If you're a 36-year-old NFL quarterback, you might think about calling it quits regardless of other circumstances that have affected your career. Bobby Hebert, Boomer Esiason, Jim Kelly, Dan Fouts, Tony Romo and several others have called it quits following their age-36 campaign.
But Alex Smith's NFL arc presents an interesting case, whether it means continuing his career at age 36 or, alternatively, hanging 'em up. On the one hand, he missed out around two years of his career due to a devastating injury, and would probably like to make up that time. On the other hand, that devastating injury almost cost him a lot more than his career — it nearly cost him his life — and so it may be best to just be thankful for what he had and look on from the couch going forward.
In any event, it's a decision. But it's not a decision that Smith wants to make right now.
“Those are conversations for an offseason,” Smith told J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports Washington. “For me, I love lacing up my cleats every single day. I love throwing the helmet on every single day. I’m having an amazing time. There’s a long time I didn’t think this was ever going to be remotely possible. I love going out there and competing and so for me [it’s] about moving forward and getting better and getting ready to beat the Giants."
Smith added that he knows it's not the most exciting answer that everyone wanted to hear, but that there will be plenty of time for him to reflect following the 2020-21 season, one in which the Washington Football Team is still very much alive due to the weak NFC East division.
Smith's only appearance in 2021 came in Week 5 against the Rams, and it was both a miracle and a brutal reminder of just how much risk he could be putting himself in the way of.
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What's more is that his return is actually yielding some impressive results in practice. 106.7 The Fan columnist Chris Russell told The Sports Junkies that Smith still has an edge over Dwayne Haskins and would in fact have a chance to start if Kyle Allen became unavailable.
"They believe that Alex has really shown them something in practice," Russell said. "They were even saying that right after that game."
Should Smith come back, perform well and lead Washington to a division title — which is a lot of hypotheticals, but is definitely possible — it will be sure to have some impact on his choice going forward. Whatever Smith ultimately decides, though, his path back to the NFL will go down in history as one of the bravest comebacks that American sports has ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
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