It all ended poorly for Reid in Philadelphia, and it remains to be seen if their investment in Alex Smith will be worth the money/draft picks. But keeping Bowe and Albert around is a plus for the franchise. Things could be looking up in Kansas City.
--Andy Richardson