Redskins trade for Alex Smith

[Buffalo Bob]

Admitted I am new to being a Redskin fan as I adopted them as my favorite team when I escaped California to Virginia in 2011. I have followed the NFL since I was 5, and I liked many Redskin players, #44 was my favorite. When I lived in Cali I was a 49er fan for 40 years .

That being said I know all about Alex Smith, the guy that even after posting a 100 QB rating for a half season lost his job to Colin Kaepernick. Alex Smith the person is a great teammate and human being, but as an NFL QB he is nothing but a better version of Trent Dilfer. He is the quintessential game manager. I don't care about his stats, watch him play. Some guys are better than what the box score shows, others are worse. Smith is the later. He is extremely risk averse, even when caution should be thrown to the wind.

I don't understand the overwhelming joy most of you have over acquiring Smith. Next season he will have all of you pulling your hair out. With all the holes the Redskins have to plug with Smith the Redskins will be lucky to win 6 games. The benefit will be all of the 10 losses will be close, but they will be losses none the less.

[BaltimoreSkins]

Originally Posted by diehardskin2982

I don't like losing Fuller. However, this allows them to focus on drafting a strong player in the first round like Vita Vea, Da'Ron Payne or another player that isn't a QB in the first. With the money saved by not paying Kirk maybe we can resign Zach Brown and others.
Maybe you draft Rudolph, Jackson, or Kyle Lauletta to grow in the draft.

Here is a question if Aqib Talib comes here to replace Breeland, are you still upset?

I still think you need a QB in the first. Smith is too old imo. Smith is an okay QB and I could see him being a mentor to a younger qb ready to take the helm in three years.

[SolidSnake84]

Smith straight out of the gate got the deal that we were never willing to give Cousins. Inexplicable. We basically traded what could have been our franchise QB, for an older QB who isn't as good as who we are moving on from. I think only the Skins could do that.

I remember Alex Smith looking great at the beginning of last year, but then he was brutal for the middle of the season and towards the end. They had talked about benching him several times for Mahomes. They must have not had much faith in Colt McCoy.

I want to be positive, but this could really blow up big time. I hope the Skins were smart enough (Dan & Bruce = probably not) to have something in his contract that lets us walk away if Smith doesn't work out. I don't know how much of his guaranteed money will be at signing. The last QB trade we made for Donovan McFlabb was a complete disaster.

[KI Skins Fan]

I like Alex Smith as a player but he is not the future at QB for the Skins. I would not be a bit surprised if the Skins draft our QB of the future in the 1st or 2nd Round of this years draft. Smith will probably be our starter for two years while an apprentice studies under him.

Concerning the trade values: If we trade a 3rd Rounder to KC and pick up a 3rd Round compensatory pick for losing KC, isn't that a wash on the picks? So we only gave up Kendall Fuller in trade for Smith. How is that a bad trade?

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

Smith straight out of the gate got the deal that we were never willing to give Cousins. Inexplicable. We basically traded what could have been our franchise QB, for an older QB who isn't as good as who we are moving on from. I think only the Skins could do that.

I remember Alex Smith looking great at the beginning of last year, but then he was brutal for the middle of the season and towards the end. They had talked about benching him several times for Mahomes. They must have not had much faith in Colt McCoy.

I want to be positive, but this could really blow up big time. I hope the Skins were smart enough (Dan & Bruce = probably not) to have something in his contract that lets us walk away if Smith doesn't work out. I don't know how much of his guaranteed money will be at signing. The last QB trade we made for Donovan McFlabb was a complete disaster.

Smith took the deal we were willing to offer Cousins. And it is appropriate to Smith (and KCs) value.

I bet KCs total value on his new contract will fall around what we paid Smith. Now that there is no 3rd FT to compete against teams will put a real value on KC and that's NOT top 5 money.

[MTK]

A few thoughts here:

- Cousins was as good as gone so what did you prefer to Smith? Teddy B? Bradford? McCoy? Cousins also wasn't taking $23.5M per year.

- Smith is 33, no question he's still got some good years left in the tank, I'd say at least 2-3 which is enough to get us to the next option.

- With a compensatory pick coming back from Cousins leaving it's essentially Fuller for Smith. I love Fuller but I wouldn't have said trading him was a deal breaker.

- KC wasn't going to let him go for a ham sandwich. He was still under contract and no doubt several teams were very interested.

