2018 Washington Redskins season

The 2018 season was the Washington Redskins' 87th in the National Football League and their fifth under head coach Jay Gruden. This was the first season since 2011 that quarterback Kirk Cousins was not on the roster, as he joined the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason as a free agent.

The team finished with the same record from the previous season, 7–9, and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. Despite a 6–3 start which was their best since 2008 plus leading the NFC East, the team suffered 4 straight losses after the team lost their starting quarterback Alex Smith to a leg injury in their Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans. This resulted in a quarterback hangover. First, it forced Colt McCoy into the starting role in Weeks 12 and 13 before suffering a fractured fibula in a 28–13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, thus forcing the Redskins to start journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez in Week 14 before starting another journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson against the Jacksonville Jaguars after benching Sanchez at halftime against the New York Giants. After the Alex Smith injury, the Redskins finished the last 7 games of the season with a record of 1–6. They were eliminated from playoff contention by a 25–16 loss to the Titans, and wins by the Eagles and Vikings in Week 16. The team's season ended with 25 players on injured reserve, which were a league high.

Draft
Draft trades
 * The Redskins traded their third-round selection (78th overall) and cornerback Kendall Fuller to Kansas City in exchange for quarterback Alex Smith.
 * The Redskins traded safety Su'a Cravens and their fourth- (No. 113 overall) and fifth- (No. 149 overall) round selections to Denver in exchange for Denver's fourth- (No. 109 overall), two fifth-round selections (Nos. 142 and 163 overall) and a conditional 2020 selection.
 * The Redskins traded their sixth-round selection (No. 188 overall) to Cleveland in exchange for quarterback Kevin Hogan and Cleveland's sixth-round selection (No. 205 overall).
 * The Redskins traded tight end Derek Carrier to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams' seventh-round selection (241st overall).

Supplemental Draft


 * The Redskins selected Virginia Tech cornerback Adonis Alexander in the 2018 Supplemental draft. As a result, the team will forfeit their 6th-round selection in the 2019 draft.

Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 5: at New Orleans Saints
The Redskins hoped to get revenge for their loss in this game a year ago, where they blew a 31-16 lead with three minutes remaining and lost in overtime. Instead, the Redskins got blown out. This game was the point where Drew Brees passed Brett Favre and Peyton Manning on most passing yards.

Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers
This marked the first time since 2006 that the Redskins had defeated the Panthers.

Week 11: vs. Houston Texans
Alex Smith suffered a broken leg during the game and was replaced by his backup, Colt McCoy. Incidentally, this was exactly 33 years to the day of Joe Theismann's terrible career-ending injury.

Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys
NFL on Thanksgiving Day