Doug Williams looked at Alex Smith and slightly exaggerated the commitment the Washington Redskins made to their new soon-to-be 34-year-old quarterback.

"He can play to 40 Stephen Hauschka 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 T.J. Yeldon Jersey , who's going to be our quarterback next year?'"

Williams said three or four other teams were also attempting to get Smith, 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 Maliek Collins Jersey , 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, 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.

AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell and Howard Fendrich contributed.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ difficult April got a lot worse with news that two-time All-Star shortstop and 2016 NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the operation will be performed Friday in Los Angeles to repair a right ulnar collateral ligament sprain.

The 24-year-old infielder had been bothered by a sore elbow since the middle of last season but had tried to deal with the problem with rest and rehabilitation rather than surgery.

Seager spoke to reporters in the dugout before the Dodgers played NL West rival Arizona on Monday night. He said he felt pain and numbness after a couple of throws in the recently completed series at San Francisco. There was no doubt surgery was needed, Seager said, calling it ”cut and dried.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Hoping for clearance to begin a throwing program, San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is headed to Arizona to meet with the same doctor who performed surgery on his left pinkie.

Bumgarner was scheduled to leave the Bay Area for a checkup with Dr. Donald Sheridan, who inserted three pins into Bumgarner’s pitching hand one day after the 2014 World Series MVP was hit by a line drive late in spring training. If Bumgarner is cleared to start throwing, the four-time All-Star is still likely a month away from rejoining the big league club.

The Giants also said second baseman Joe Panik underwent surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and will miss at least six weeks. Panik had flown to Los Angeles to get a second opinion before opting for surgery.

FOOTBALL

ALLENTOWN Marcus Martin Jersey , Pa. (AP) – Former NFL player and general manager Matt Millen says he is being treated for a rare disease that has robbed his heart of most of its normal function.

The 60-year-old Millen told the Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania that he has been diagnosed with amyloidosis, a life-threatening illness that may force him to seek a heart transplant. Millen said he has been receiving chemotherapy once a week to treat the condition that left his heart functioning at just 30 percent.

Millen played 12 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL for the Raiders, 49ers and Redskins – and won four Super Bowl rings. He later served as Detroit’s general manager and has also spent three decades as a broadcaster. Millen told the Morning Call he plans to return to the booth in the fall.

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Vikings have re-signed cornerback Terence Newman, bringing the NFL’s oldest active defensive player back for a 16th season that will begin five days after he turns 40.

Newman, who has played the last three years with the Vikings, has 42 career interceptions to lead all active players in the league. With Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes the starters on the outside, Newman and Mackensie Alexander remain the primary options to play the slot in the nickel defense. The Vikings also drafted Mike Hughes out of Central Florida in the first round Thursday.

OLYMPICS

The whistleblower who exposed Russian cheating at the 2014 Olympics filed a motion to dismiss a libel lawsuit against him, which his lawyers portrayed as a ploy led by the Russian owner of the Brooklyn Nets to reveal his whereabouts.

Former Moscow lab director Grigory Rodchenkov has been living in hiding in the United States, fearful of Russian retribution since revealing his country’s elaborate scheme to cheat at the Sochi Games.

Rodchenkov seeks dismissal of the libel lawsuit supported by Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov on behalf of three Russian biathletes whose medals from the Sochi Games were stripped for doping.

He also filed a countersuit against Prokhorov, the former president of Russia’s biathlon federation. Rodchenkov’s lawyers say Prokhorov’s support of the biathletes is part of a scheme to flush out Rodchenkov from hiding.

HOCKEY

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The Carolina Hurricanes terminated the contract of demoted general manager and Hall of Fame player Ron Francis.

The Hurricanes announced the move in a three-sentence statement nearly two months after Francis was reassigned to another front-office position – president of hockey operations – while the team began a search for a new GM that will report directly to new owner Tom Dundon.

Francis L. P. Ladouceur Jersey , 55, is a four-time All-Star who won the Stanley Cup twice with Pittsburgh in the 1990s and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He took over as Carolina’s general manager in 2014 after being groomed for the position by former GM Jim Rutherford – who now is trying to win the Cup for a third straight year with the Penguins.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have not made the playoffs since 2009. Their nine-year postseason drought is one of the longest in NHL history.

GOLF

PLANO, Texas (AP) – Tony Romo didn’t get out of the opening stage in another failed attempt to play in the U.S. Open.

Romo three-putted his opening hole at Gleneagles Country Club, made only two birdies and shot a 5-over 77 in the 18-hole local qualifier. The top eight finishers from Gleneagles advance to 36-hole sectional qualifying on June 4.

Romo, the retired Dallas Cowboys quarterback and NFL analyst for CBS Sports, failed to get through local qualifying for the second straight year.

He was tied for 24th among the first half of the field, meaning he would miss advancing by at least five shots. Romo played his first PGA Tour event in March in the Dominican Republic and had rounds of 77-82, missing the cut.

SURFING

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) – A Brazilian surfer rode a monster wave off Portugal to set a world record.

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