[SkinzWin]

It is interesting to me to see all the feels everyone has over this.

A few objective statements/questions:

Kirk Cousins does not have good stats in the red zone.
Kirk Cousins hasn’t won more games in the 4th quarter than he has lost.
How do you build a quality team around a QB who commands such a high price tag that you don’t have the cap space to sign/extend other key positions?
What is your best alternative option for QB if we hadn’t traded for Smith?

Am I excited about losing Fuller? No. But we weren’t going to sign Cousins except for a max contract that prevents us from signing/extending other key pieces. I am not upset about NOT doing that because although he had great season stats, he didn’t shine where it matters; turnovers in the red zone and in the 4th quarter.

Gettting a top 10 quarterback with experience at a reasonable price for 4 years doesn’t happen often. We will get a compensatory pick for Cousins, probably a 3rd rounder. Don’t forget we can still transition tag him and try to trade him for something.

I see this as the best possible alternative for the future to the position because:
A) Cousins wanted too much.
B) We don’t know what a high QB pick may return.
C) we can have the picks and cap space to now build around a veteran QB with good stats and mobility.
D) You all need to step down off the ledge. It’s going to be okay.

[KI Skins Fan]

Well, we must have a QB so I reluctantly approve of this trade pending the drafting of our QB of the future.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by mooby

Chico is not the most pissed off by far. That would be me. Smith is decent. Not Kirk though.

Matty, I find it hilarious how you and Schneed managed to flip the switch and make this into a win for us immediately.

This is as retarded a move (and I say this without knowing if it's Fuller they gave up or not) as I have ever seen in all my years. Smith is 33, how many good years do you think he has left? You think he's the next Brady, gonna keep playing solid into his 40's?
This sets us back multiple years because we damn sure ain't contending with Smith at the helm. If we gave up a 2nd and Fuller to get him this is a terrible trade. If it's a 3rd and Fuller it's still a terrible trade. If it's Fuller for Smith straight up it's a terrible trade. Smith was a lame duck qb in KC who was most likely moving on anyways following their massive blown lead to the Titans in the playoffs. Somehow they managed to get a high draft pick and/or a stud player for him? It's a fleece job.

You seem to be forgetting that the guys that totally fucked up the Kirk situation from day fucking one are in charge here. Are you confident they are going to make the right moves with that extra space they freed up? Let me phrase it another way, would you have rather had Calais Campbell or McGee/McClain last year? We sure saved a lot of money and production going for the latter instead.

I have no faith in the decision makers for this football team. This was the last straw. We have seen Alex Smith's ceiling when you surround him with adequate talent at every position. He will have little of that comfort here. Kirk was running for his life behind those backups last year, I'd hate to see what happens if it happens again next year. Let me guess though, last year was a one-off occurrence, what are the odds it happens again? The same guys that fucked up the Kirk contract, also decided 2nd year wideout Pryor and rookie Doctson could replace 2 reliable playmakers. And before you start, yes I will be watching, and discussing this team just like I do year after year after year. But the incompetency is shining through right now.

This wouldn't even be a discussion if you could just extend your franchise qb. He ain't Brady, but we wouldn't need a Brady if they could build a team properly. They can't do either.

Only the fucking Redskins could fuck this up.

And only you and Schneed can pull off calling this a win when the fact remains: After decades of amazing contract finagling, managing to spend wildly whenever you felt like it, always managing to fit under the cap, you decide to cheap out on the most important player on the team. He calls BS, gets paid 44 mil for 2 years of above-average play, stares you down and wins in the third offseason, you end up trading a high draft pick and/or one of your best young talents for a stopgap 33 year qb who is best when he has a complete team to take the pressure off of him (which he won't have here). Alex Smith is not the "long term solution" he's the goddamn bridge to the next long term solution. Which will cost us an additional 3-5 years stuck in mediocre-to-averageville meanwhile the current FO and staff will manage to keep us barely treading water, always thinking next year will be better. Fuck this team.

Lol...mooby gave the real state of the Union last night

[HailGreen28]

Originally Posted by itvnetop

Because successful teams should be able to project where players are headed- and by all metrics, Fuller was on an upward trajectory. Not to mention being on a rookie contract. The value of players like him don’t fall off trees.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

But would still take a starting caliber QB over a up and coming backup CB.

