Trading a 3rd rd pick for a proven commodity at starting quarterback who is coming off a season in which he led the NFL with a 104.7 quarterback rating would qualify as an excellent move. Especially when you consider the circumstances the Redskins were faced with this off-season.
It is pretty dumb taking in to account that signing Kirk was definitely possible. If there was absolutely no way, then you do what you have to do. But this turned into a situation like this because of the way the Skins handled it. Would you rather have Smith at $23.5m or Kirk at $30m? The answer is pretty clear. I bet they could have even gotten Kirk at $27.5m. Maybe in your mind Smith is about to enter his prime. But those accolades you mentioned surely will not happen again. Smith is a top 15ish QB and absolutely decreases the potential of their franchise. I am not sure how the Skins outsmarted Mac. I would rather have Kirk or one of the top QB prospects than have Alex Smith... You want more of Sixpatrick and McCown? That is exactly what Smith brings to the table. Bringing in Smith would show this front office has learned absolutely nothing over the past several seasons.
Here’s my thing. I read the other day that the former GM for the Skins wasn’t extremely impressed overall with, Cousins. He wasn’t convinced that he was worth paying Elite QB money for. The Skins decide to allow Cousins to hit the open market and go out of their way to TRADE for a guy on his way out for another team in the Chiefs. There are a lot of red flags all over this and even though we have the money to make Cousins our future QB, everything is pointing to this as being a mistake. Especially when this draft is LOADED with quality QBs. This is rare in the NFL draft. Very rare. I hope we don’t fall for fools gold at this point and miss out on ANOTHER opportunity to better this team and finally find a FQB. It’s the most excited and scariest offseason I’ve anticipated in a very long time.
Think about this though. The Skins know what they had in, Cousins. They’ve seen him in training camp, practice, and on the field on Sundays. I can’t just scratch this up to complete stupidity. There seems to be a reason why they don’t feel like investing whatever it takes to keep Cousins on that team. If they felt he was that good, it wouldn’t matter what it took to get it done, they would’ve got it done. They clearly don’t think he is worth the money, that is telling. Huge red flag there.
I agree with everything. But if the Skins weren’t sure Kirk was worth Elite QB money, why did they just make Smith the 5th highest paid QB in the NFL?
Cousins will be a jet by next week. It will cost money but no draft picks. I like it and hope at long last we found our QB. Either way it goes I hope it's the right way to go. LGJ
That’s the thing. The only thing I can figure is it’s more of a reflection on what Cousins is, than what Smith is for that team. The Skins are on the outside looking in on draft day. They sit in a place of no garruntee for one of these top QBs in this draft. No QB in FA would be acceptable over Cousins. They didn’t want to pay Cousins what he wants because they’re obviously viewing him as a slightly above average QB, so they traded for a QB that has been productive, takes care of the ball, with a high football IQ, and Is a proven commodity over any other option available at this time. I personally think Smith is better than Cousins. That’s an opinion. Again though. That’s not the real debate. I think the real debate is, is Cousins actually an Elite QB like many believe he is or is he what the Skins clearly think he is. Slightly above average at best?
Im actually left speechless at how the skins just guaranteed Smith with 71 mill. Whatever Synder and Allen are Smoking they should start selling it.
That to me is the part that's easiest to understand - that's 3 years of a top 15 quarterback at the current rates. Others may say that Smith is just a product of the teams around him, but they obviously don't agree. Over his last 7 years he has a record of 69-31-1, with a 65% completion percentage, 3200 passing yards, 19 TDs and 6 INTs per season, while also averaging almost 300 yards rushing per season at 5 yards per carry. That's above average (like I said, top 15), and $24 million per year is probably the going rate. They clearly didn't want to rebuild with a rookie sitting at #13 in the draft, and didn't want a one-year "see if he has it"-type deal with a Sam Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater (since that would put them back in franchise tag hell if it worked out). I don't see them winning the NFC East any time soon, but I can understand them thinking that this is enough to get them into the playoffs for the next few years.
