Saturday, May 26, 2018

Examining the Redskins Quarterback Situation for the 2018 Season


A passionate football fan, Carl Buhler forsees a bright 2018 season for his favorite National Football League (NFL) team, the Washington Redskins. For the Redskins' quarterback situation, for the first time in three years, the Redskins will begin the season without Kirk Cousins as its starting quarterback. A Michigan State alumnus, Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings on March 15, but the writing was on the wall in regard to his future in Washington. That is because, in February, the Redskins agreed to a trade to acquire veteran quarterback Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round draft pick. Generally regarded as one of the best deep-ball passers in the NFL, Smith joins the Redskins after a relatively quiet free-agency period. 

The trade was made official on March 14, the day before Cousins signed in Minnesota. Cousins stated the Redskins were open to bringing him back, but he was willing to wait out the free agent market a little longer than Washington was willing to wait, because the team believed they had to act quickly to find their quarterback for the 2018 season. In addition to Smith, who had a league-best 104.7 passer rating last season, the Redskins acquired Kevin Hogan from the Cleveland Browns. Hogan is expected to compete with Colt McCoy for the backup quarterback role, which may be a position of higher importance than last year, as Alex Smith has missed a few games during his career due to injuries. The author, Carl Buhler is in the Air Force.