Chiefs reach agreement to trade Alex Smith to Washington

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Alex Smith doesn’t have to wonder about his future any longer, and Washington no longer has to wonder who its quarterback will be in 2018.

The Chiefs reached an agreement to trade Smith to Washington, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports. There is no word on the compensation the Chiefs will receive.

Although the trade cannot be consummated until the first day of the league year, which begins March 14, Paylor reports the sides have agreed to the deal.

Smith was entering the final year of his deal, with a cap number of $20.6 million for 2018. The Chiefs will save $17 million on their cap.

It paves the way for Patrick Mahomes to take over as the starting quarterback in Kansas City. It also assures that Kirk Cousins will enter free agency after Washington used the franchise tag on him in consecutive years.

160 responses to “Chiefs reach agreement to trade Alex Smith to Washington

  1. Of all the possible landing spots for Smith, I never imagined Washington. Is he an upgrade to Cousins?

  2. People love to rag on Smith and give Reid this forever pass on being a top tiered coach. I personally think Andy Reid sucks and will never win anything.

    Watch for the Chiefs to regress next year with Mahomes still being green and Reid not making adjustments to help his young QB succeed. 6-10 maybe?

  3. That will surely teach Kurk Croutons. $20 Million + draft picks for a 34 year old QB on a 1 year deal who has 2 playoff wins.

    Don’t worry Washinton fans, I’m sure your front office will still find a way to turn this into a total dumpster fire, like they always do.

  4. Vikings, Cardinals, Jaguars, Bills are gonna over pay him a middle of the pack QB. Market is there though. He’s not worth it but the NFL is a quarterback league.

  5. I was thinking the Skins may draft Kyle Lauletta. Guess not. I think whomever gets Lauletta is going to have a great QB on their hands. I bet the Pats get him if hes waiting in the 2nd round

  6. I don’t get it. What’s the point?

    Alex Smith is a good QB, but he’s in his mid 30s. You’re not going to build a franchise around him at this point, and the Washington Football Club isn’t in the position to just “plug and play” a QB into that position and make the team better because there are too many other areas that need to be upgraded as well.

    The Snyders have just messed this whole situation up. If they made the commitment to Cousins a couple of years ago, they could have moved onto focusing on other areas of the roster knowing they had a decent QB. But they decided to enter a p-ssing contest and basically wasted 2 years. Even though Alex Smith is a good QB and will probably perform decently, this move doesn’t really improve their prospects in the short or medium term. Unless they draft a QB and use Smith as a bridge (which is expensive at $20M), they’re not anywhere near turning it around.

  7. Now Cousins can pursue his Super Bowl dream. Of course he will be getting back up money as that is the only way he will sniff a SB

  8. I feel bad for Alex Smith. He would do really well on a team like Jacksonville or Denver. What a waste. The Redskins are useless.

  9. I wanted him for the Browns but I’m happy for him. Smith is more than just a “bridge QB” and better than Cousins and deserves a chance to go to the playoffs next year. As for the Browns I’m not counting out Kizer with the help of Haley and Zampese.

  10. Implications:

    – it buys Andy Reid extra time, which he desperately needs after only winning one playoff game in his entire tenure in KC.

    – trading for a QB who is older than the one they’ve got means that the football minds in Washington don’t like Kirk Cousins.

    – Cousins to AZ or CLE.

    – The Redskins are in “win now” mode, which is kinda laughable given the rest of what they’ve got on that team.

    – Alex Smith will never have another season like the ones he had in KC.

  11. Doesnt make much sense. Alex Smith is in a contract year like Cousins is in. Eventually they have to pay a QB, Kirk has been with the team his whole career, why not keep him? Unless his demands are too high. Still they will have this dilemma next year with Smith and it could be another tag and see fiasco, although Smith will be cheaper. They should look at drafting a QB

  12. The Jags and Broncos just got pwnd hard.

    Smith could have been perfect replacing Bortles and without Andy Ried ruining games with his too cute plays, Jags would win.

    Cousins could do fine also, but not as crafty mobile.

