What are the Redskins doing at Quarterback? It’s the question every fan and NFL expert seems to ask, every year. After years of uncertainty with Robert Griffin III and never being able to commute entirely to Kirk Cousins, the Redskins seemed to have found their answer in Alex Smith. Smith didn’t put up mind-blowing stats, but he had the team sitting at 6-3 before a devastating leg injury knocked him out for the season and possibly the rest of his career.

The 2018-2019 Redskins ended the last half of the season using a combination of Colt McCoy, Mark Sanchez, and Josh Johnson on the way to a 7-9 record.

With Smith definitely being out next year and no clear answers at QB, the team once again has to figure who will be under center next season.

Redskins stick with Colt McCoy

It might be strange to think about, but Colt McCoy is the most tenured Redskins’ QB in recent history. He’s last longer than RG III, Cousins, and Smith. Coaches love him, and his name has been thrown around as the starter. However, Colt has never been more than a preseason star. He’ll tear apart a second or third string defense, but when he gets into the regular season, he doesn’t do much.

McCoy’s biggest game for the Redskins came on a Monday night upset over the Dallas Cowboys a few years ago. Besides that game, Colt hasn’t done much for the Redskins.

The few times he’s been able to start he gets injured. One year it was the neck, and last year he broke his leg.

Outside of knowing the offense and team, there’s no reason for the Redskins to think McCoy can be a sixteen-game starter. At this point in his career, McCoy won’t be the answer at QB for more than a game or two. The Redskins can rest easy knowing they’ll have a veteran on the bench that can help another QB learn, but it’ll be another nightmare season if McCoy somehow becomes the starter for this team again.

Redskins roll with Case Keenum

Case Keenum’s entire career has been below average besides one year where he was good on a great Vikings team. He was the feel-good story of the season and turned that career year into a two-year deal in Denver. However, after only one season Denver decided to trade Keenum away. The trade for Keenum would make sense if it were any other team besides the Redskins.

The Redskins only gave Denver a sixth-round pick for the journeymen QB and a seventh-round pick. On paper on that's not a bad deal, but Keenum does nothing on the field for the Redskins. There is no way the Redskins can make Keenum the starter and tell the fans they’re not giving up on the 2019-2020 season. Case isn’t going to lift this average team to new heights, and he may not be that much of an upgrade over Colt McCoy.

However, Keenum only has one year left on his deal. The team could use him as the starter, ride out a rough season, and wait for Smith to get healthily for the next year. The fans may hate it, but it would save the team from investing long term money into another QB.

It is possible the Redskins don’t even have Keenum in this year’s plans.

If there is one team, Keenum can add value to it’s the Arizona Cardinals. Keenum’s former college coach Kliff Kingsbury took over the Cardinals this offseason and could use a QB who knows his system. The Redskins may just be using Keenum as trade bait for Josh Rosen.

Redskins trade for Josh Rosen

No one knows who Josh Rosen is as an NFL QB. He was picked tenth overall in last year’s draft but had a terrible rookie season. To be fair to Rosen, he was drafted by an awful team with a defensive head coach and an offensive line that couldn’t stay healthy. Rosen may have been terrible but he never really had a chance, and it might already be time for a fresh start.

The Cardinals sounded like they’re ready to move onto from Rosen and find their future Qb in the draft.

The Redskins make perfect sense for the Cardinals and Rosen. With the Redskins, Rosen will find a good offensive line, decent weapons, a good defense, and Jay Gruden’s friendly QB offense.

The Cardinals will find a team willing to give up a few picks and maybe even players. As it currently stands Rosen is only worth a third-round pick. The Redskins have two third-picks that they could easily justify giving up for a young QB like Rosen. If the Cardinals were to demand more, the Redskins have it. Keenum could be easily be traded away with a few picks, but there are also a few veteran players the Cardinals could use, and Washington could afford to get rid of.

Players like Josh Norman, Zach Brown, and Jordan Reed all carry massive cap-hit numbers and didn’t play great for Washington last year.

Norman was a liability, Brown was benched, and Reed is always hurt. Pair one or two of those players with a few picks for Rosen and Arizona suddenly has a team in much better shape. It would also give Washington a bit more cap room to buy some more weapons for Rosen.

Rosen and the Redskins are the perfect match. All fans can do is wait and see if Washington is going to be willing to pay the price to get a promising young QB.

Redskins trade up for Kyler Murray

This offseason has been full of questions about Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray. First, teams were worried Murray wasn’t one hundred percent committed to football and might pursue a career in baseball. When Murray said, he was committed to football, questions started to pop up about his height.

Teams worried Murray was only five foot eight, but at the combine came in at five foot ten.

Those two inches were enough to shoot Murray up to the top of many teams’ draft boards. Murray shot up so far he might become the number one overall pick. The Cardinals reportedly want him and when Kingsbury was still coaching in college said he would take Murray number overall if he had a chance.

Now Kingsbury has that chance, and he has been telling people he’s going to take it. However, Kingsbury’s comments could be smoke and mirrors to make another team desperate. Other teams would like Murray and are willing to trade up for him. The Redskins are one of those teams. Reports are that the Redskins would try to jump into the top five if the Cardinals don’t take Murray.

The price from jumping from the fifteenth pick in the draft to top five would be high and require Washington to mortgage the future of the team. It’s not that long ago that Washington tried the same thing with Robert Griffin III and it ended in disaster. However, team owner Dan Snyder isn’t afraid to take a chance and Murray is the type of chance he would love to take. Murray is fast, flashy, a big name, and puts up big stats.

More importantly to Snyder, Murray would sell tickets and jersey. The rest of Washington’s staff could be just as desperate to agree on making such a big jump in the draft. A rookie QB would most likely buy head coach Jay Gruden and team president Bruce Allen at least a few more years.

Trading up makes some sense for the Redskins, but the Cardinals may have already decided Murray is their man.

Redskins look at everyone else

Of course, there are other QBs and options the Redskins have. The draft has a few other high-quality QBs, but all of them have question marks, and there’s no guarantee any of them will drop to pick fifteen. Washington would still need to mortgage the future to get any of the other QBs.

There are free agents the Redskins could take a flyer on including Nick Foles, Teddy Bridgewater, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. It sounds like there’s no way Foles is going to the Redskins. Bridgewater had his devastating leg injury a few years ago, and he didn’t play well when he got a chance last year.

Fitzpatrick is more known for his beard and Harvard degree then for his football skills.

The QB situation for the Redskins might be bad, but that doesn’t mean the team is in bad shape or hasn’t made improvements. The coaching staff got overhauled and is now full of former head coaches that have all faced tougher situations. With a good pick and a few smart free agent signings, the Washington roster is pretty talented

The team is full of young weapons and explosive talent. This team doesn’t need a great QB to be competitive; it just needs one that doesn’t make mistakes. Washington faces a question that is difficult to answer but not impossible. It wasn’t long ago that Washington was 6-3 and on their way to running away with the NFC East. With a decent quarterback, Washington’s roster can compete with anyone in the NFL.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED