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”He can play to 40 Mathew Barzal Jersey ,” Williams said Thursday. ”Can you, Alex? Look at him. I think he can.”
Smith smiled back and has plenty to be happy about. The veteran is now the Redskins’ franchise quarterback after being acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs and signing a $94 million, four-year extension with $71 million guaranteed that keeps him under contract through 2022.
He’d be 38 if he plays out that deal, one that shows the Redskins were willing to commit long term to Smith the way they never did with Kirk Cousins. As Williams implied Cousins didn’t want to be in Washington for the long haul, Smith made it clear he did.
”This is where I wanted to be,” Smith said. ”It looked fun. I wanted to be a part of it.”
Smith gives the Redskins the kind of continuity at the position they lacked with Cousins, who became the first QB in NFL history to play back-to-back seasons under the franchise tag before signing a fully guaranteed $84 million, three-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings.
”I do believe that Washington had a lot of great pieces,” Cousins said at his introductory news conference. ”They will have a lot of great pieces going forward and the margin of error is small. The difference between winning and losing is so small.”
Cousins’ year-to-year status and propensity for mistakes in big moments outweighed his three consecutive 4,000-yard seasons to Washington’s front office, which decided to target Smith.
”That’s somebody you can build your team around and know he’s going to be here, year in and year out,” coach Jay Gruden said. ”You’re not always looking down the road: `Oh, who’s going to be our quarterback next year?”’
Williams said three or four other teams were also attempting to get Smith Jean-Gabriel Pageau Jersey , which the Redskins did by sending a 2018 third-round pick and promising young cornerback Kendall Fuller to Kansas City.
Smith had some say in his destination because he had to agree to the extension that Williams joked, ”If we have to add a couple more years to it, we’ll do that, too.”
That was never going to happen with Cousins, a 2012 fourth-round pick taken the same draft as Robert Griffin III who thrived under the impression he was not wanted. From the Redskins’ perspective, that went both ways.
”It wasn’t a matter of wanting to commit to the other guy,” Williams said of Cousins. ”We had to look at it what we had to do that’s going to be best for us, somebody who wanted to be here.”
Smith’s introduction six weeks after the trade and extension were agreed to came with a welcome gift as the Redskins signed former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson to a five-year deal that’s reported to be worth $40 million.
Richardson saw what DeSean Jackson did as a fellow speed threat in this offense and talked to former Washington receiver Pierre Garcon about the situation and figured it would be a good fit to catch balls from Smith.
”I want him to know I’m always available,” said Richardson, who has 95 catches for 1,302 yards and eight touchdowns in four seasons. ”Just throw it. It don’t matter where it is. I’m going to go get it. And I’m going to turn him into a believer.”
Smith has already made the Redskins’ brass into believers, and the entire organization from owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen down showed up for his much-hyped introductory news conference.
Standing in the same building that Cousins roamed the past three seasons as the starter, Smith looked comfortable being the guy and understanding the faith the franchise put in him.
”We’ve got to go win games,” Smith said. ”Excited about the opportunity because that’s what it is at this point. It’s an opportunity Authentic Nick Bjugstad Jersey , and we’ve got to go make the most of it.”
Gruden praised Smith for having ”all the traits” to be successful, and Williams sees the same on-field characteristics.
But the Super Bowl MVP QB-turned-executive also sees another benefit in the locker room of Smith being under contract long term.
”I don’t think the fans really understand when you talk about stability and when you know the guy that’s going to be leading this team is going to be in your locker room for the next three to four to five years, that’s a good feeling,” Williams said.
”I think now they can relax and even during the season don’t have to worry about whether our fearless leader’s going to be here next year.”
NOTES: The Redskins re-signed LB Zach Brown, whom they added in free agency a year ago. … According to tweets from their agents, WR Brian Quick re-signed and former Cowboys P Sam Irwin-Hill signed with Washington.
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AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell and Howard Fendrich contributed.
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Adam Silver has encouraged the Philadelphia 76ers to both quickly and thoroughly resolve the investigation into whether team president Bryan Colangelo used Twitter inappropriately, a story that the NBA commissioner acknowledged was not one he wants to be thinking about during the league’s title series.
Silver, speaking Thursday before Game 1 of the Cleveland-Golden State matchup at the NBA Finals news conference, said he has talked with 76ers officials after the story about five Twitter accounts and how they were used was broken by The Ringer earlier this week.
”Here we are, Game 1 of the finals, it’s not necessarily something that we want to be talking about,” Silver said. ”But it’s the reality of this league. And so I have no information beyond that, other than that investigation is underway.”
The 76ers retained an independent law firm to determine whether Colangelo used the Twitter accounts. The situation could overshadow Philadelphia’s efforts this summer to land any of the top players who will be free agents – a list that includes LeBron James, who’s appearing in the NBA Finals for the eighth consecutive year.
Among the targets of harsh or critical comments on those Twitter accounts: Philadelphia players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz Seth Jones Jersey , former 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. Embiid has said he does not believe that Colangelo wrote the tweets, dismissing the story as ”insane.”
Colangelo has acknowledged using one of the accounts to monitor NBA happenings.
”Let’s find out what’s going on,” Silver said. ”We have to separate the chatter and sort of what either fans or frankly the media are saying from the facts. The first thing we have to do here is determine what the actual facts are in this circumstance.”
Silver touched on many other topics in his annual address, including:
SPORTS BETTING
There will be wagering on Game 3 of the NBA Finals, at least in Delaware casinos.
That state’s officials have announced that full-scale sports betting will begin there at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday , one day before the series between Golden State and Cleveland shifts to the Cavaliers‘ home floor.
Delaware is the first state to take advantage of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that now permits states to allow sports wagering. Delaware has been permitted to offer parlay wagers on NFL games since 2009, and has had sports betting legislation on its books for nearly a decade. Other states are trying to follow suit quickly.
The NBA has told states it is seeking a 1 percent cut of betting, which it is calling an ”integrity fee” to help offset the costs of enforcement incurred by the league office and also to serve as a royalty.
”The real issue as we move to new jurisdictions that are legalizing sports betting is access to information,” Silver said. ”That’s one of the things we have sought in model legislation … and so what we can do is going to depend in large part on the quality of the information we can get from these states.”
Silver said the NBA game is the league’s ”intellectual property, and we think we should be compensated for it.”
STERLING BROWN
Silver has seen the footage of police using a Taser on Milwaukee guard Sterling Brown during an incident outside a Walgreens store in January, one that started over a parking violation.
”I saw the video for the first time when the public saw it,” Silver said. ”It’s horrific. For any of us, regardless of the fact that he’s an NBA player Sonny Milano Jersey , it was difficult to watch. It’s painful.”
An officer approached Brown for illegal parking, called for backup and six squads responded. Silver said has also had conversations with the player’s father, Chris Brown, a Chicago police officer for many years.
”It’s a reality in our country right now that there’s a disconnect often between young people of color especially and police officers – incidentally black and white,” Silver said. ”And one of the things the league has undertaken, led in many ways by our players and by our leading players, has been defined ways to build bridges in communities to create dialogue directly between young people and police officers.”
Silver said some NBA teams have had meetings with police in various communities, trying to improve relations.
EXPANSION
Silver said there are no plans for expansion, though lauded the success of the NHL’s first-year Vegas Golden Knights – who are in the Stanley Cup final against the Washington Capitals.
He also congratulated Ted Leonsis, who owns both the Capitals and the NBA’s Wizards.
”Invariably, it’s only natural for any business to grow and expand at some point,” Silver said.
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