  13. I like this move. Alex Smith’s time was up in KC, Mahomes time. Smith gets a free start and in the era, these guys play close to 20 years now, he has about about 5 good years left, going from one version of the west coat offense to another. Washington gets away from Cousins, they know he is not worth the money, see Ravens on why. Cousins gets to go find a team that cares about him and will overpay for his services, Denver, Az, Buffalo, Jax…..

  14. Will be interesting to see what washington was willing to give up to not have to deal with the Cousins contract drama anymore, and it will be more interesting to see where Kirk Cousins actually ends up….

  15. GOOD FOR YOU COUSINS! YOU DESERVE BETTER! Yes I was YELLN! I love the Beast BUT the redskins screwed and disrespected this cat LONG ENOUGH! And Smith Good Luck as well Cuz ur Road was disrespected as well!
    I think/KNOW the skins just SCREWED themselves! Cousins = PROVEN and DESERVED a LOOONG term deal!

  16. Franchise qb/s ……. you just dont go to your local supermarket and pick em out. Especially Young Proven ones.

  17. Not a bad move. Knowing you’re probably not going to keep Cousins, might as well do it as long as it doesn’t involve any more than a 5th or 6th rounder. We have too many needs anyway to put it all on Cousins.

  18. I think the Redskins should’ve resigned Cousins. I think this isn’t a bad move either pending on what they have up to get him. Question is, what talent are they going to surround him with? Are they going to draft a QB still in the first round?

  19. So if you’re John Dorsey you sign Kirk Cousins and draft S Barkley and the best defensive player available.

    If you Vrabel you sign Cousins and trade Mariota to Cleveland for a 1st rounder.

  20. Andy Reid just made the same mistake as the 49ers. Mahomes will be Mahomeless like Kaepernick inside of 3 years. Smith will continue to lead mediocre teams to the playoffs.

  21. Why not just re-sign Cousins?

    I don’t understand this move. First you give the guy the run around, refusing to acknowledge how good he’s gotten, but at the same time you hold him responsible for the success of your team. Then you let loose his two best recievers, slip unflattering information about then negotiation to the public, franchise tag him twice because he’s obviously so mediocre that you have to spend that money on keeping him, and now after all of that you just let him walk? No, not even let him-push him out the door?

    Alex Smith is a good quarterback, don’t misunderstand me, and I feel that his skillset fits Jamison Crowder and Terell Pryor by allowing them some ability to work underneath. But Cousins is younger, has a stronger arm, and grew up (so to speak) with this team. How Bruce Allen still has a job is beyond me. Good luck, Jay.

  22. I’ll actually give Kudos to the Skins for pulling this off. I like Kirk but he was the fourth best QB in that division and now they have Alex Smith who outplayed Dak and Eli statistically this season….all for a much softer salary cap hit than signing Cousins. Cousins is a great leader and will land on his feet somewhere.

  23. Wow…I guess then that this means Cousins is heading to Denver. I can’t imagine Cousins signing with Cleveland (if he holds true to his word of wanting to win first over money). And I can’t think of any other team with both the talented roster to make the playoffs and the cap space to pay $25M annually for Cousins. Maybe Arizona???

  24. donnymacjack says:
    January 30, 2018 at 10:53 pm

    Wow…I guess then that this means Cousins is heading to Denver. I can’t imagine Cousins signing with Cleveland (if he holds true to his word of wanting to win first over money). And I can’t think of any other team with both the talented roster to make the playoffs and the cap space to pay $25M annually for Cousins. Maybe Arizona???
    ——————————————————————————————————-
    Jacksonville. Buffalo. NYJ. Cleveland.

  25. It’s official.

    After being a Redskins fan since 1970, I am officially an ex-Redskins fan.

    What a moronic move by this team. Cousins haters can rejoice.

    And this team will lose and lose and lose and lose.

    Winless in 2018. You idiots!

  26. Chiefs better be damn sure with Mahomes. This is the type of move that puts everyone’s job at risk. Alex isn’t elite but he’s a proven winner and he would have a few Chief’s playoff victories under his belt if his D didn’t choke in Indy and his coach had a better game plan against the Titans.

  27. u4iadman says:
    January 30, 2018 at 10:19 pm
    The Jags and Broncos just got pwnd hard.

    Smith could have been perfect replacing Bortles and without Andy Ried ruining games with his too cute plays, Jags would win.

