Within minutes of agreeing to a trade for Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Redskins have reportedly agreed to a four-year contract extension with the quarterback, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Chris Mortensen is reporting that the extension will average $23.5 million per year, with $70 million guaranteed. The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed that annual average (a total of $94 million) while stating that the guaranteed money is actually $71 million.
While the deal can't be officially executed until the new league year starts on March 14th, the Redskins and Smith wasted no time committing to each other for the next five years, as one-year remains on his current deal. But, just like the trade, it's all in principle for now; there's no actual paperwork or contract to sign.
The trade, and especially Smith's extension, erases any possibility of Washington retaining quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Michigan State product and the Redskins were unable to agree to a long-term deal for essentially three years, and within mere minutes, the franchise successfully completed such a deal with Smith. The Rapoport adds that the extension was part of the trade going through.
With Cousins free to walk, he and his agent won't have struggle finding plenty of franchises in need of signal-callers interested in signing him to that elusive multi-year deal. As previously mentioned, both the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos have been mentioned in rumors over the preceding weeks.
The Redskins hope Smith can mirror the success he had with the Chiefs in 2017, despite their first-round playoff exit. The former number one overall picked posted 4,042 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and a passer rating of 104.7, which were all career-highs.
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