Washington Redskins: 5 Standouts in training camp for 2018
QB Alex Smith
The Kansas City Chiefs may have wanted to move on from Smith with a younger and presumably more dynamic quarterback in Pat Mahomes, but Washington is certainly happy to have him under center. And it goes far beyond what he does on the field.
Smith has a tremendous grasp of the offense. Gruden has repeated it over and over. He trusts Smith and his knowledge of the offense. He believes, with Smith, Washington will be much better on offense.
Since taking over the Redskins back in 2014, Gruden has truly never been able to pick his own quarterback. He inherited Robert Griffin III. He chose Kirk Cousins just to keep Griffin on the bench. The Gruden and Cousins pairing went well, although the coach would often get frustrated by Cousins’ unwillingness to take chances.
Make no mistake, the Redskins would not have traded for Smith if Gruden was not on board. He loves Smith. And his teammates do, too.
After one catch on a crossing route by Josh Doctson, QB Alex Smith walked over to him and told him, "Great catch. Great catch." Then they chatted for a couple minutes. Later, Doctson said of Smith: "After every pass... he'll come to me or he'll come to... https://t.co/f19GUEIcf0
— John Keim (@john_keim) July 28, 2018
Teammates have praised Smith all offseason. Now that training camp is here and the media and fans can watch practice on a daily basis, they see why everyone loves Smith. He encourages teammates after every snap and it’s not a farce. Leadership comes naturally.
Now, Smith must win games on the field and everyone will be happy.