Alex Smith will be looking for a new NFL team this offseason. According to multiple reports, the 2020 Comeback Player of the Year is expected to be cut from the Washington Football Team in the coming days. This decision comes after Smith returned to the field this past season after suffering a brutal leg injury in 2018, which led to him having 17 surgeries. He missed all the 2019 season and returned in 2020 to post a 5-1 record in Washington and win the AFC East.
In February, Smith spoke to Clay Skipper of GQ and talked about how his return changed things for Washington. “They never thought I was coming back,” Smith, 36, said. “No one there. I did all my rehab outside of the building. They do ACLs and stuff like that. But walking in with what I had, it’s like you got three eyes.” Smith’s first game in 2020 came in Week 5 against the Rams and replaced Kyle Allen who suffered an arm injury. He played in eight games and threw for 1,582 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 66.7% percent of his passes.
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“So there was a very small group of people that actually thought that I could do this,” Smith said in the GQ interview. “I think the rest of the world either doubted me, or they patronized me. ‘Yeah, that’s really nice that you’re trying.’ When I decided to come back, I definitely threw a wrench in the team’s plan. They didn’t see it, didn’t want me there, didn’t want me to be a part of it, didn’t want me to be on the team, the roster, didn’t want to give me a chance. Mind you, it was a whole new regime, they came in, I’m like the leftovers and I’m hurt and I’m this liability. Heck no, they didn’t want me there.”
Smith was drafted No. 1 overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 and was with the team for eight seasons. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 and played for the organization for five seasons. He had his best years in Kansas City, reaching the Pro Bowl in 2013, 2016 and 2017. In 2018, Smith was traded to Washington and played in 10 games before his leg injury.
