Alex Smith back practicing
While many across the National Football League have returned to training camp in anticipation of the 2020 campaign, over 60 players decided to opt out instead due to various concerns around COVID-19. The league plans to play games in local markets with either no fans at all or limited attendances, instead of having their players remain in a bubble like in the National Basketball Association or National Hockey League.
For Washington quarterback Alex Smith, he didn’t even have to think about whether he would return to play or not. He just wanted to get back on the field after nearly two years off it.
Smith broke the fibula in tibia in his right leg back in November 2018, a serious injury that many had anticipated would end the veterans’ career. He refused to give up though and on Monday he took the field to practice with his teammates for the first time since the injury.
“In the football world, I’m a dinosaur,” Smith said to Stephania Bell of ESPN, “but I felt like a 16-year-old again. The nerves, the feeling of excitement, obviously anxiety. All that stuff of being alive, the range of emotions of going out there with your teammates. That’s why you play.
“It felt good to get those nerves going again.”
While he is still working with limitations and hasn’t been able to participate in an entire practice yet, Smith has made significant progress. He already defied the odds just by making it this far.
“I know a lot of people probably think it’s funny that I’m even pursuing this. I really feel like I need to see where this ends. I need to, I need to see what my limitations are, what I’m capable of.
“I really feel like I’ve been faced with this giant challenge in life. I can’t help it. I think that my three little kids see everything that I do. And for me, just kind of continuing to push this and see where it goes, you know, and, and no expectations.”
The 36-year-old was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and spent the first eight seasons of his career there before moving on to Kansas City to play for the Chiefs. Smith played in Kansas City for five seasons before eventually moving on to Washington.
However, he only managed to make 10 appearances for Washington before the injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2018 season and the entire 2019 campaign. Despite his age and the time he spent away from the game, Smith is still highly motivated to prove he can overcome the setback and continue to play football at the highest level.
“It’s not something I can walk away from and be able to sleep at night if I did,” he said, via ESPN. “I don’t think I could look my kids in the eyes and talk to them about giving it their all and pushing through things. We all face adversity in life. Was I going to talk about it or be about it? For me, that’s what it is. However this comes out, I’ll be better off for it. I continue to make gains. That continues to excite me, that I can keep pushing and at some point I’ll find out what my limitations are. But I haven’t found them yet.”
Washington is scheduled to begin their regular season on September 13th against the Philadelphia Eagles and Smith is hoping he will be healthy enough to at least be on the bench for the season opener. The NFL cancelled all preseason games this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so there will be no chance that we see the veteran before the regular season begins.
