Smith v Cousins – Were the Redskins right to trade for Chiefs QB?

If they like him better than any of the quarterbacks in draft, they could always then try to trade the No. 1 pick in this QB rich draft and have multiple first-rounders again next year. The most popular ideas of the trade were Smith to the Redskins for a third round pick in 2018 and defensive back Kendall Fuller.

It’s no real surprise that the Chiefs dealt Smith, considering they traded up in last year’s draft to select Mahomes.

This trade effected the Jets in many ways. However, it’s unclear if Cousins would join the Browns, who finished the regular-season with a 0-16 mark. In 2013, the salary cap was $123 million when Matt Ryan signed a five-year, $103.75 million deal. This season, however, the squad went 5-11, and Winston missed three games due to injury.

Cousins will now become a free agent on March 14th when the league new year starts unless the Redskins release him outright before then in which case he becomes a free agent immediately.

Cousins may be interested in coming to a Cleveland team that is young and that has been stuck in a 20- some year rebuild. Like Buffalo, Jacksonville has about a third of the cap space as the Jets.

Smith’s reaction to that possibility on “The Dan Patrick Show” was telling; he made it pretty clear Cleveland was not on his short list. One way to project a player’s future contract is to look at previous contracts from other players at the same position.

The deal also means that Kirk Cousins nearly certainly will be moving on from Washington.

Where does that leave the Browns?

Swearinger also sent out a series of tweets last night that praised Fuller for his slot corner play in addition to calling the trade a “tough one”. That’s for unrestricted free agents, which he would not be if he’s on the tag. If they somehow get him, they can use the picks to bolster the rest of their offense.

Here is what I believe to be a dream scenario for the Browns 2018 free agency.

Jay Cutler was never a long-term solution and there might still be questions about Ryan Tannehill’s knee. He’s 50-26 the past five years for Kansas City. Wow. None of these names is Cousins, who will set records for money earned on the open market.

Cleveland is absolutely a dumpster for quarterbacks in the National Football League and the need for an upgrade at the position is once again crystal clear with two of the top four picks in the upcoming draft suggesting a quarterback will be in that combo after drafting Deshone Kizer last spring. It’s time for the Bucs’ front office to step in and make a change under center, and Cousins could be an ideal candidate.