Safe to say Alex Smith will not be coming to Minnesota in 2018

The veteran quarterback could have possibly landed with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, but that seems unlikely after getting traded on Tuesday.

With only one quarterback, Kyle Sloter, currently under contract for 2018, the Minnesota Vikings are going to consider a number of options to figure out who their starting signal caller will be next season. One of those options could have been to make a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for veteran quarterback Alex Smith, who was entering the last year of his current deal.

However, that seems highly unlikely to happen after what went down on Tuesday night. Smith has reportedly been traded to the Washington Redskins according to the Kansas City Star’s Terez A. Paylor.

In exchange for the quarterback, the Chiefs will receive a third-round draft pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller from the Redskins according to multiple reports. Washington is also reportedly signing Smith to a four-year extension worth $94 million with $71 million of that guaranteed according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

The trade cannot be finalized until the new league year begins on March 14.

Washington acquiring Smith would seem to indicate that the team is not confident it will be able to retain quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason. The Redskins have placed the franchise tag on Cousins in each of the past two years and would have owed the quarterback more than $30 million in 2018 if they were to do it again.

Minnesota Vikings

Clearly Cousins wants to get out of Washington and sign a long-term deal elsewhere. Could his new destination be with the Vikings?

Chances Minnesota is able to land Cousins do seem higher with the Redskins trading for Smith on Tuesday. But hold that excitement for now since those chances have really just gone from a minuscule level to an anything-can-happen level.

According to Spotrac, Cousins will likely be looking for a contract length of around five years and a value of almost $25 million per year.

The Vikings are scheduled to have $53 million in cap space this offseason and some of that money is expected to be used to sign a few of their current players to lucrative extensions. Some of those deals would have to be re-configured or put to the side if Minnesota is serious about signing Cousins.

Next: Where will Sam Bradford end up in 2018?

For now though, Smith can be crossed off the list of potential starting quarterbacks for the Vikings in 2018.