On November 18, 2018, the thought of Alex Smith returning to an NFL field seemed ridiculous.
But 665 days later, there he was. Smith had returned to FedEx Field, the scene of a brutal leg injury he sustained, warming up ahead of Washington Football Team’s Week 1 game of the 2020 season.
Smith was among the inactives for Washington with second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins the starter for Ron Rivera’s debut in D.C., but just the sight of him doing football things on the field after many people thought his career was over is a testament to Smith’s determination and heart.
"I'm so excited for him, and I guess I'm living a little vicariously through him because of our association with the injuries," former Washington QB Joe Theismann said last month.
During the long road to recovery, Smith went through multiple complications including infection and 17 different surgeries. There was a period when Smith’s doctors feared he would lose his leg to amputation and at one point, a blood clot was considered life-threatening.
The team tweeted a photo of Smith wearing an NFLPA shirt that said “End Racism.”