Could the Redskins move up to draft Kyler Murray?

The Redskins want to find a new quarterback in this year’s draft, but it’s going to be tough for Washington to move up far enough to grab Kyler Murray.

The minute Alex Smith went down with his gruesome leg injury last November the complexion of Washington’s quarterback options changed dramatically. The Redskins now find themselves in need of a new franchise quarterback.

The franchise is making strong indications they want to acquire that signal caller in this month’s draft.

Team officials continue to say publicly they’re comfortable going into the 2019 season with Case Keenum or Colt McCoy under center, but their pre-draft actions say otherwise.

The Redskins have gone to great lengths to bring quite a few of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft to visit over the past several weeks. The latest prospect to make the trip to the nation’s capital is former Oklahoma star Kyler Murray.

Murray is widely expected to go No. 1 overall to the Cardinals. If he does slip past Arizona, it’s unlikely that he’ll make it past the Raiders at No. 4. The Redskins currently aren’t scheduled to go on the clock before No. 15. It’s impossible to think Murray will fall that far.

To draft the consensus top quarterback in this class, the Redskins will need to make a big trade.

Making a deal with Arizona to move all the way up to No. 1 would be much too costly for a Redskins franchise that has numerous other holes to fill on their roster. Coach Jay Gruden also needs to come away with help at wide receiver and edge rusher in this draft.

Tempting the Cardinals to move all the way down to No. 15 would require the Redskins to part with a ton of draft capital. Discussions would likely start with Washington’s second and third round picks in this year’s draft as well as multiple first rounders in the future.

That price is simply too steep.

The only chance the Redskins have at coming up with Murray is if the Cardinals elect to go in a different direction at No. 1.

That isn’t going to be enough to allow the talented quarterback to fall all the way to Washington at 15, but the price to make a deal with either Oakland at No. 4 or New York at No. 6 would be slightly more manageable.

Making a deal with their division rivals might be tough, but the Raiders would certainly be willing to listen.

It would still prove to be a really expensive move for the Redskins. Oakland would need this year’s second and third rounders along with Washington’s first rounder in 2020.

That’s a hefty price to pay, but it’s worth it for the Redskins if they truly believe Murray is destined to be a Pro Bowl quarterback.

Redskins fans shouldn’t get their hopes up about seeing Murray play for their favorite team next season. It’s much more likely they’ll come out of this draft with a lesser prospect. Someone like Daniel Jones or Drew Lock will be much more attainable for Washington on Draft Day.

Murray is just going to be too expensive.