The trade that everyone thought would happen, has. The Kansas City Chiefs, who drafted their quarterback of the future last April have decided the future is now. The trade to Washington, while not unexpected, was a bit of a surprise destination. The popular take was that Washington would try to re-sign current QB Kirt Cousins but apparently that was not possible, or his price tag was out of line with their expectations. I think that HC Jay Gruden was not on the same page with Cousins and that Alex Smith was someone who he coveted working with. One good point is that, Alex Smith answers their QB question wright now… so Cousins became expendable.
The trade is reported to be for draft pick(s) and a player to be named later. The lure for Smith was satisfied by Wishington giving him a four year extension. That will take him through age 37. Perhaps in years past that would have seemed like a bad decision, now, with the healthy regimen that many QB athletes follow. Smith has just completed his best season as a pro with 4,042 passing yards, a league best 104.7 passer rating a TD/INT ratio of 26/5.
The huge plus for the Chiefs is that the departure of Smith now clears $17M off the books and gives the team the first step on the way to rebuilding.
The #Chiefs are trading QB Alex Smith to the #Redskins, source confirms (as @TerezPaylor reported). It involves picks and a player. Huge deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 31, 2018
This deal represents what you might expect from this Chiefs leadership: they did right by Alex Smith by sending him to a positive location. The deal is a good one for both teams. The Redskins not on will receive a compensatory pick for the exiting Cousins but an excellent QB in Smith while the Chiefs are getting multiple draft picks plus a player.
The #Redskins gave QB Alex Smith a 4-year extension worth $94M, source said. He gets a whopping $71M in guarantees.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 31, 2018
While everyone has expected this day to come, it’s a bit of a shock now that it’s here. The Chiefs Kingdom is saying goodbye to one of the best quarterbacks in Chiefs history and someone who has helped the team take the steps necessary to reaching a point where they have to be taken seriously week in and week out.
Where I come from, it is tradition to send off good players with well wishes. This one’s for you Alex:
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