Fansided

Each NFL team’s biggest reason to be excited in 2018

By Brad Berreman

BEREA, OH - JULY 30: Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns throws a pass during a training camp practice on July 30, 2018 at the Cleveland Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
BEREA, OH - JULY 30: Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns throws a pass during a training camp practice on July 30, 2018 at the Cleveland Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Newton-The Washington Post/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Newton-The Washington Post/Getty Images /

Washington Redskins – Mr. Smith comes to Washington

After never committing to Kirk Cousins, through two years of the franchise tag dance and public signs of disrespect, the Redskins finally let him go in free agency and traded for Alex Smith. Most of the drama related to Cousins came from the team’s end, but removing it from the equation should be a good thing.

Smith had the best season of his career for the Chiefs last year, with career-highs in passing yards (4,042), touchdowns (26), passer rating (104.7), yards per attempt (8.0), yards per completion (11.9) and interception rate (1.0 percent). In a big shift from his previous mode as a check-down king, Smith also led the NFL in passer rating on 20-plus yard throws last year.

Head coach Jay Gruden immediately said the right things, however flimsy they might be on the surface, about Smith being an upgrade over Cousins.

"It’s not one thing, it’s everything. It’s the entire body of work,” Gruden said of Smith. “He’s very good at the intermediate ball. He’s good with the quick game. He can run zone reads, the [run-pass options]. Very exciting. … The ability to ad-lib, make plays that aren’t there and keep plays alive. Coaching him for the first time will be exciting because I don’t think there’s a limit on what he can do. He has all the thing you want a quarterback to be able to do."

Next. Top 10 favorites to win Super Bowl 53. dark

The kind of belief Gruden is conveying has mostly eluded Smith throughout his career. But the marriage of a pass-heavy offense and Gruden’s history of getting the best out of quarterbacks should be a happy one, and the switch under center is the top reason to be excited for NFL football in the nation’s capital this year.

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