Don't get me wrong, this deal overall is horrible. Again, Allen and Snyder spent a 3rd round pick and decent player to replace Cousins with an older debatably not as good QB. On a contract we could have had Cousins on earlier.

And given Allen and Snyders penchant to sign other FAs (on the backside of their career, like Smith), I really doubt we are getting any comp pick for Cousins.

[MTK]

At worst Smith and Cousins are a wash player wise. I'd give the slight edge to Smith overall due to his running ability. We shouldn't lose anything in terms of overall production at the QB spot.

[metalskins]

Originally Posted by MTK

A few thoughts here:

- Cousins was as good as gone so what did you prefer to Smith? Teddy B? Bradford? McCoy? Cousins also wasn't taking $23.5M per year.

- Smith is 33, no question he's still got some good years left in the tank, I'd say at least 2-3 which is enough to get us to the next option.

- With a compensatory pick coming back from Cousins leaving it's essentially Fuller for Smith. I love Fuller but I wouldn't have said trading him was a deal breaker.

- KC wasn't going to let him go for a ham sandwich. He was still under contract and no doubt several teams were very interested.

You said it perfectly, MTK. I needed to sleep on this before I made my official heavy metal statement. I hate the part about Fuller. I had wished it was Cravens. Having said that, we essentially got the same QB back. Older, yes, but slightly better wheels, slightly better decision makings, and fits into Gruden's offense. I think I mentioned is awhile back that Alex Smith could be available and he would be one out of all possible available QBs that I would take. So, I'm happy the Redskins took Smith, and for a bargain compared to what they would've paid for Cousins. I still say the 'skins need to draft a QB for the future.

[GridIron26]

It is interesting to see how we are divided on this move - some people applaud the move and some people are saying it's end of Redskins world for next 5 years.

In my perspective, I am not surprised by this move at all; it simply is all about value. Cousins and Smith are similar QB in general (yes, Cousins is little better than Smith but not by wide margin). Cousins and his agent want a contract that is close to $30m per year, and Smith seems to accept $23.5m per year, which will allow us to resign or sign 1 or 2 players (Z. Brown as an example). Don't forget Jay's offense system is QB friendly system - I have no doubt we will get similar results with Smith. We basically moved down in 3rd round pick with the compensatory pick, which we will get from Cousins. However, I am disappointed with giving up Fuller, I assumed we would let Breeland walk and then move Fuller to #2 CB. I suppose the plan is different now..

For those people who said we fucked up big time with Cousins - yes and no.. We had a chance to sign Cousins to a long term contract after 2015 but we were not sure if he will continue to improve or not so instead of going in blindly and give him big contract, we franchise tagged him. I believe this move was something most all of us agreed on. He ended up playing well in 2016 and then want a contract that is for top 3 QB and he is not top 3 QB, so we franchise tagged him again but the move quickly showed Cousins and his agent's plan, which is collecting guaranteed money as much as they can by quickly signing the franchise tag contract without making any counteroffer. If you guys believe we should have given Cousins whatever amount he wants, my answer is look at Ravens. Everybody in NFL knew Flacco is not top 5 QB but Ravens had to sign him to a massive contract (it was at that time) only because he won SB with help from great defense. Now, look at Ravens, they are struggling to build better team because they are financially strapped by the Flacco contract..

In fact, I feel this move have shown how much Redskins FO have grown since last few years. Yes, they made a terrible gamble on Cousins situation but really, can we do any better than what they did? With old FO, we would have given Cousins whatever amount he wanted and then cripple the team for next 5-10 years. Now, with Smith as our QB, we can easily focus on continue building the team, which we have been doing well since last two years. Although I am curious to see how the FO expect to find next franchise QB, it is fair to assume that we will be average team in worst scenario and we will be good team in best scenario; it will be difficult for Redskins to draft a franchise QB when we are slotted at #10 or lower.

[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by MTK

At worst Smith and Cousins are a wash player wise. I'd give the slight edge to Smith overall due to his running ability. We shouldn't lose anything in terms of overall production at the QB spot.

Nice fun with numbers article, last I checked NFL football isn't a board game played with slide rules. I have seen enough of Alex Smith to know he is nothing to get excited about.

[Skinsfanatic]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Bob

Nice fun with numbers article, last I checked NFL football isn't a board game played with slide rules. I have seen enough of Alex Smith to know he is nothing to get excited about.

You could literally replace "Alex Smith" with "Kirk Cousins" in this sentence and it would read the same.