Posted on 11/19/2018 6:30:49 AM PST by Red Badger
LANDOVER, Md. -- As Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith lay on the ground Sunday, his teammates knew one thing: His season was over. They saw his ankle bent at an awkward angle. They witnessed the pain on his face.
So they took a knee and prayed. They waited for him to be loaded onto a cart and then walked over -- every one of them -- to wish him well. Even most of the Houston Texans' bench walked over to the cart.
Smith, 34, broke both the fibula and tibia in his right leg on a third-quarter sack and underwent surgery at a nearby hospital. Colt McCoy replaced Smith and nearly led the Redskins to a comeback win, but a 63-yard field goal in the final seconds fell 10 yards short as Houston beat Washington 23-21.
But now the Redskins confront life without Smith. McCoy will replace him as the starter, and the Redskins will bring in several quarterbacks, including EJ Manuel, T.J. Yates, Mark Sanchez, Kellen Clemens and Josh Johnson, for a tryout, sources told ESPN.
Smith was injured when Houston's J.J. Watt and Kareem Jackson sacked him with 7 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter. As Smith left the field on the cart, he waved to the crowd and put his hands together as if in a prayer.
The injury occurred 33 years to the day that former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann suffered a career-ending injury when he broke the same two bones in his right leg against the New York Giants. Theismann, who was in attendance at Sunday's game, said he texted his support to Smith.
"It was just an eerie moment," Theismann said. "It was surreal. You see him go down in a pile and then there's a shot that showed his leg bent and I turned away right after that. I feel so bad for him."
Theismann said he's always aware of what this date means for him. He was 35 at the time of his injury and said seeing Smith hurt brought back a rush of memories. Theismann said he needed to leave his seat and walk around for a minute in his suite.
In Theismann's injury, he said the bone poked through the skin so the concern of an infection made any sort of comeback more difficult.
"The memory is vivid," Theismann said by phone. "It's like all of the senses, all of the people, all of the memories, everything that happened in that instance all comes back to me. ... If there is a positive aspect, it's that so much of medicine has changed."
It's uncertain how long Smith's recovery will take -- or how it will impact his game at age 34. He has used his legs often, whether to run or just to extend plays.
"I knew immediately his season was over," Redskins running back Adrian Peterson said. "Your heart drops when something like that happens. He's such a great person.
"It's devastating. After seeing the pain in his eyes, I teared up, and it hurts me."
The Redskins traded a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller to Kansas City for Smith in January. They signed him to a four-year extension worth up to $94 million with $71 million guaranteed.
Smith's numbers weren't great this season, as the Redskins' passing game has sputtered. He finished with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions while throwing for 2,180 yards.
On Sunday, Smith and tight end Jordan Reed misread a play that resulted in a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Justin Reid that left the Redskins trailing 17-7. After Smith's injury, Washington eventually took a 21-20 lead after getting a touchdown pass by McCoy and a second Peterson touchdown run.
But while there is confidence in McCoy -- he's been in the system for five years -- there's also sadness for Smith.
"It's hard to watch someone like that [get hurt]," Reed said. "He's such a good person, and he's a great competitor. We all love him."
Tight end Vernon Davis was on the sideline when the injury happened.
"I was watching the entire play," he said. "I saw him go down, and the way he went down I balled my fists up because it looked brutal. Then when he took his helmet off it was, 'Aaaahhh.' One of those plays. Have to keep pushing -- keep him in our prayers and take him with us out there on the field."
The Redskins have a one-game lead in the NFC East heading into Thursday's game at Dallas. They don't have time to mourn Smith's absence. But they are thinking of him.
"When you have an injury like that, it's more heartbreaking than it is physical," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "Just breaks your heart because this is what he loves to do. He loves to lead this team, he loves to be with his guys and now the season is over, and he has a long way back."
I'm sorry for Alex Smith's injury and I wish him a full and speedy recovery. "all the way back' will mean just normal mobility. At 34 his NFL career is over.
Smith’s career is finished. He’s not just facing rehab, but he’s also on his 3rd team and getting old.
the NFL chews people up, and spits them out.
I will say 2 things.
Smith is underrated by some.
And overrated by some.
He’s good. Maybe even very good.
he’s not above very good and not below good in any way.
With a good defense, and including the games where he can put up 40 points, he can take a team to the superbowl.
Worse QBs than him have.
But no, he’s not top tier and I hope this new guy is as good as you say he is.
It’s been a while for Skins fans and I just want to see their name in the late stage playoffs so leftists can go insane :)
lol!!
Why do they even need a name? It ostracizes them and categorizes them.
They should just be called that football team :)
I actually am a Cowboy fan, but I respect the rivalry and the Washington Team. I also attended UT, so I am very familiar with Colt McCoy. He was always an overachiever at Texas because he didn’t have the prototypical size and athleticism of an NFL Quarterback. But he was always a leader, and I have no doubt that he will be an addition, not a subtraction...At any rate, I still think that the NFL East is wide open, including Washington, Philadelphia and Dallas. New York might surprise them all.
Oh, my. Take your pain meds. Prayers for your surgery and recovery to go well.
(Tell us this was not a ploy to get out of cooking turkey!??)
Ny at 3 and 7 would have to seep and then not likely get in.
they’re finished. not because it’s impossible, because the talent and discipline just isn’t there anymore.
I’m a Jets fan so i know about lack of talent :)
and HOW much does McCoy not have the prototypical size?
Pros are BRUTALLY harder than college.
Yes, very weird.
About Alex Smith. Graduated from Utah with a Masters in his 4 year stay playing football there. Smart guy.
It was bad but mercifully that was on the screen only for an instant. The Theisman one, while the same injury, was worse to see, in my view, because you saw Lawrence Taylor break the leg in half, actually saw the lower half of his shin go sideways. Like I said, same injury, just the visuals differed. Both injuries will make you cringe when you watch them.
The poor thug. It’s gonna be harder for him to take a knee during the National Anthem.
And the constant replays of the injury. I think they replayed it three or more times and twice in slow motion before someone pulled the plug on it.
It was on every sports show for a week or more.
“I’m a Jets fan so i know about lack of talent :)”
Is it true that Jets fans hold a mock mass ritual suicide every year after the draft?
I remember watching the draft one year and Jets fans in attendance booing every pick, even the first round pick.
It’s not a mock mass ritual.
It’s just hidden from the press and the families of the dead are threatened by the NFL :)
I do not know if that’s true.
But usually during draft season i keep all sharp objects and dangerous narcotics out of reach :)
BTW, our friend Dean, I talked to him for about an hour the other day.
He is 67 but a STRONG 67 only weakened by everything he’s been though.
I predict he will be VERY strong in another year.
Male muscle mass declines over the years but not as Drastically as everyone thinks and even into the 70s you have enough mass to be considerably strong.
Just like my 73 year old neighbor who works on cars and is strong as hell.
Yes, Alex Smith is on his third team. I’ve given up wondering if the 49ers regret trading him, and keeping what’s-his-name.
Just a shame. Broken bones hurt like the dickens
The backup is former Cleveland Brown Colt McCoy.
I’ve broken me right leg....all three bones. I’ve broken fingers and toes. The one that messed me up the most was breaking my right hip.....which happened two and a half years ago. I’ve healed fine but being older it changed my gate and cold weather days really bother me
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