SANTA CLARA — Five years ago, the 49ers traded Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs, a familiar pasture that also welcomed ex-49ers quarterbacks such as Joe Montana, Steve DeBerg, Steve Bono and Elvis Grbac.
These days, the Chiefs are increasingly thankful to Smith, not only for what the quarterback did in his tenure there (four playoff berths in five seasons) but in how he mentored Patrick Mahomes, who’s taking the NFL by storm amid a 2-0, 10-touchdown start.
“You guys know Alex,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday on a conference call with Bay Area media.