Alex Smith and Michael Vick have had two pretty similar careers. Outside of a trip to prison for Vick, he and Smith have both had injury issues and have been extremely inconsistent in the past several seasons.
Unlike Vick, Smith will be adjusting to a new team this season. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs after spending the first seven years of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. After being benched and put back in to the lineup several times, he was finally received the permanent hook last season when he was replaced after 10 games by Colin Kaepernick.
Vick has had just as a tumultuous past few seasons, finding new life on the Eagles after being out of the league for three seasons, serving prison time and a suspension from the league for his involvement in a dog fighting ring. Philadelphia hasn’t been all that kind to him, as Vick has missed 17 games in his four seasons with the Eagles. Vick’s in the league is coming to an end at the age of 33, but he is hoping to get the Eagles back on track this season with new coach Chip Kelly.
Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Heading into this season, there is no doubt that Smith will be the starter for the Chiefs for the entire season, barring an injury. The only other quarterbacks in Kansas City are Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray and Ricky Stanzi and Smith has far more talent and experience than any of them.
Smith was on pace to have his best season as a pro before he sustained a concussion and was replaced by Kaepernick. Through 10 games, Smith had career-highs in completion percentage and rating and was on pace to have the most touchdowns in his career. But 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh decided Kaepernick gave the team a better chance to win, thus ending Smith’s time in San Fran.
This season, expect Smith to have similar numbers. He is coming in to some quality talent on the Chiefs, with superstar Jamaal Charles at running back and Pro Bowler Dwayne Bowe as his No. 1 wide receiver. But Smith has always struggled with consistency, so there’s also enough evidence to say his numbers will go back to 2010, when he played in 11 games and threw 14 touchdowns as well as 11 interceptions.
Projected Stats (16 games): 3,100 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, nine interceptions
Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
Like Smith, Vick has struggled to stay on the field, only playing in one full seasons in his 11-year career. Since joining the Eagles, Vick has had a tough time limiting his turnovers, throwing 30 interceptions and losing 13 fumbles in the past three seasons. His completion percentage was also the lowest last season of his three seasons as starter in Philly, and he only threw 12 touchdowns, his lowest as a starter since 2003 when he only played in five games for the Atlanta Falcons.
During his time in Atlanta, Vick was best known for making plays with his legs, but he got away from that in 2012, only running for 332 yards on 62 attempts, his lowest numbers since 2009. Vick’s age is probably the main reason for that, but Philadelphia’s offensive line has also been struggling, allowing opposing defenses to get to Vick quicker than before.
If he can stay healthy, Vick may still have something in the tank, but Kelly is unwilling to even name Vick the starter and his battle with Nick Foles is likely to be one of the top stories this offseason. If Vick is named the starter in Week 1, he could be worth a backup but don’t expect him to play in 16 games and be ready for a lot of turnovers.
Projected stats (16 games): 2,800 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
The Verdict
Smith is the sexiest of picks, but he is a much more reliable backup fantasy quarterback than Vick. Neither of these guys should be a QB1, but Smith is more likely to be playing in any given week than Vick and still has more left in the tank than Vick.