Alex Smith’s plea helps continue a remarkable comeback

For two years, Alex Smith has had to fight. Fight the infection that developed in his bloodstream and threatened his life after a surgery on his shattered leg. Fight to take his first steps following months of rehab. Fight to resume his football career.

So late last week, when coaches met with Smith to discuss the topic that had been lingering — whether the quarterback was actually healthy enough to make the 53-man roster — Smith was ready for another battle.

Over the course of the conversation, Smith made a passionate plea to his coaches. He told them he believed in himself. He said he wanted the opportunity to play again. And he could do it. 

“That really stood out to me because it really just showed, mentally, I think he’s past the hurdle,” coach Ron Rivera said, revealing the details of the sit down.

Smith’s plea alone wasn’t reason enough to include the 36-year-old on Washington’s final roster. But the case the veteran quarterback made for himself gave Rivera and his staff the confidence that Smith could actually play if required. Dwayne Haskins remains the team’s starting quarterback, but Rivera said he’d have no problem with throwing Smith into a game.

That in itself is a remarkable accomplishment for Smith, who underwent 17 surgeries after breaking his leg against the Houston Texans in November 2018. The three-time Pro Bowler kept making progress throughout training camp, though it wasn’t known whether he still had the mobility needed to play again at the NFL level.

Washington gradually increased Smith’s workload during camp, but as of last Monday, the quarterback still hadn’t been in full 11-on-11 action.

Midway through last week, when practices were closed to the media after a 30-minute portion, Rivera made the decision it was time to test Smith.

“We threw him right into the middle of the fire in the last two days of practice,” Rivera said. “He handled all the 11-on-11 drills for the backups and for the practice team stuff. He got right into the middle of it. People were flying all over the place, and he just stood tall. That was probably the biggest hurdle for me personally that I wanted to see. Just watching him do that was kind of a cool deal because I’m fired up for what he can be.”

Rivera said that in those practices, Smith still looked rusty. But Rivera saw positive signs. He said the quarterback stood tall in the pocket, side-stepping pressure and dealing with guys bumping into him. Rivera said Smith has been physically cleared and doctors were positive about his recovery.

Smith has faced plenty of doubters when it came to his comeback, and on Saturday, Rivera admitted he was initially skeptical, as well.

“The more and more I learned about his situation, the more and more I learned about his recovery and talked about those things with medical personnel, the more I began to understand,” Rivera said.

Smith’s return to the field has been an inspiration for teammates. “It’s incredible,” quarterback Kyle Allen said, adding it showed Smith’s “pure love” for the sport. Wide receiver Steven Sims called it amazing.

Weeks before his release, running back Adrian Peterson said Smith’s recovery was a testament to what the human body can go through — and what can be overcome. Peterson, who signed with the Detroit Lions on Sunday, was on the sideline when Smith broke his leg on a sack from J.J. Watt and Kareem Jackson. He watched as the quarterback withered in pain.

“Now he’s out here zipping that ball around, moving around, sprinting out,” Peterson said. “If that doesn’t motivate you, I don’t know what will.”

Smith has compared his journey to a marathon. As he gets closer to the end, the more he is motivated to finish it.

Rivera thinks Smith is a testament to putting in time and effort.

“To have a guy like that with his story just represents what I think, to me, the guys have to understand what it’s like to work hard,” Rivera said, “to work toward your dream, to work toward what you want.”