Redskins To Give Away Fuller, a 3rd Round Pick and Kirk Cousins for an Older Kirk Cousins

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February 1, 2018

By John Worrall

On Tuesday evening, ESPN’s Adam Schefter generously shared the news that the Washington Redskins intend to give away a talented young cornerback and a third-round pick as soon as possible.  In return, the Redskins will receive an aging good-but-not-HOF-good quarterback and the ability to finally declare the entire 2012 landmark draft a failure.

Kendall Fuller is good.  He’s also 22 years old.  We haven’t seen a good 22 year old cornerback in Washington since Champ Bailey, who ended up having an excellent career in Denver.   Kirk Cousins is also good.   Cousins can not only claim the best season in franchise history in terms of passing yards and completions – he can claim the best TWO seasons in both categories, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that he was only the starter for three seasons, and that during those three seasons, he had a neophyte head coach and no running game or defense to speak of.

But, while he’s still a Redskin for now, it seems safe to assume that our 4th round draft gem has worn the burgundy & gold for the last time, as he will ship off to a destination 100% of his choosing, with the Redskins receiving absolutely nothing in return.  Zero. Zip. Nada. Bupkus.

So as we watch Kirk (and his ridiculously impressive yardage and equally unimpressive sub .500 win percentage) saunter off to some rival club, let’s take a look at what we will receive in QB Alex Smith.

For starters, Smith is a former #1 overall draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers.  The year was 2005. George W. Bush had just been inaugurated for the second time.  Pope John Paul II had just died.  Hurricane Katrina made landfall, and Saddam Hussein was finally put on trial.

Alex Smith was drafted the exact same day that the first ever YouTube video was uploaded (Me at the Zoo).

The point is, Smith is old.  He’ll be 34 by the time the 2018 season starts, and Washington is reportedly giving Smith another four years, which will make him REALLY old by the time his contract is up (if he lasts that long).  Smith was already old enough for the Kansas City Chiefs to spend the 10th pick in the 2017 draft replacing him.

Age aside, however, Smith has been a reliable-but-not-remarkable quarterback throughout his career.  He helped Kansas City right what was quickly becoming a terrible ship under Matt Cassel, and he avoids making bad decisions with his arm and his feet.  The knock on Smith, as is the knock on Cousins, is that for all his stats, he doesn’t come through in the must-win games.

In Smith, the Redskins get a good leader and a good QB with a high salary.  He is not going to improve the Redskins on the field.  Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins are very similar quarterbacks.  Smith obviously has more experience and is a little more likely to run, which he does well, but he is not going to solve the Redskins main problems, which are the lack of a running game and the inability to stop opponents from running the ball.

Because he is willing to sign a contract, however, he will make it easier for the Redskins to turn their attention to their other needs… which now include shoring up the cornerback position… and figuring out who will replace their aging starting quarterback.

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