The one former NFL quarterback who understands the injury Alex Smith has come over admits he lives vicariously through him.
“Heck yeah!” former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann told ESPN in a telephone interview. “Go, Alex, go.”
Washington activated Smith physically unable to perform list Sunday morning, a remarkable development since he broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg in a November 2018 game against Houston.
Theismann suffered the same injury in 1985 – and was in the stands when Smith’s leg broke for 33 years until the day Theismann was injured. In both cases, the bone protruded through the skin. But their stories differ from that point. Theismann needed only one operation on his right leg to pick up an infection; Smith demanded 17. He almost had to amputate his leg, as he discussed in ESPN’s E: 60 documentary called Project 11.
“He went through a lot more than I had to go through,” Theismann said. “For me it was a matter of healing the leg and then trying to do certain things that are necessary from the quarterback position. Alex arrived within 24 hours of losing his leg. I did not come up with complications; he was dealing with an enormous amount of complications.It was not only healing from a broken leg.The mountain he had to climb is so much bigger.
“No matter what happens, he has already won the award for comeback player of the year.”
Smith, who started 161 games in 13 seasons, had also placed a rod in his leg to further protect his bone, something Theismann did not have. But Theismann said another difference is how accepting the NFL has become with older quarterbacks.
Theismann was 36 years old when he suffered his injury in a Monday night game. He also did not play as well as he had in the past with eight touchdowns to 16 interceptions – a huge difference to his 1984 stats (24 touchdowns, 13 interceptions).
Theismann tried to return in 1986, but was rejected. A year later, he said he drilled temporary drills for some teams – while attending practices in his role as a national broadcaster – and that he “moved really well.”
“You could say medical progress, but … it was a different era of football,” he said. “If you were 35 in 1985, they could not get you out the door fast enough. Now that you are 35 and you can play the game decently, you have a career of three to four years ahead of you.
“I could do it [anything] two years later, but I was 37. “
In his first season with Washington in 2018, Smith struggled to adjust to Jay Gruden’s offense, but had thrown 10 touchdowns after five interceptions before the injury ended his season. Washington was 6-3 and in first place in the NFC East. They are 4-19 since his injury.
After the season, several teammates said they missed his presence and leadership in the huddle. He also had a large hood hit, making it harder to cut him. Even now, Smith would count $ 32 million as the cap when he is released, although Washington has a $ 12 million insurance policy that would reduce his number if he were done with gambling. There was no salary cap in the mid-1980s; Theismann was planning to make $ 1.2 million.
But Theismann said it was about a financial consideration. He pointed to Smith’s work throughout the process. Because of their history of shared injuries – and because Smith played for Washington – the two often spoke in this process. They have discussed their injuries; they have talked about the movements on the field that he needs to show to convince others that he can be effective.
“I pulled from day one for him,” Theismann said. “In the beginning, everyone said he would never play again. I never bought that. I knew Alex because I met him and the determination he had. … If you “Looking at the show Project 11, the way the show ends is he was so much further ahead than where that show ended. Now he has the opportunity to go out and do certain things.”
Whether Smith is actually fighting for the starting job remains to be seen. He was fired Sunday for football activity, but the organization is still unsure at the level he is capable of playing. They will make him easier in football action, per multiple sources. Coach Ron Rivera and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese have said the number one thing they want to see is Smith’s ability to protect himself.
“Without any preseason games and without real live contact, that still remains an open question,” Theismann said. “That, to me, is the only thing Coach Rivera needs to evaluate is: will he be able to do that?”
Theismann said he could also relate to Smith’s desire to play again after such a horrific injury.
“You know how hard Alex has worked,” Theismann said. “Before his injury, the man carried rocks under water as part of his training. You know how important it is to him and it shows how important football is to him. A lot of people would say, ‘Why yourself through this?’ “Again, I do not think many people understand the athlete. It’s not about the money, it’s about the love of the game and the love of competition. That’s what drove Alex.”
And by pushing himself to reach this point, Theismann said Smith had spent the rest of his life on it.
“What he could do is create for himself a quality of life when this is over,” Theismann said. “He pushed himself so hard, he can do things where he wants [his wife] Elizabeth and with his children because he pushed himself so hard. That to me is the ultimate thing that happened. “
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