Last Friday a wrinkle was thrown into the Washington Football Team quarterback’s plan when Alex Smith’s personal medics cleared him for the football activity. Smith, of course, has not played since November 2018, where he suffered a terrible injury, one that nearly cost him his leg.
Smith failed the physical exam by the Washington team medics when he arrived this week, which means he’ll start training camp on the PUP active list (physically unable to perform). The passer-by can leave that list at any time during the camp.
However, even when Smith comes off that list, there is no certainty that he is ready to relive the NFL action. In a Zoom call with local reporters on Thursday, Washington QB coach Ken Zampese said Smith won’t really be in the mix at the position until the passer can protect himself.
“Physically, the first thing we have to find out is whether he can protect himself. We will figure it out as we go,” said Zampese. “If you pass the certain criteria to get to the next level of returning to the field, we’ll solve those things as we go along. When the time comes for you to practice, we’ll find out.” “
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Optimism about Smith’s future as an NFL quarterback seems to be higher than ever. On Tuesday, Washington head coach Ron Rivera admitted that once Smith is completely healthy, he certainly influences the team’s decision in QB.
However, this year’s modified training camp due to the coronavirus pandemic will make it even more difficult for Washington to assess Smith’s progress. Padded practices do not start for a few weeks. There are no preseason games this year (it’s insecure, and probably unlikely) that Smith would have appeared in those anyway.
For Zampese, Rivera and the rest of the Washington coaching staff, they will only have practice sessions to determine if Smith can really get back into action.
“We will be able to see through some of the drilling work, how fast it can move, slide,” said Zampese. “We will also be at 11-on-11 where there is no contact, and there will be boys clearing up in a hurry. How [he] it moves in your pocket like [he] You can speed away from a free runner, that sort of thing. We’ll use all of that to determine the next step from there. “
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Before his career threatening injury, Smith had a long and mostly successful career in the NFL. Zampese believes that those past experiences will mentally assist the passerby when he reaches a physical point where he can play again.
“I think the other things will come back smoothly. You don’t lose the experience you’ve had playing the job,” said Zampese. “Some of those things will be like riding a bike, and some will not be. We will jump through all those hoops when the time comes. I’m really excited about that.”
Even without Smith currently in the mix, Washington has its own quarterback battle between sophomore passer Dwayne Haskins and newcomer Kyle Allen.
Haskins has a more natural talent between the two (and the alleged favorite to win the job), but Allen has experience playing on Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s offense. Allen already knows the language of Turner’s system, something Zampese emphasized several times during his media session. Rivera has already said he looks forward to “pure competition” between the two.
While Smith will start camp by watching Haskins and Allen fight from the side, Zampese said the veteran has been a great example for the two younger quarterbacks.
“It’s a great example that sets for the rest of the guys,” said Zampese. “He could easily say ‘I know this’ or ‘It’s done like this’, but it’s not like that at all. It’s fantastic. It’s a great example for the other guys.”
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