    Cousins could do fine also, but not as crafty mobile.

    2 2 Rate This
    ——————————-

    How so? Jacksonville is stuck with Bortles, his contract is guaranteed for injury and he just had surgery, so they can’t get another QB. Denver never wanted Smith, Cousins was the guy they’ve wanted and the Skins just removed themselves from tagging him, which would have taken Cousins away from them for sure.

    If anything this move helps Denver.

  28. Lets hold off on congratulating the skins on this. We haven’t seen what they’ve given up yet. Two words…..Dan Snyder

    Cousins has owned the Redskins in this whole ordeal. And he just won the final round. There was no way he was re-signing with the skins but now he gets to say he wanted to stay but they forced him out. Well played Kirk.

  29. If being paid millions by being franchised can be considered disrespect… well, actually more the way they jerked Cousins around, why on Earth would anyone want to play in Washington? Tag him twice, get nothing in return for him?

    I think I’d rather go to Cleveland. There you could help turn around a franchise and be a hero, beloved by fans and embraced by ownership

  30. In a related story Cousins price just dropped. Of the two teams that were looking like they eventually break a bank for him one just traded fie Dmith and extended him for four years. And the other has decided they prefer Jimmy Garrapolo. There are still some decent spots for him, but those two were looking like the biggest bucks.

  31. Poor Alex Smith – with his age, It looks like he will say good bye to the Superbowl by playing for the Redskins. Jacksonville would be ideal for Alex Smith. He is a good game manager and very cautious with the ball. With a great Jaguars defense, they will have a shot of the ring. Unfortunately, Bortles lacks the “it” and will always come up short during playoffs.

  32. ackalope says:
    January 30, 2018 at 10:05 pm
    I feel bad for Alex Smith. He would do really well on a team like Jacksonville or Denver. What a waste. The Redskins are useless.
    __________________________________________

    What are you talking about? The Skins were in almost every game with wins over Seattle and the Rams and the loses were more on those Sundays when Kirk decided not to show up.This is a competitive team with an upgraded QB.

  33. donnymacjack says:

    Wow…I guess then that this means Cousins is heading to Denver. I can’t imagine Cousins signing with Cleveland (if he holds true to his word of wanting to win first over money). And I can’t think of any other team with both the talented roster to make the playoffs and the cap space to pay $25M annually for Cousins. Maybe Arizona???

    ——————————————————————————————————-

    Yup. Expect Arizona to go hard after Cousins. They wanted Smith too, and everybody knows it. If Cousins chooses Denver over AZ it’ll be the second time the Broncos have punked them (Manning).

    I’d choose Alex Smith over Kurt Cousins too. He’s older but way more savvy. Good dude. This move halfway guarantees the Vikings keep Keenum too. Case is better and will cost less.

  34. Whelp… Keenum just lost some serous cash, a better QB is in the market now. The wining bidder gets Cousins, the losing bidder will settle for Keenum. The teams… Cardinals and Broncos.

  35. WA reportedly gave a CB and a 3rd round pick and signed Smith to a four year extension for $94 million. Not official but not a bad deal. Cousins wants way more than that and might not be any better, maybe worse.

  36. HOLD ON A SECOND EVERYONE…

    This does NOT mean that Washington won’t use the exclusive tag a third time on Cousins. I mean really. This is Dan Snyder & Co. we’re talking about!!! LOL.

  37. Alex Smith is not an elite QB, but I think the Chiefs may regret this. Its highly unlikely Mahomes will be as efficient as Smith was. Smith wasnt as exciting as the Chiefs wanted but he protected that horrible D by rarely turning it over and leaving them with a short field to defend. They will turn the ball over a lot more now, hopefully their D is up for the challenge. After Andy fires Bob Sutton NEXT offseason he’ll be about out of scapegoats.

  38. Allen’s gonna be mad when Kirk gives the hometown discount to someone he likes. That 34 million number was just to keep the skins away. Kirk grew up a Bears fan if I recall.

