Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins, according to Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star and other reports. A third round draft pick and an undisclosed player will go to Kansas City in this trade, while Smith was given a four-year extension with the Redskins once the trade goes through. The trade will not be official until the league year starts in March, but this means that Kirk Cousins is out of Washington.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is fully expected to enter 2018 as the Chiefs’ starter. Mahomes started the Chiefs’ meaningless Week 17 game against the Broncos, but it was anything but meaningless in the grand scheme of things, as K.C. got a look at the future. Mahomes went 22-of-35 for 284 yards with a supporting cast of backups. Mahomes can make any throw on the field and should open things up even more with Tyreek Hill deep. Smith at times was averse to taking chances downfield, though he did open up more in a career 2017 season. Mahomes will certainly have his growing pains, but he has scintillating upside. Dual-threat Mahomes is a dark horse fantasy QB1 as soon as 2018.
Cousins is fully expected to hit the open market when the new league year opens March. The Redskins were not going to use the franchise tag on Cousins for the third straight year and be on the hook for a guaranteed $34 million, and signs had begun to point to Cousins leaving D.C. with no interest in a long-term deal from his side of things. Thus, the trade for Smith. Cousins’ market figures to be absolutely robust as the best free agent quarterback to hit the open market in years. Expect plenty of teams to be in the running, including the Jets, Cardinals, Jaguars, Browns, Bills, Broncos, Vikings, and whoever else. It is likely Cousins will reset the quarterback market as the highest-paid player at the position when all is said and done.
This content first appeared on RotoBaller.com
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw2eUnBFIZY[/embedyt]
