We were wrapping up our podcast on Tuesday night, and all of the sudden, I received a notification about a trade happened in the NFL sending Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins. Yes, this happened during Super Bowl week. This never happens. All of the sudden, the biggest game of the year gets shadowed in two markets with a blockbuster trade. Washington gets Smith, and the Chiefs receive a third round pick and promising, young cornerback Kendall Fuller. Oh and then, the Redskins give Smith a four-year 91 million dollar deal with 71 of it guaranteed. What the fuck is actually happening here. This means three teams will start with new quarterbacks in 2018.

Let’s start with Washington. They are pretty much set without Kirk Cousins. I’m not sure that’s the right move. Cousins led the team to the playoffs in 2016, and Washington had a talented team in 2017 yet they had a crazy amount of injuries. Redskins never believed he would be a franchise quarterback. That’s bananas to me when they’re moving on from him to Smith. That’s not an upgrade by any shape of the imagination. It’s a lateral move disguised as the franchise trying something new. Smith is a fine quarterback, but is he really better than Cousins? This is a cost-saving move likely, and a cheap one that fits Washington’s brand.

Kansas City pulls off a goddamn coup. Andy Reid found a way to get a third round pick and one of the better young slot corners in the game. Chiefs upgrade their secondary which needed a bit of an upgrade. Now, they have Marcus Peters, Fuller and Eric Berry. That’s pretty damn good plus a new defensive coordinator that will likely mold their defense around these players. Patrick Mahomes has all of the skills to be a great quarterback, and it will be fun to see him handle Reid’s offense. I’m fairly certain he can handle it after a year of learning.

This leaves us with Cousins who becomes the biggest NFL free agent in some time. Broncos, Jets, Bills, Browns will all try to get Cousins, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few other teams look his way. I’m not ready to talk about the Minnesota Vikings as a possibility, but that idea is floating out there which scares the hell of out of me.

I have a feeling this is only the start of a crazy NFL offseason.

Charlie.