Chiefs QB Alex Smith Off To Washington In Monster NFL Trade

According to ESPN, Washington is sending a third-round draft pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller to Kansas City in the trade, which can not be finalized until March 14.

In a totally surprising deal that went down on Tuesday night, the Redskins made a decision to acquire Alex Smith from the Chiefs in a trade that will be sending a third-round draft pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller to Kansas City, only no one actually told Fuller that he was being traded.

NFL.com's Chris Wesseling suggests the Broncos as the team most likely to land soon-to-be free agent Kirk Cousins based on fit and the team's current financial structure.

Though a deal is in place for Smith, it can't technically be finished until the new league year begins on March 14. Ironically, he had a career year with 4,042 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, just five interceptions and a quarterback rating of 104.7. What are his cap hits in the first few years?

Also, like Matt Miller mentions in the tweet above, the Chiefs probably wanted to avoid sending Smith to an AFC team, especially a division rival. This appeared to be a factor in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes waiting in the wings.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Carson, Calif.

If the Broncos wind up with one of these second-tier free-agent quarterbacks, they would then be expected to select a quarterback with their No. 5 overall draft pick. He has been the Chiefs' starting quarterback the last five seasons, including four playoff appearances.

If the Broncos don't wind up with Cousins, who played on the franchise tag of $23.94 million this season and figures to command a multiyear deal between $25 million and $30 million in free agency, the Broncos would then seek a "stopgap" quarterback in free agency. Quarterbacks are the most sought-after players, and now that the Redskins will presumably no longer be drafting a quarterback to replace Cousins, some interesting hypotheticals are cropping up. Immediately viewed as a puzzling move for a Washington team that seems to be content treading water, it will undoubtedly become one of the most polarizing deals of the offseason.

This also benefits Denver, who isn't cash-strapped by any means, but certainly doesn't have the money the Browns, Jets or Vikings have - at least for now. They signed several QBs but did not find a lot of success since Brett Favre's one-year stint with the franchise. The franchise tag price could be prohibitive, but the transition tag price is more manageable and the Redskins may be more apt to work out a trade with another team versus letting Cousins go and recouping a third round compensatory pick in 2019. One NFC scout predicted Smith and Gruden would be a good pairing.