Getty Images
No NFL distinction is ever claimed before the games even begin. This year may be one of them already.
Former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, who underwent a career-ending broken leg in 1985, believes current Washington quarterback Alex Smith, who has a so-called career-ending broken leg in 2018, is already the Comeback Player of the Year of the NFL is for the 2020 season.
“He went through a lot more than I had to go through,” Theismann’s John Keim told ESPN.com. “For me, it was a matter of healing the legs and then trying to do certain things that are necessary from the quarterback position. Alex arrived within 24 hours after losing his leg. I did not come up with complications; he dealt with an enormous number of complications. It was not just healing from a broken leg. The mountain he had to climb is so much bigger.
“Whatever happens, he has already won the award for comeback player of the year.”
Theismann added that he never believed Smith was done.
“I’ve been attracted to him since day one,” Theismann said. ‘In the beginning, everyone said he would never play again. I never bought that. Getting to know Alex as I got to know him and the determination he had. . . . Now he has the opportunity to go out and do certain things. ”
The most determined and specific thing he can do is win the starting job. Given the unusual circumstances surrounding the 2020 season, and in light of the fact that Smith was the quarterback of the 49ers after the 2011 lockout and almost led them to the Super Bowl, Smith could be the right man for the offense. of Washington to lead.
Of course, he would have to beat Dwayne Haskins for the job. And Haskins by all accounts has done what he has to do to take the next step in his career, and to pursue the potential that made him the 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
