But Veach has shown a willingness to move aggressively pursuing deals for the Chiefs, and so far it’s paying big dividends.
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It’s a simple case of addition by subtraction and it’s why Oakland stands to gain the most of any other team in the division with Smith’s departure. Veach emerges from this deal as the biggest victor. The Redskins get a veteran quarterback who has been in the playoffs each of the past three seasons. The team is designed well enough that another quarterback can step in and be successful. If the Browns signed Cousins and stayed at picks one and four, a combination of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Quenton Nelson, Saquon Barkley and even possibly Roquon Smith come into play.
Smith ranks as the 17th-highest paid player in National Football League history according to Spotrac.com.
None of which is to say that Smith was flawless, or, conversely, that he won’t have great success ahead. Obviously, Mahomes is impacted by sitting behind Alex Smith for a year and learning in practice from Andy Reid and Matt Nagy (now in Chicago), rather than playing poorly in a bad Jeff Fisher offense for one year.
Smith was 31-15 as a starter with Kansas City with three playoff appearances. Yet even if the marriage between Smith and Washington doesn’t last, Smith got his final payday.
In exchange, the Chiefs will receive a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller, who was named in the deal well after it was reported. He was a first-round talent who dropped to the third round because of injury concerns, yet has played to a first-round grade – and stayed healthy – during his first two seasons with in the league.
As news of the trade was breaking, Fuller took to Twitter to express his surprise over the trade. The Chiefs scouted well and got the player they wanted.
Here’s how the trade will affect the Falcons both this season and going forward. “The public missteps the organization made during 2016 were one thing, but the dismal offer the franchise made to Cousins last summer – which was followed by publicly throwing Cousins under the bus with distorted statistics surrounding the proposal – was scarcely believable”. However, Smith threw just six interceptions, and Cousins had 13. He is the clear-cut next best available option on the market and could require a lucrative deal to land him. The Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns could be among the quarterback-needy teams to make a run at him.
Draft Impact: the Cardinals now sit at 15 in the first round, one spot in front of the Baltimore Ravens who are reportedly interested in Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen if he falls.
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Kantner shared stories about Smith’s approachability and witnessing him spending time and signing autographs with random fans in the popular restaurant. He made great reads in our game.
