The first issue comes with his contract. Alex Smith has one year left on his contract worth 17 million dollars for the upcoming 2018 NFL season. Cleveland should have 100+ million in cap space heading into free agency so why is 17 million an issue? The answer is it is not.
For current QB standards with the way the free agent market has gone in recent years, 17 million is actually a pretty good deal for someone of Alex Smith’s talent. The problem lies more with the one year remaining. The front office can redo the contract but as it stands at the moment the trade is just for a one year rental.
The second issue is with the Browns 2018 draft. With four picks in the top 35 and the number one and number four overall picks, it is almost a guarantee the team will select a QB early, likely first overall.
With the opportunity to grab their choice of any QB in the draft with a seemingly deep and talented group early on the Browns can find their franchise guy early. Smith is not coming in to be the long term answer, but the bridge that carries them from point A until the time that pick is ready to take over as point B.
But the main reason for this not being a perfect marriage is for the value and progression of this rebuild. Alex Smith is under contract with the Kansas City Chiefs which means the Browns can not overpay him to come here but must give up some asset in order to acquire him. While the team does own a lot of draft picks because of former GM Sashi Brown maybe it isn’t best to use one on Alex.
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