By JABARI WILBON

On Tuesday night, the Washington Redskins made a shocking trade less than a week before the Super Bowl, acquiring quarterback Alex Smith and sending their current quarterback Kirk Cousins into free agency. According to a report from the Kansas City Star‘s Terez A. Paylor, the Chiefs agreed to the deal on Tuesday afternoon.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Smith was traded for Redskins cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

At first glance, this deal may not make sense for either sides. But, for the Redskins it was needed more than fans and media expected. Cousins was set to be the highest paid quarterback this upcoming season and the Redskins were going have to pay him that money in order to keep him.

For the Chiefs, this allows them to start Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, their former first round pick last season, who was waiting behind Smith for his moment.

Many reporters took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the trade and to explain what was right and wrong for both teams. Reporters also compared Cousins and Smith as most agreed that they were essentially the same player and the Redskins didn’t get much better.

Adam Schefter, an NFL analyst, reported on Twitter that Cousins and the Redskins haven’t had any contact since the end of the regular season.

If the Redskins were to keep Cousins, they would have had to pay him $34 million. Instead, they’re paying Smith $23 million and for who many think is slightly better than Cousins.

Reporters felt that the Redskins did the right thing, overall, and now understand that Cousins is in the midst of a major pay day for another team.