KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Top veteran quarterbacks don't come available very often. The last one was in 2012, when Peyton Manning left the Indianapolis Colts for the Denver Broncos.

When one does hit the market, every team that even thinks it might have a need at quarterback has to at least investigate.

The last time Tony Romo played a full season without missing a game was in 2012. Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

That's why this year, with the Dallas Cowboys dangling Tony Romo, the Kansas City Chiefs need to weigh the risks and rewards of making the move against those of keeping the status quo.

It won't be an easy decision, mainly because Romo has much wear and tear on a body that turns 37 in April. He hasn't played a full season since 2014, and anyone who says he can survive one in 2017 is just guessing.

But it better have at least occurred to the Chiefs that they might have gone as far as they can with Alex Smith as their quarterback.

Smith has been good enough for the Chiefs during the regular season, when they've won 43 games since he was acquired as their starting quarterback in 2013. That's a total exceeded only by the three most recent Super Bowl champions -- the Patriots, Seahawks and Broncos.

The Chiefs are 1-3 in the playoffs with Smith as their quarterback. The losses were to Andrew Luck and the Colts, Tom Brady and the Patriots and Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. His only playoff win came against Brian Hoyer and the Texans.

Quarterback may indeed be what separates the Chiefs from the teams in the conference championship games. Otherwise, the Chiefs have a roster good enough to put them in the AFC title game.

But they don't have a Roethlisberger or a Brady, an Aaron Rodgers or a Matt Ryan. Romo could give them one.

Romo threw 34 touchdown passes over 15 games in 2014. That's more than twice the number Smith had in 2016. Romo threw for a career-high 4,900 yards as recently as 2012. Smith threw a career high of 3,500 yards in 2016.

It's hard to deny the boost the Chiefs would get with Romo.

The decision is much more complex. Even if he's healthy and lasts a full season, there's no telling whether Romo would be the same player he was earlier in his career. He is at the age where many quarterbacks start to lose their skills. Squeezing Romo's contract into an already challenging salary cap situation is another matter that would have to be resolved.

Acquiring Romo would be a bold move for the Chiefs, one that comes with many risks. But after losing in the divisional round of the playoffs in each of the past two years, the Chiefs on their current course look like they'll never get to a Super Bowl.