  39. Smith will work out fine for the Skins as long as they can always play with a lead going into the 4th quarter, or they don’t plan on going anywhere in the post season, or they are satisfied with finishing 9/7 and getting 6th seed for the post season or talk about their probowl QB who pads his stats with garbage time yards in the 4th quarter when facing prevent defense’s when your down 17 points. Yeah good luck with your new QB and talks of “going all the way” after 6 games only to find out you can take the family on vacation with that money you we’re saving for Superbowl tickets.

  40. HAHAHAHAHA enjoy missing the playoffs for the foreseeable future Chiefs. Feel bad for Smith, no good player deserves to be on Dan Snyder’s perpetual trainwreck

  41. ^^ Bortles closed the year pretty strongly. He played great against Pittsburgh and New England, the latter of which is likely the best team in the league and has the best coaching staff. He stunk against Buffalo, but he’s shown great improvement with the new staff in Jacksonville. The next year will show if his career will end up more like Alex Smith or Blaine Gabbert in terms of starting slow and later possibly having success.

  42. How is he not a Brown? I really can’t believe this. He would have been ideal for Cleveland. They are so bad at football, they should join the NBA.

  43. Smith is a solid QB, plus his guarantee is less than 18m a year. Much less than the top QB’s are getting. Good deal.

  44. Makes no sense. The redskins arent good enough to compete for a title. I doubt they make it out of there division over life of Alex Smith stay with team. It pretty much seems like they plan to wait 4 years b4 they start trying to build a real contender.

  45. Redskins trading for someone coming off a career year, overpaying, giving up prospects. Does Dan Snyder think we all forgot? Kirk Cousins was finally a home grown star and they completely botched the whole situation. If Kendall Fuller is truly a part of this deal, for a QB who likely would have ended up being released, it’s a another sad day to be a skins fan.

  46. Reports suggest Alex will sign a 4yr extension with DC.
    KC gets CB Kendall Fuller and a 2018 3rd in the deal.
    Reid and Gruden are WCO guys, which is a good fit for Alex.

  47. The minute Mahomes was drafted it was only a matter of time until Smith was out the door, whether that’s the right choice only time will tell. At first seeing he was off to the Skins I was surprised but after some thought it does make sense. The Chiefs probably could have got a better deal from a more “win now” QB needy team, but if they did and that team picks up a Lombardi with Smith it makes the Chiefs look dumb. The Skins would also look foolish if they give a contract now to Cousins with all the wasted tag money and obvious lack of faith over the past two seasons.

  48. Andy Reid must have some serious hate for the Redskins….Unloads McNabb, and now Smith?

    It’s not a total loss, Redskins fans. At least Alex has:

    1. Awareness of what a tie game is
    2. Better Cardiovascular endurance
    3. the ability to pass for more than 39 yards in a game.

    Here’s to hoping that Mahomes doesn’t become Kevin Kolb 2.0 and he’s forced to bring back…C.K.?

  49. Man this Skins messed this up. They could have had Cousins for a better deal than this a couple years ago and now they are stuck with a 34 year QB with a big cap number. They aren’t close to winning. If they weren’t going to sign Cousins…just restock. And Cousins…he may have overplayed his hand. Who needs a QB…is close to winning..and has the cap space. Denver..and ??

  50. The Redskins are as bad as the Browns sometimes. This move makes no sense. Alex Smith is a pedestrian QB at best. Kirk Cousins isn’t much better, but he’s only 29 while Alex Smith is 33.
    I realize Cousins is asking for way more money than he’s worth and he thinks he’s better than he is, but the Redskins would have been better off trying to make a trade for Nick Foles and drafting a QB in my opinion.

  51. Mr. Smith goes to Washington. First time that happened result was pretty good. (Look it up.)

  52. 49ersfury says:
    January 31, 2018 at 6:39 am
    what’s funny is that Colin Kaepernick is probably better than everyone in this QB Triangle. Mahomes,Smith, and Cousins.
    —————————————————
    The fly in your ointment is the “probably”. With his baggage he can’t “probably” be better and he can’t be just a little bit better. He would have to be “SB guaranteed” better. Which he is not.

    But concerning Smith replacing Cousins, this isn’t an upgrade for the Skins.

  53. Why is no one here is blaming Kirk. With both the team’s playoff hopes and his own financial future on the line, Kirk played his worst game of the year with three interceptions against a downtrodden 2 win Giants team with nothing to play for. If he would play consistently from one game to the next he would have been locked up by now. Alex Smith gives the Skins a consistent 4000 yrd QB in a weak division.

