Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

The Kansas City Chiefs, suffering from some of the worst quarterback play in the NFL and in desperate need of a replacement at the position, sought out someone to bring new life to their team. So, after some consideration, the team has targeted and acquired a yet-to-be-proven quarterback with a minuscule amount of success under his belt. He was hired away from a current back-up position where he was unhappy after being upended by a better quarterback. He was traded by his former team for a second-round draft pick. And, of course, he’s got a very, very tall task ahead of him in Kansas City.

You could have stopped me about ten words in. But that’s beside the point.

You could have been reading this exact same scenario four years ago. And when I say the same, I mean verbatim. Back then, it was Matt Cassel, whose blundering career as a Chief has finally come to a much-needed end — hopefully.

This time, it’s former San Francisco 49er Alex Smith, who, after being displaced from the starting position by the dynamic newcomer Colin Kaepernick, now finds himself in a new home.

But this is the same old story. The Chiefs and their quarterback woes have played out like a broken record. The team’s dedicated fan base has reached its boiling point. The tide has to change in KC. So some should probably wonder: If change is so necessary, so desired, so pleaded for, why is the team is making the same move it did in 2009?

Well, I’m wondering that, too. But before we start questioning the move, there are several things to take into consideration.

First of all, I think it’s safe to say that anyone with a pulse is probably a better option than Matt Cassel. Ask any Chiefs fan who has had to deal with his agonizingly frustrating, atrociously awful play. I’ve never seen a player so bad that watching him gave me gastrointestinal pains, and the Chiefs aren’t even my team. What’s worse is he was supposed to be the savior in town when he arrived from New England after performing quite soundly as Tom Brady’s fill-in for a year. That, as we all know, didn’t happen.

Secondly, the Chiefs’ timing couldn’t be worse. This is just a really bad year to need a quarterback. Of those floating around the league, the only viable names other than Smith were Philadelphia’s Nick Foles, whom the Philadelphia Eagles have deemed as not on the market, and Seattle’s Matt Flynn, who has only played in a handful of games in his NFL career.

And then there are the college prospects. We could certainly find our inner Mel Kiper Jr. and try to sift through the upcoming NFL draft candidates, but who among them really stands out? With a rather weak class of quarterbacks, it’s hard to pinpoint one that could fill the void better than Smith could. And if a team selects a player to be its franchise quarterback, it’s an enormous gamble. If he turns out to be a bust, it sets them back exponentially. Another Smith, Geno Smith of West Virginia, is probably the top QB, but he’s far too unpredictable.

But to say that KC should not draft a quarterback would be wrong, too. There are players who the Chiefs could target in later rounds, and I’d suggest they do so. But they aren’t the immediate answer.

This all leads us back to Alex Smith. While choosing him mirrors the decision made with Matt Cassel — many will cringe at the sound of it — it may be the only route for the Chiefs to take.

There are reasons to be excited in Kansas City. Things are looking up. They have new leadership with first-year head coach Andy Reid, who is a proven offensive genius. Perhaps the greatest coach to never win a championship — the Dan Marino of coaching, if you will — Reid is more than qualified to turn things around. In addition, the team has a stellar running game in Jamaal Charles, an improving defense and a young core of players who will fit nicely under the new systems set in place. The only thing they’re missing is a quarterback.

So, this is a dream scenario for Smith. He’s going to a place where he is _needed_. His coach is notorious for bringing out the best in any quarterback he puts on the field (Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, Jeff Garcia, Michael Vick to name a few).

Still, Kansas City would be much happier if it were in this situation last year. Alex Smith is the right guy now, but imagine if we’re talking about the team getting Robert Griffin III or Russell Wilson or, dare we say it, Peyton Manning. But the team can’t get anywhere living in a world of what-ifs. They have to take what they can get. And for right now, both the Chiefs and Alex Smith need each other — badly.