The Washington Redskins made a major decision this offseason when they allowed Kirk Cousins to walk and acquired Alex Smith to be their new starting quarterback. That move to the nation’s capital has put the pressure on the veteran QB. Redskins head coach Jay Gruden recently remarked that Smith has to win right away with the Redskins.
According to Rich Tandler of NBC Sports Washington, Smith realizes that he’ll be expected to perform immediately even though it’ll just be his debut season in D.C., and he fully intends to live up to those lofty expectations.
“No, I don’t think you can rely on the fact that, ‘Oh, it’s the first year here.’ Nobody cares,” he said when asked about his transition into the new offense. “It’s not like in the fall, you guys are going to be like, ‘Ah, well, this is his first year here. We’ll give him a break.’ It just doesn’t work that way.”
While it might seem a bit unfair to expect so much out of Smith, that’s just the situation he finds himself in. The Redskins paid him a lot of money－money they were not willing to commit to Cousins－because they believe he can be the one to lead them to more success.
Smith was able to deliver the wins for the most part during his five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. But even with the added pressure and weight of expectations, the veteran must find a way to provide more of the same for his new team.
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