Alex Smith Traded to Washington: Kirk Cousins About to Get Paid
Former Michigan State Spartan Kirk Cousins is set to get a mega deal rivaling Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford's after the news broke that the Washington Redskins have agreed to a trade to acquire Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs.
The trade details reportedly see Smith going to Washington for a return of a third round pick in this year's draft and cornerback Kendall Fuller.
Smith, 33, had his best season as a professional QB with 4.042 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 67.5% of his passes in the 2017 season leading KC to a 10-6 record and an AFC West title. The Chiefs were eliminated from the NFL playoffs in the wild card round by the Tennessee Titans.
According to reports, Smith has agreed in principle to a four year contract extension worth $94 million with Washington. The trade and subsequent contract extension can not be made official until the first day of the NFL league year which is March 14.
With Washington hitching their wagon to Smith, this will make Kirk Cousins a free agent and he will be in line for a huge payday this offseason.
After playing the last two years under the franchise tag and making almost $44 million in those two years, Cousins could now sign a multi-year deal that could break all the NFL records.
Last offseason, Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford was labeled as the NFL's most expensive player ever with a 5-year, $135 million deal for an average of $27 million a year.
Considering that Cousins made around $22 million a year on one-year franchise tag deals, his value could easily inflate to something well over Stafford's on the free agent market.
The question now, is where will Cousins end up with what is sure to be an astronomical price tag.