Just five days before biggest game of the year in which the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will square off in a battle for the Super Bowl LII title, Philadelphia’s division rival, the Washington Redskins stole headlines, at least for the day, as they acquired quarterback, Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs.  The move, completed on Tuesday, sent Smith to Washington in return for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third round pick.

Following the trade it is apparent that the Chiefs look will be moving on to the “Patrick Mahomes era,” while former Redskins quarterback, Kirk Cousins will officially be looking for a new home for the 2018 season as the Redskins came to an agreement with Smith on a 4-year extension worth $71 million following the trade. The trade will be made official on February 20th as that is the first day, by league rules, that teams can officially make trades and franchise tag players.

As for the winners and losers in this deal the, Redskins appear to be the loser, at the moment, however, it may not be all bad for Washington.

Loser: Alex Smith and the Washington Redskins…for the moment

Smith, 33, is coming off a career year in which he lead the league in QBR and finished top 10 in nearly every passing category. However, at age 33 Smith is forced to set up shop with the third team of his NFL career.  This is not exactly an ideal situation for Smith who lead the Chiefs to a postseason birth in four of his five seasons and will be inheriting a Washington team who is coming off a 7-9 season, having missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons.  It is clear that Smith will not have the same fire power at his disposal in Washington that he had with Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce but the Redskins have a respectable offensive unit featuring tight end Jordan Reed coming off injury, running back Chris Thompson and plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball.

Yes, the Redskins may be losing a good young quarterback in Kirk Cousins but Alex Smith can still win them games now and was one top quarterbacks of the league during the 2017 season. As for the Chiefs losing Alex Smith may hurt if Mahomes doesn’t pan out but they got what they needed with the additions of Fuller and a potential third round pick. Eventually they have to see what Patrick Mahomes can do and Smith to a long term deal did not really make sense for the Chiefs.

Winner: Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins is the undisputed winner of this deal as he gets to leave and look for a max deal and chose his next destination. Cousins had made it clear he wanted out of Washington prior to the season and it appears, that he has been granted his wish come March 14 when free agency begins.With that being said, the bidding war begins and the most intriguing part of this deal has only just begun. There are plenty of teams across the league who could vie for Cousins services including early favorites, the Denver Broncos, New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills, who are fresh off their first postseason birth in 18 years.

Winner: Patrick Mahomes

Quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Alex Smith have stolen headlines in this deal but Patrick Mahomes undoubtably a driving force in Kansas City’s hand. Last year, it was Mahomes who was stealing headlines when Kansas City traded up to the number 10 pick in last years draft to get the rookie. In 2015 Mahomes started to emerge as a sophomore at Texas Tech finishing 4th in the NCAA in passing yards (4,653 yards) along with 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. In 2016 Mahomes led the country in passing yards throwing for 5,052 yards and 41 touchdowns in which he tied with Heisman Finalist Deshaun Watson and Ryan Higgins for 3rd in the country. Although Mahomes’ 41 touchdowns lead the NCAA and his 10 interceptions were 7 less than Heisman finalist DeShaun Watson, the Red Raiders simply did not win enough during his tenure to keep his name relevant for the most prestigious award in the college football. Mahomes also shows plenty of athletic ability and will have an opportunity to lead the defending division champs to the next step.