Redskins' Gruden: Alex Smith is the smartest guy I've ever been around
The Washington Redskins' offense made a significant change in the 2018 offseason, trading for quarterback Alex Smith after the club determined it wouldn't retain Kirk Cousins as a free agent.
As mandatory minicamps begin, head coach Jay Gruden sounds like a fan of the move. He praised Smith for his football IQ on Tuesday, calling his new signal-caller "the smartest guy I have ever been around, without a doubt," according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.
Despite his kind words, Gruden warned that Smith needs to get familiar with his offense quickly.
"He has got to get (the offense) down by the first game," Gruden told reporters, according to Florio. "So I think he is already close to having it down for the most part. Each game plan is going to change with different concepts depending on who we play from time to time. But he needs to get it down and he will get it down. That's why we got him here. ...
"We are not in here to build the team around him. The team is built and he has to lead it, like, right now. This isn't a two- or three-year process. This is a one-year process and we have got to win right away."
Washington finished 7-9 in 2017, and has surpassed nine wins just once over the last 12 seasons.