Redskins trade for Alex Smith

https://arrowheadaddict.com/2018/02/08/clark-hunt-admits-alex-smith-trade-broncos-nope/

this tells me that AS is not going to be another McNabb, KC still believes he can play at a high level, they just want to get Mahomes career going

Had Alex Smith avoided a midseason slump for the Kansas City Chiefs, he would have been much higher this list, because his play to begin and end the year was spectacular and the best he has played in the NFL. Smith ended the season with an overall PFF grade of 87.2 despite that midseason lull and led the league with a passer rating of 131.4 on deep passes.

PFF Elite Stat: Smith’s passer rating on deep passes in 2017 was 131.4, which stood 19.8 points higher than any other signal-caller in the league and was by far his career-best.

This article by Keim brings up such an interesting discussion point.

The Redskins' thinking for more than a year has been: If they don’t have Brady or Aaron Rodgers, they don’t want to pay a quarterback at the upper end of the pay scale. So without that sort of quarterback, pay less for a quality QB and build around him. Of course, it’s hard to do the latter, just as it’s hard to find a good starting quarterback.

http://www.espn.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/35592/jimmy-garoppolos-deal-a-reminder-why-redskins-opted-for-alex-smith

Was Bruce Allen right all along?

I've been happy with it since day 1, I was scared to death that Colt would be the guy but Bruce and Co. fixed that quick

This article by Keim brings up such an interesting discussion point.



http://www.espn.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/35592/jimmy-garoppolos-deal-a-reminder-why-redskins-opted-for-alex-smith

Was Bruce Allen right all along?

He might be right on the financial part but it's way too early to declare anything about the trade being the smart play. If Kirk goes to Denver or Minny and wins a SB and all we get is 3 years of average qb play for 71+ mil guaranteed it def. ain't a winner.

He might be right on the financial part but it's way too early to declare anything about the trade being the smart play.

You're right, ultimately you can't judge this without judging how the Redskins do with Smith at the helm, how well Fuller contributes in KC, and how well Kirk performs with his new team.

At this point all we can really do is wax philosophically about it. How much of your cap (on a % basis) should your QB take up before it ends up hurting you?

And it's really hard to judge based on history. For instance, Stafford and Carr are paid among the highest in the league. Their teams didn't make the playoffs this year. But is that because the QBs are overpaid, or is it because the front office didn't put enough around them with the resources available, or is it because of coaching shortcomings?

It's hard to even form an opinion where the tipping point is for QB salaries because ultimately it's a team game. Maybe that's the biggest case of all in favor of Bruce drawing a line in the sand with Cousins- the thinking being no single player deserves that much money in what is ultimately a team game.

I will undoubtedly miss Fuller. And it remains to be seen what Cousins gets paid. But right now, I'd have to lean towards Smith at $23.5 minus Fuller as being a better deal than keeping Fuller and Cousins at whatever he's going to get on the open market.

I think being the one team willing to draw a line in the sand on QB salaries takes balls, and because it's the Redskins everyone will naturally ridicule the move. But the Redskins might be right.

I mean in all honesty Kirk could have said "You know I'll take less to build a winner" yeah I get it, that is not on him and he doesn't owe the skins anything but Romo did it for Dallas, Eli the Giants, Brady the pats... It does happen.

I mean in all honesty Kirk could have said "You know I'll take less to build a winner" yeah I get it, that is not on him and he doesn't owe the skins anything but Romo did it for Dallas, Eli the Giants, Brady the pats... It does happen.

Gotta want to be somewhere to want to help. He didn't want to be here. He was blowing platitudes and smoke up our rears.

So nice to have it resolved early. We can all move on now, including Kirk (don't get greedy and tag him). An extra 3rd rounder next year will be nice.

You're right, ultimately you can't judge this without judging how the Redskins do with Smith at the helm, how well Fuller contributes in KC, and how well Kirk performs with his new team.

At this point all we can really do is wax philosophically about it. How much of your cap (on a % basis) should your QB take up before it ends up hurting you?

And it's really hard to judge based on history. For instance, Stafford and Carr are paid among the highest in the league. Their teams didn't make the playoffs this year. But is that because the QBs are overpaid, or is it because the front office didn't put enough around them with the resources available, or is it because of coaching shortcomings?

It's hard to even form an opinion where the tipping point is for QB salaries because ultimately it's a team game. Maybe that's the biggest case of all in favor of Bruce drawing a line in the sand with Cousins- the thinking being no single player deserves that much money in what is ultimately a team game.

I will undoubtedly miss Fuller. And it remains to be seen what Cousins gets paid. But right now, I'd have to lean towards Smith at $23.5 minus Fuller as being a better deal than keeping Fuller and Cousins at whatever he's going to get on the open market.

I think being the one team willing to draw a line in the sand on QB salaries takes balls, and because it's the Redskins everyone will naturally ridicule the move. But the Redskins might be right.

IIRC 14.5%. But it's a moot point as it seems Kirk doesn't want to be here. Remember he wanted to be with a winner, and we weren't a winner under Kirk. If he blames that on everybody else it was doomed from the start of the losing.

Of course we'll know how important winning is to him when he goes elsewhere. If he takes less money to go to Denver or Minny, then yeah he's about that life. If he goes to Cleveland because they outbid everyone else, than he's not.

I mean in all honesty Kirk could have said "You know I'll take less to build a winner" yeah I get it, that is not on him and he doesn't owe the skins anything but Romo did it for Dallas, Eli the Giants, Brady the pats... It does happen.

When did Eli Manning ever take a pay cut for the Giants?

Tony Romo said he would at one point, but did he ever follow through?

Tom Brady is taking less than he could have gotten, after a big contract in 2010. You could say that's Tom Brady, or that's his richer wife.

But rather than ask the extraordinary of Kirk Cousins, why not consider this as proof the Redskins FO lowballed Kirk: They are paying more for Smith this season, around 23 mil, than they could have had Cousins signed for a LTD. As low as 20 mil, But Snyder and Allen rejected it.