NFL: Alex Smith Traded to Washington
- Thread starter Bret44
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Broncos have reportedly had the inside track on Cousins for some time, we'll see if that holds up. I think Denver has to be a relatively attract spot too. The defense is still very good and offensively there are some play makers. If they were to land Cousins, then they have a plethora of draft picks to address other holes.
Would be back to competitive pretty fast.
Would be back to competitive pretty fast.
And the thing is that I don't think Smith is an upgrade at all given Washington's situation. Look at his history. His best years have come when he's been propped up by a good QB coach (Harbaugh, Reid) and a strong running game and a good defense. The Redskins have arguably one of those things. He's being set up to fail. I expect the Skins to crater in 2018.
For the record, I'm not a huge fan of Cousins either. His aggressive nature and willingness to push the ball downfield won them a few games and lost just as many. But that's what happens when you ask a good player to be elite. Kirk Cousins is a competent starting QB and a team can absolutely be a playoff contender with him, but he can't be the centerpiece.
I like Alex Smith, too. But they had to make a long term move. They aren't beating the Steelers or Patriots in the next 2-3 years with Alex Smith. If Mahomes is bad, they aren't winning with him either, but at least they took a shot. They have to make the rest of the team better and they did with this trade - and if they can stay healthy and Mahomes can be a better weapon than Smith was, then I think they have a shot.
- Mar 27, 2006
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He also sort of tailed off his production the 2nd half of the regular season. It's not like he was terrible, and he definitely had some bright spots, but he sort of came back down to earth as the season wore on. Through 8 games, he accounted for 17 TDs. He only had 10 more in the regular season. Only had 5 INTs on the year, but all of them came in the second half of the season.
Again, his numbers are not terrible at all. This was by far Smith's best season, but I can definitely see how the Chiefs, who were seeing him every day at practice, could look at his breakout year and maybe get the indication that it was fool's gold.
I don't know this as a fact, but I was told they owed $34 mil if they franchised Cousins. Is that true? If it is , then I suppose they saved a bunch of money too to get a (IMO) better QB.
Yeah, that's correct. But within the context of how they've handled his contract situation the prior two years then it makes less sense. It never should have reached this point in the first place.
- Mar 27, 2006
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This. They weren't going to franchise Cousins again anyway. They were hesitant to lock Cousins up in a long term deal because they weren't sure if he was a franchise guy. So, after two years of huge salary for him, they end up with what? A long term contract with a quarterback that nobody is sure is a franchise guy, and he's 4 years older. It's a shotgun blast to the foot no matter how you slice it.
Oh I'd never claim they handle anything appropriately, but for the future it does save them money I suppose. Still hate the trade for them, though. But I'm a Chiefs fan so I know what having horrible, old QBs for eternity is like.
Mahomes started the last game of the season and at one point the Chiefs said "Yep, we've seen what we needed to see. This is the future." They took him out and the Chiefs immediately blew a 14 point lead. They put him back in and drove the team down for a game winning field goal.
Regarding the holes you mentioned.
LB: Reggie Ragland came on at the end of the year. We'll get Dee Ford back.
OL: Mitch Morse will be back. Could use an upgrade at Guard.
WR: Chris Conley will be back. Still have Tyreke Hill. I could see them drafting WR early.
As a Chiefs fan, my biggest complaint with Alex Smith is that he doesn't push the ball downfield much. I understand not wanting to throw interceptions, but that only goes so far. Sometimes it is good to take some risks to make a play. He was a good player, but I feel he took them as far as he was going to. From what I saw of Mahomes in the Denver game, I was impressed. He did make some dumb mistakes, but he also made some plays when needed. He was also not playing with many of their starters because saving players for the playoffs.
KC gets the better of this deal if PM is any good.
But, if Smith plays out this contract, he will be on the fringe of a hall of fame career. More than 45,000 yards passing, over 275 touchdowns and top 20 in QB rating for a career. That is if he plays out his contract as a starter, and has somewhat similar numbers to his KC stats over those 5 years.
That is pretty crazy to think about.
But, if Smith plays out this contract, he will be on the fringe of a hall of fame career. More than 45,000 yards passing, over 275 touchdowns and top 20 in QB rating for a career. That is if he plays out his contract as a starter, and has somewhat similar numbers to his KC stats over those 5 years.
That is pretty crazy to think about.
Chiefs fan here and as much as I liked Alex Smith, the Chiefs had to make this trade because they have plateaued with Smith and needed the cap space to address some other needs. They need help on the OL, LB, and CB, hopefully got a start on that with getting Fuller in the deal but that money along with the money they likely will recoup if they let Hali and Derek Johnson walk needs to be spent shoring up some glaring needs if they want to not just make the playoffs but actually advance in them.
Much like Jamaal Charles these two are Chiefs Legends and I'll love them forever but they're not needed anymore. They're too old. With a healthy Dee Ford and Justin Houston Hali will not see the field. DJ is not the same anymore. His speed has definitely dipped, especially with both Achilles tears. Reggie Ragland is the future there.
I've heard reports of Cousins wanting around $30 Million/year, and Denver doesn't have that cap space currently. I think Cousins is playing for the Jets next year. The Vikings are possible as well.
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Smith's numbers come with a heaping spoonful of salt. He's not a fringe HOFer at all. He won't even sniff it.
Washington offered Cousins a pretty good deal last summer, but Cousins decided to walk. They might have better luck if they had extended him before putting the franchise tag on him the first time, but I think Cousins was just done with Washington.
No offense to Mr. Mahomes, but that is a pretty average/below average day. Granted, small sample size, and I figure Reid knows what he has.
But he did not come in and blow the doors off the joint like, say, Rodgers did.
- Mar 27, 2006
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It wasn't that good of a deal, though. Teams love to toss around a giant number on these contracts, but the only number that really matters is the guaranteed money. The rest doesn't mean anything, because there's no way to know if the team will actually pay it. And if I recall correctly, the guaranteed money that they offered him was less than what he would have made under the franchise tag for 2 years. It was a pure PR ploy by Washington, to make it seem like Kirk was being unreasonable. In reality, they were still lowballing him, and refusing to commit past two seasons.
And that's their right to do. If they don't believe in Cousins, they don't believe in him. He's certainly not without his flaws. That said, Washington screwed things up about as bad as you can. Who could blame Kirk if he didn't want to play there anymore?