  54. Not a Browns fan, but they should sign Cousins, trade down and pick up more #1’s . They are loaded with picks and there is no excuse why they shouldn’t get out of the cellar.

  55. This should change the way teams in need of a QB that pick in the top 10 draft think. Wow… Browns, Jets, Broncos…Dolphins.

  56. 49ersfury says:
    January 31, 2018 at 6:39 am
    what’s funny is that Colin Kaepernick is probably better than everyone in this QB Triangle. Mahomes,Smith, and Cousins.

    ——————
    They used to make those Saturday morning cartoon shows based on a sports figure. Every week they would solve a mystery or save a town or something like that.

  57. “Is this the first time in at least 10 years the Redskins have made what may be termed a shrewd move?”
    _______________

    Sad commentary that this would pass for a “shrewd” move by them. They could have let Cousins walk and drafted a QB saving a TON of money. Instead they’re paying $20 million for a 30+ year old guy who isn’t any better than Cousins. They’re not ready to win now so Smith does nothing for them in the short term and they’re overpaying if he’s supposed to be the stop gap to a rookie taking over. This move makes the least sense of anything they could have done.

  58. Strangely, I could see Cousins winding up with Dallas, though certainly Arizona would be a good spot for him, or maybe the NYJ. But he won’t be making the ridiculous wage he did in recent years and that’s a good thing.

  59. So KC trades Alex Smith (to the Redskins yet) and bets the farm on Rookie Patrick Mahomes. This very often does not work out. Even if a rookie QB has a good first year, often the 2nd year is a bust (Kaepernick and Dak Prescott).

    This was not the solution for KC. Alex Smith and Reid took the blame for the loss to the Titans in the Wild Card. The QB and Coach were not the problem. The problem was again a bad call, one of the worst calls I have *ever* seen, one that cost the Chiefs the game and the playoffs. The official who made that call — Referee Jeff Triplette — had a long history of making bad calls and in fact retired immediately after this game.

    Alex Smith is one of the better quarterbacks in the league who was denied a championship at both SF and Kansas City. Now he will rot in Washington (7-9) which is going nowhere.

  60. “49ers2017 says:

    January 30, 2018 at 10:40 pm

    Andy Reid just made the same mistake as the 49ers. Mahomes will be Mahomeless like Kaepernick inside of 3 years. Smith will continue to lead mediocre teams to the playoffs.”

    Huh? The 2011 and 2012 49er teams had an elite defense and running game with Frank Gore and a very good oline. Alex Smith only had to manage games and his stats during that time were pedestrian. KC also has talented skill players with an offensive minded HC. Didn’t matter that SF moved on from Alex. He would have floundered under Tomsula’s and Kelly’s teams

  61. muencht says:

    January 31, 2018 at 1:54 pm

    So KC trades Alex Smith (to the Redskins yet) and bets the farm on Rookie Patrick Mahomes. This very often does not work out. Even if a rookie QB has a good first year, often the 2nd year is a bust (Kaepernick and Dak Prescott).

    This was not the solution for KC. Alex Smith and Reid took the blame for the loss to the Titans in the Wild Card. The QB and Coach were not the problem. The problem was again a bad call, one of the worst calls I have *ever* seen, one that cost the Chiefs the game and the playoffs. The official who made that call — Referee Jeff Triplette — had a long history of making bad calls and in fact retired immediately after this game.

    Alex Smith is one of the better quarterbacks in the league who was denied a championship at both SF and Kansas City. Now he will rot in Washington (7-9) which is going nowhere.

    Alex was not denied a championship in SF. He was part of the reason did they not win in 2011. Went 1-11 on third down conversions. Not all on Alex but certainly was part of the blame for the loss/

  62. Smith was pretty good at utilizing Kelce and Tyreke Hill. Maybe if Jordan Reed can stay healthy and maybe Doctson comes into his own, this could be a decent offense here.

  63. r8dernation says:
    January 30, 2018 at 9:57 pm
    I’m happy with this trade. LOL
    —————————————-
    You should be, Alex owns the Raiders.

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