NFL

"There was a courtship last year, to a certain degree," Dilfer said. "I don't know a whole lot. I just know there was a courtship. It was not even an inside source, you know what I mean? It was just kind of the scuttle in the offseason." Dilfer and Smith are close friends from their days as teammates in 2006-07, and Smith was available on the 2012 free agent market for roughly a week before signing a three-year, $24 million deal to stay in San Francisco. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that the Chiefs were one of the teams already showing interest in Smith. The tea leaves suggest Kansas City is the early favorite to land Smith via trade, likely for a middle-round pick.