Alex Smith Sounds Like He Intends To Keep Playing

Everyone seemed to assume Alex Smith was done playing after a devastating leg injury in November 2018, but then he returned to make a nice run with the Washington Football Team this past season.

And now, Smith, 36, sounds like he intends to keep on playing, even though he missed Washington's playoff loss with a bone bruise on the same leg that he injured two years ago.

“Obviously, I’ll take some time here and sit down with my wife — she deserves obviously quite a bit of input in this — and then go from there,” Smith told Kyle Brandt of The Ringer. “So no rush to make that decision here like tomorrow, but just kind of want to get into this offseason. I still feel like I’ve got a lot of room for growth on the field, based off what happened this last year.”

Smith was the NFL's comeback player of the season after he took over for Dwayne Haskins. The Football Team finished 7-9, which ain't much, but it was good enough to win the NFC East and a Wild Card spot. Smith's return was inspirational.

Smith told Brandt that the season "only fueled me even more that I can roll and keep going."

For now, Washington is keeping its QB options open. It recently gave backup Taylor Heinecke a new two-year contract, and some think Heinecke will therefore become the starter by default. The Football Team has also been linked to Cam Newton, though that actually seems like a long shot.

Things went fairly well for both Smith and Washington. So if he wants to keep playing, and it sounds like he does, Washington could do worse.

Written by
Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.