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3 potential Redskins moves that would be better off as April Fools jokes

By Jacob Camenker

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 05: Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins #95 of the New York Giants celebrates after sacking quarterback Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter of their game at MetLife Stadium on October 5, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 05: Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins #95 of the New York Giants celebrates after sacking quarterback Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter of their game at MetLife Stadium on October 5, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 15: Alex Smith #11 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on December 15, 2013 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 15: Alex Smith #11 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on December 15, 2013 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /

3. Drafting a quarterback before Day 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft

When the Redskins traded for Alex Smith, the team officially addressed the questions that they had at quarterback. Kirk Cousins was always expected to walk in the 2018 offseason, and he ended up joining the Minnesota Vikings. But, with the acquisition of Smith, the Redskins got a player whose play is close to the same caliber as Cousins. For that reason, quarterback isn’t a pressing need.

That said, Smith is a 34-year-old passer, so it’s possible that he doesn’t have a lot of time left as a high level passer at the NFL level, especially considering his inconsistent arm strength. Because of this, the Redskins are going to have to add a quarterback to develop behind him. And they will likely at least consider doing that in the 2018 NFL Draft.

However, the Redskins simply can’t afford to take a quarterback on the first days of the draft. The reasoning for this is simple. First, Smith signed an extension with the Redskins that will keep him under contract for the next five seasons. Though the deal has some easy outs for the Redskins after three years, they still shouldn’t invest one of their early picks in a quarterback.

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Because of the way that draft pick contracts work, every player selected gets a deal that will keep them under contract for four years. The only players that have an option for a fifth year are the first round picks. In all likelihood, the Redskins would consider taking a quarterback in Round 2 if they were going to select one on either of the first two days of the draft. But if they did that, they would end up with a difficult situation.

In the event that Alex Smith declined three years into his deal, the team would probably part ways with him and then give their young play a chance to start. However, if that happened, the Redskins would get a tiny sample size to evaluate their quarterback before he is eligible for free agency. That could create another Kirk Cousins type scenario in which the team will either be forced to overpay an unproven quarterback, or they will have to play the franchise tag game. And that seems like a route the Redskins would rather avoid.

If the Redskins want to take a quarterback, they’d be better off grabbing a developmental project on Day 3 of the draft. Ideally, they could land a guy like Riley Ferguson in Round 5 or 6 to serve as the third stringer behind Colt McCoy. But either way, the Redskins would be best served to wait until the latter rounds to address this position. It would be foolish for them to repeat the same mistakes they made with Cousins, so grabbing a player who is similar to Nate Sudfeld makes a lot more sense.

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