Alex Smith is jacked for the chance to play for the Redskins

Alex Smith spoke about being traded to Redskins for the first time in an interview on the Murph & Mac podcast on San Francisco radio station KNBR on Thursday. Smith talked about his time with the 49ers, playing with current Redskins TE Vernon Davis again, and scouting out the DMV area on Google Maps with his wife.

The Redskins shocked a lot of people on January 30th when the news broke that they were trading with the Kansas City Chiefs to get QB Alex Smith. The deal cost the Redskins their 3rd round pick this year, and a very good(and cheap) slot CB in Kendall Fuller. Washington also worked out a 4 year extension worth a reported $23.5 million per year. This deal locks the soon-to-be 34 year old Alex Smith in as the Redskins QB for at least the next two-three years. Smith talked about playing in his mid-30’s with Tom Brady still going strong at 40, and just playing in the Super Bowl last Sunday.

“I feel amazing, I feel great,. I feel like the last five or six years have flown by. I’ve had more fun than I’ve ever had playing the game. The challenge of it, my body feels great, so yeah, I do feel like I can’t see the horizon at this point. People keep asking me that and I don’t see it in the near future. Obviously things change, but I’m just loving what I’m doing too much and the challenge of it. I still haven’t gotten there obviously and you’re after that big one, right? You’re trying to do whatever you can and figure it out and find the answer.”

The Chiefs traded up to draft QB Patrick Mahomes II in last year’s draft, and Smith’s time in Kansas City was on a short leash ever since. Smith had his best season in the NFL in 2017, holding off his eventual replacement for the year. The Chiefs won the NFC West, but were eliminated in the first round by the Tennessee Titans. Smith would have had a $20 million cap hit for the final year of his deal with the Chiefs, and they were looking to move on and a trade was made. Smith is entering his 14th season and the Redskins will be his 3rd team. This is the 2nd time he was traded away to be replaced by a young QB(Colin Kaepernick replaced him on the 49ers after Smith missed time with a concussion).

Now he will come to Washington, and replace Kirk Cousins who will be a free agent in March(unless the Redskins attempt to tag and trade him). Washington had the options of attempting to get a long-term done(again), or tagging Cousins for ~$29 or ~$34 million. Cousins wanted to hit free agency, and likely would not have signed any deal the Redskins offered, so they moved on, and made the deal to secure Smith. How does he feel about the Redskins as his latest team?

“I’m jacked. I’m really excited. Once I found out that things in Kansas City were going in a different direction, I was pumped at the opportunity and when Washington came calling I was hopeful that that was a possible destination and I’m just jacked that it worked out and that they wanted me because the feelings were mutual and I’m looking forward to it.”

And he gets to reunite with TE Vernon Davis.

“[Davis] was one of the first guys when it broke that hit me up on the phone.”

Smith’s arrival in Washington comes with mixed feelings for a lot of people. It means the end to the Kirk Cousins era, and many fans feel the Redskins let a franchise QB go by not locking him up sooner. The 49ers just locked up QB Jimmy Garoppolo for 5 years, $27.5 million, making him the highest paid QB in the NFL. Cousins will likely top deal that when he has multiple teams bidding on him in free agency.

The cost of the Alex Smith trade is another big thing for fans to get over. Trading young, cheap talent and draft picks away for an old veteran stinks of desperation. Smith is a good QB, and the Redskins were stuck in a situation where Colt McCoy was going to be their only QB on the roster in 2018(sorry Stephen Morris, you don’t count). Alex Smith is jacked to be a Redskin, is the feeling mutual from fans?