Alex Smith jokes his influence on Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes didn’t include ketchup usage
Former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith opened some eyes with his comments to GQ magazine about not being welcomed back by Washington after recovering from a devastating leg injury.
But Smith also did a funny video segment with GQ called “Alex Smith Goes Undercover on Reddit, YouTube and Twitter.” And that’s just what it sounds like as Smith responded to comments on the social-media channels.
In two instances, Smith provided comments to Twitter users who mentioned his impact on the development of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes when they were teammates in 2017.
The first came from a Twitter user who wrote: “Are we sure Mahomes becomes who he is as quickly if he doesn’t sit? Didn’t look nearly as good in preseason or his (lone) game his rookie year, has said many times sitting behind Alex Smith led him to better recognizing defensive schemes.”
Smith cracked a joke about Mahomes’ love of ketchup and then noted there are things Mahomes does that no one could teach.
“I still couldn’t break him of his ketchup habit, apparently either,” Smith said in a video. “Again, this is really flattering. You know, maybe if I was a little better at reading the situation I could have seen that I was gonna get traded that year.
“To even say I have a small sliver of the Chiefs’ and Pat’s trajectory is flattering. Again, the left-handed passes, I wish I had been the one taking those notes while we were together.”
And, yes, Smith really did respond (or someone did for him) with the Twitter handle “ActuallyAlexSmith84.”
The next Twitter comment: “How much if any credit for the Chiefs success goes to Alex Smith for his professionalism and mentor ship during @PatrickMahomes first year?”
Smith offered up another humorous answer: “Well, I would probably say most if not all the credit probably deserves to go to me. No, honestly, I hear some of this talk, and it’s really flattering. You know, my time there in KC was really special to me and still is, but I’m so happy for what these guys are doing.
“I wish I’d taught Pat how to throw sidearm across the field while backpedaling, you know, but I didn’t. I was an early pick in my career. I remember how hard it was and I played right away and it was really difficult and I took my lumps. And you have no choice in where you go.
“So when Pat got drafted, I mean, it’s not like he chose the situation. So for me, I think also to be a good teammate, even when it’s not necessarily convenient for you, was important to me.
“And also to help out another young quarterback, I felt like I’d been there, so it was easier for me to relate to some of the things that he may be going through.”
You can watch Smith answer these questions and others in the GQ video.
This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 9:58 AM.
