After an almost two-year absence, after 17 surgeries and a near-amputation, Washington quarterback Alex Smith did what seemed unthinkable on Sunday: put on a helmet and train with his teammates. Smith has accomplished a lot in his 13 seasons of play playing on Sunday; just practice on a high rank too.
“In the football world I’m a dinosaur,” Smith told ESPN’s Stephania Bell, “but I felt like a 16-year-old again. The nerves, the feeling of excitement, obviously the anxiety The whole thing of being alive, the emotions of hanging out with your teammates, that’s why you play.
“It was good to get those nerves back on track.”
Smith, 36, was on the physically unable to perform list on Sunday, allowing him to train with Washington for the first time since he broke his fibula and tibia on his right leg in November. 2018. Until Sunday he worked on the side. with trainers during practice.
He’s still limited and isn’t participating in full-teamwork yet, but Sunday was another step towards his ultimate goal of playing again – even though Smith knows skeptics abound.
“I know a lot of people probably think it’s funny that I’m even chasing this. I really feel like I need to see where it ends, I need to see what my limits are, what I’m capable of.
“I really feel like I have faced this giant challenge in life. I can not help myself. I think my three grandchildren see everything I do. And for me, I keep pushing that and seeing where it goes, you know, and no expectations. “
Smith still has to take a few more steps before he can jump into quarterback competition. Washington liked the way he moved sideways, but also that he didn’t suffer any setbacks or pain the day after practice. And the team knew they wouldn’t learn everything they needed about Smith before activating him.
Either way, Sunday was a necessary stopover.
“He continues to improve,” Smith told Bell. “I feel like I get better as the days and weeks go by. Deep in my head I’m wondering when I’m going to hit that wall, but for me honestly, even over the past three weeks, I feel like I’ve come a long way. I just keep pushing it and seeing where it goes. “
This has been his mindset throughout his recovery, the one he explained in the E: 60 Project 11 documentary with Bell. His initial goal was to improve. Finally, he saw a chance to do what he did on Sunday.
“That’s what I wanted all this time to see if I could put on the crampons, put on the helmet and go out there,” he said.
But Smith knows there are other questions to answer, his and the organization’s. They need to see how fast he is in the pocket and how he handles an NFL pocket when protection goes down. Smith’s injury came when he was sacked after breaking pass protection in a loss to Houston.
“There are steps,” Smith said. “It’s not something you just rush over there. The next one is to get into team drills and, and obviously see if you can go out there and defend yourself, see if I can go there and move around.
“Can I adapt? Can I go and play football at this level? It’s something that is going to reveal itself.”
Smith explained why he wanted to continue playing in an interview posted on the team’s website.
“It’s not something that I can get away from and be able to sleep at at night if I do,” he says. “I don’t think I could look my kids in the eye and talk to them about giving my all and getting things done. We all face adversity in life. Was I going to talk about it or talk? For me that’s what it is. Anyway, I’ll be better for it. I keep making gains. This keeps getting me excited, that I can keep pushing and a At some point I’ll find out what my limits are. But I haven’t found them yet. “
Smith has had a lot to celebrate in his 13 seasons. He was the first pick in the 2005 draft; he led two franchises to playoff victories and he has a career record of 94-66-1. The last time his teams failed to post a winning record with him in the quarterback was in 2010.
But his activation resulted in a warm celebration with his family. His wife, Elizabeth, posted a video on Instagram of her and their three children, among others, spraying champagne on Smith after arriving home. The video went viral on Saturday night, causing news to leak about his comeback.
“I had no idea they were going to do anything with it, for me I was thinking about training the next day,” Smith told ESPN’s Bell. “My emotions were building for that, the next day’s test to go out there and see if I could do it. Throwing a little quarantine party was fun. My family went through it all with me, had been there with me. So being able to celebrate the ups and downs obviously does [it] special.”
A day later he was back in the field.
“This is all the icing on the cake,” Smith said. “I’m so grateful for the last couple of days to be able to put on that jersey, put the helmet back on, uh, this is a special opportunity and something that I certainly don’t take for granted.”
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