Alex Smith, like everyone else, wonders what will happen when he gets hit

ASHBURN — From his time in his hospital bed to being bound in a wheelchair, Alex Smith often wondered why him. Almost two years ago, his leg was severely damaged, his life had been threatened because of an infection.

As he recovered, Smith pondered whether he would even be able to walk again, let alone if his football career was over. The thoughts turned to doubts — walls, as the quarterback describes them now, that he would have to break through.

Incrementally, those walls are coming down.

Smith took another significant step this week when he was cleared for practice, bringing his comeback closer in reality. Since then, he’s thrown to his teammates in individual and 7-on-7 drills.

For all the progress, Smith knows there’s one hurdle he’s still yet to clear — one he’ll have to address head on: He has to get hit.

“I’ve thought that more than I can probably say,” Smith said.

After all, the last time Smith took a hit in a football game — a sack from Houston’s J.J. Watt and Kareem Jackson in November 2018 — it resulted in the horrific leg injury that Smith is now trying to overcome.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Smith said he realizes getting hit is an inevitable step in his progression, which is why, he said, the 36-year-old can’t afford to let fear dictate his decision-making. Smith has been told by doctors his surgically-repaired leg is strong enough to withstand contact. But now, it’s a matter of determining when Smith can take it.

In a pandemic-affected season, that decision is more difficult than it might appear.

With no preseason games in 2020, Washington must decide how — or if — Smith will be exposed to contact in practice. 

Quarterbacks are rarely allowed to be touched in training camps, but if Smith isn’t, that means his first live hit wouldn’t come until the regular season. Even then, there’s no guarantee Smith would take the field.

Asked if it was important for him to be hit in practice, Smith suggested he could reach a point in which it would make sense to try and simulate getting tackled.

He also noted that there’s natural contact that quarterbacks can be exposed to, such as when defensive linemen fall into a passer’s legs. (That specific instance happened to Kyle Allen on Wednesday, though the quarterback got up fine.)

“You kind of have to go through it,” Smith said.

For now, Smith has not reached that point. The three-time Pro Bowler remains on the sideline during 11-on-11 team drills, and coach Ron Rivera said there is no timeline for when Smith will be able to participate. Before being cleared for 11-on-11, Rivera said Smith might conduct 9-on-7 drills to see how the signal-caller deals with the pressure generated by two extra defenders.

In the meantime, Rivera and the coaching staff are closely monitoring Smith’s movements. Rivera said he and Smith periodically have had conversations over the quarterback’s progress, and in those chats, Rivera emphasized the need for Smith to be able to protect himself.

“This has been a work in progress,” Rivera said. “We’re not trying to hurry anyone through.”

After three days of practice, Smith said he feels “really good” about his footwork. He said he feels comfortable in dropping back, though added the next step will be to work on unchoreographed movements like having to adjust when the pocket breaks down.

As Smith continues to work, the quarterback said he spends less time thinking about his leg. Wednesday’s outing, he said, was his best yet, the day when it felt the most natural.

Smith said he doesn’t experience pain in his leg when running. Smith mentioned his knee can occasionally get sore — the titanium rod placed in his surgically-repaired leg runs up to his knee — but said he has gotten “better and better.” To help stabilize his leg, Smith wears a black-sleeved brace at all times. It’s an orthotic that Smith says he’ll wear for the rest of his playing career.

Despite the brace, Smith said he is”lucky” to attempt his comeback. Initially, there was a point, he said, when Smith couldn’t even bother to look at his leg.

But Smith is motivated to see his comeback through. 

“It’d be like running a marathon and getting close to the end of the race,” Smith said. “I think even more, that competitiveness kicks in, and I want to see if I can do it.”