Kansas City Chiefs Agree to Trade Alex Smith to Washington Redskins
After starting off undefeated with an impressive win over the reigning Super Bowl champions, New England Patriots, the Chiefs had a very lack luster end in the playoffs...again. A 5-0 start was not enough to fuel a Kansas City playoff run as the Chiefs have not gotten past the Divisional Round of playoffs for the last three seasons. This year the loss came from a Tennessee Titans 22-21 comeback win. The Chiefs made the decision to trade the 13 year veteran quarterback to the Washington Redskins in exchange for a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller.
Alex Smith came off his best year in the NFL, having thrown for over 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns on a career high 341 completions. The decision to trade Smith did not come as a shock as Kansas City drafted Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes II with the 10th pick overall (traded by Buffalo for Chiefs first and third round picks as well as first round pick in 2018 draft).
The Redskins pulled the trigger on the trade after failing to agree on a long-term deal in the past and using two consecutive franchise tags on him in as many years. Cousins was also said to have had issues with front office and was rumored to have wanted to join Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco last year, which is now out of the question with Jimmy Garoppolo signed. Alex Smith and the Redskins signed a 4-year extension worth $94M with $71M in guarantees. Kurt Cousins is expected to be pursued by multiple teams including the Jets, Broncos, Browns, Bills and Cardinals.