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deanpet21
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Keim: The Redskins internally say they've upgraded at quarterback. Of course, that could be justification for going in a different direction -- toward Smith and away from Kirk Cousins -- as not everyone in the NFL agrees with them. But for part of the season Smith was in the MVP discussion and, if nothing else, he and Cousins are at a comparable level. Smith offers the ability to make more off-schedule plays -- it's how he helped the Chiefs beat Washington last season and that's always a plus. But here's the biggest plus for Washington: Smith is a lot cheaper. And that's how he'll impact the division. The only way Washington could have retained Cousins was via one of the tags. Let's say they opted for the transition tag, the cheaper of the two. They would have paid Cousins $28.8 million. Smith will count $17 million on the cap this season. So they'll have around $34 million to spend on other players rather than just $23 million, giving them the ability to either retain some of their own free agents, extend young players or sign others. Smith's presence alone isn't enough, but his ability plus the extra cap room will allow the Redskins to build -- if they spend wisely.