By Anthony Martinez, Sports Editor
On Nov. 18, 2018, one of the NFL’s most notable quarterback names, Alex Smith suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in NFL history and he is somehow playing football again.
In a game against the Houston Texans, Washington Football Team quarterback, Smith, would take a hit that he had taken a hundred times before, this time luck just wasn’t on his side. Smith experienced a compound fracture; his leg was shattered in two different places and had the bone pierce the skin.
If that wasn’t enough, there was some complication in recovery due to an infection in his league after one of the surgeries. There was a very legit fear that Smith could lose his leg. The fear from him and his family must’ve been insurmountable. Smith would have a total of 17 surgeries.
Before the injury, Smith was a widely known player in the league and was drafted as the first pick overall by the San Francisco 49ers all the way back in 2005. Smith has faced some scrutiny as most athletes, especially quarterbacks go through. It is unfair that Smith was drafted before Aaron Rodgers, so he constantly is compared to his success. Rodgers is one of the greatest talents to ever play the game so the comparison shouldn’t even be made.
Smith played for the 49ers for several years, starting slow before becoming a respectable quarterback before eventually being replaced by Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick was younger, faster, and a strong arm. The 49ers already were a successful team with Smith and with Kaepernick. They expected to go over that hump. While they did have one Super Bowl appearance, the team’s success declined in the incoming years while Smith reached new heights.
Smith found a new home with the Kansas City Chiefs and they took off and never really looked back. Before Smith joined the Chiefs, they went 2-14 the previous year. With Smith, they went 11-5 and made the playoffs. From 2013-2017, Smith was the starting quarterback for the Chiefs. They never had a losing season and, except for one year, had double-digit wins every year. . They made the playoffs every year outside of once and made the NFL Pro Bowl three times, as well.
Despite a lot of the success, some saw Smith as a game-manager, not someone who won games for their team, who didn’t perform badly enough to lose enough. That argument just doesn’t hold up; the quarterback position is too important for Smith to have a winning record of 50-26. Add that with Pro Bowls and a touchdown to interception ratio over three to one. One of Smith’s knacks was that he didn’t have a cannon for an arm, which he didn’t, but he had enough to consistently get the ball down the field with high success.
The Chiefs also got Smith’s successor, although it was done more conventionally. They drafted Patrick Mahomes and had him sit behind Smith for a season before taking the reins the next season. It turned out that the Chiefs hit a homerun with Mahomes, and they already won a Super Bowl with him.
With another change, Smith needed another new home and found one in Washington. Things started well, Smith’s play was good, and they were competitive in their division and had a 6-3 record. Smith was winning yet again, this time in a system that was completely different. All was going in a good direction when the tragedy hit.
Smith would lose the rest of his season and, at that time, most likely his career. His injury was that bad; no one was sure he’d be even able to walk again, let alone play a contact sport like football again.
Against everything, after 23 months after the injury, Smith was reinstated by the NFL and was officially allowed to play again. That alone is a monumental success, he got to a point where no one thought he could be at again.
People thought that was it for Smith—he made it back to be a part of the team and could practice, but would he ever actually see the field ever again. But, with the only active starting quarterback, Kyle Allen, dealing with a potential concussion, on Oct. 11, Smith took his first official snap in almost two years against the Los Angeles Rams.
After another injury to Allen, this time a more serious one, Smith got playing time against the New York Giants. Despite some interceptions, Smith performed really well actually. His accuracy, which was always his strong suit, is still there. He is still an intelligent quarterback with some mobility, despite the injury.
With Allen’s injury, Smith is looking at a lot more playing time the remainder of the season and if he performs above his expected level, he may get another stint as a starting quarterback somewhere.
The next game is against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 15, which would make Smith’s first NFL start since almost exactly two years ago on that day.
On Nov. 18, 2018, one of the NFL’s most notable quarterback names, Alex Smith suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in NFL history and he is somehow playing football again.
In a game against the Houston Texans, Washington Football Team quarterback, Smith, would take a hit that he had taken a hundred times before, this time luck just wasn’t on his side. Smith experienced a compound fracture; his leg was shattered in two different places and had the bone pierce the skin.
If that wasn’t enough, there was some complication in recovery due to an infection in his league after one of the surgeries. There was a very legit fear that Smith could lose his leg. The fear from him and his family must’ve been insurmountable. Smith would have a total of 17 surgeries.
Before the injury, Smith was a widely known player in the league and was drafted as the first pick overall by the San Francisco 49ers all the way back in 2005. Smith has faced some scrutiny as most athletes, especially quarterbacks go through. It is unfair that Smith was drafted before Aaron Rodgers, so he constantly is compared to his success. Rodgers is one of the greatest talents to ever play the game so the comparison shouldn’t even be made.
Smith played for the 49ers for several years, starting slow before becoming a respectable quarterback before eventually being replaced by Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick was younger, faster, and a strong arm. The 49ers already were a successful team with Smith and with Kaepernick. They expected to go over that hump. While they did have one Super Bowl appearance, the team’s success declined in the incoming years while Smith reached new heights.
Smith found a new home with the Kansas City Chiefs and they took off and never really looked back. Before Smith joined the Chiefs, they went 2-14 the previous year. With Smith, they went 11-5 and made the playoffs. From 2013-2017, Smith was the starting quarterback for the Chiefs. They never had a losing season and, except for one year, had double-digit wins every year. . They made the playoffs every year outside of once and made the NFL Pro Bowl three times, as well.
Despite a lot of the success, some saw Smith as a game-manager, not someone who won games for their team, who didn’t perform badly enough to lose enough. That argument just doesn’t hold up; the quarterback position is too important for Smith to have a winning record of 50-26. Add that with Pro Bowls and a touchdown to interception ratio over three to one. One of Smith’s knacks was that he didn’t have a cannon for an arm, which he didn’t, but he had enough to consistently get the ball down the field with high success.
The Chiefs also got Smith’s successor, although it was done more conventionally. They drafted Patrick Mahomes and had him sit behind Smith for a season before taking the reins the next season. It turned out that the Chiefs hit a homerun with Mahomes, and they already won a Super Bowl with him.
With another change, Smith needed another new home and found one in Washington. Things started well, Smith’s play was good, and they were competitive in their division and had a 6-3 record. Smith was winning yet again, this time in a system that was completely different. All was going in a good direction when the tragedy hit.
Smith would lose the rest of his season and, at that time, most likely his career. His injury was that bad; no one was sure he’d be even able to walk again, let alone play a contact sport like football again.
Against everything, after 23 months after the injury, Smith was reinstated by the NFL and was officially allowed to play again. That alone is a monumental success, he got to a point where no one thought he could be at again.
People thought that was it for Smith—he made it back to be a part of the team and could practice, but would he ever actually see the field ever again. But, with the only active starting quarterback, Kyle Allen, dealing with a potential concussion, on Oct. 11, Smith took his first official snap in almost two years against the Los Angeles Rams.
After another injury to Allen, this time a more serious one, Smith got playing time against the New York Giants. Despite some interceptions, Smith performed really well actually. His accuracy, which was always his strong suit, is still there. He is still an intelligent quarterback with some mobility, despite the injury.
With Allen’s injury, Smith is looking at a lot more playing time the remainder of the season and if he performs above his expected level, he may get another stint as a starting quarterback somewhere.
