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Despite the fact that Alex Smith led the Washington Football Team to an NFC East title and was named the 2020 Comeback Player of the Year, Washington is set to cut him this offseason according to Ian Rapoport. Smith, who will turn 37-years-old, still wants to play in the NFL.
The Washington Football Team is expected to part ways with QB Alex Smith in the coming days, sources tell me and @KimJonesSports. The AP Comeback Player of the Year has said he still wants to play, and at age 36 may have a chance to do so.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 1, 2021
Smith missed four of Washington’s final five games last season, including its playoff game against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, with an injury related to his surgically altered calf. Smith broke his leg in 2018 and made his first appearance since the devastating injury midway through the 2020 season. He underwent 17 surgeries to repair his leg and had a titanium rod inserted into his tibia.
During a recent interview with GQ, Smith said that his comeback wasn’t necessarily expected by the Washington Football Team and that his return “threw a wrench” into the team’s plans.
“When I decided to come back, I definitely threw a wrench in the team’s plan. They didn’t see it, didn’t want me there, didn’t want me to be a part of it, didn’t want me to be on the team, the roster, didn’t want to give me a chance. Mind you, it was a whole new regime, they came in, I’m like the leftovers and I’m hurt and I’m this liability. Heck no, they didn’t want me there.”
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“I mean, they tried to put me on PUP [Physically Unable to Perform] for two weeks, then they tried to IR me. I felt like I still hadn’t had my fair shake at that point. I wanted to see if I could play quarterback and play football, and I feel like I hadn’t been given that opportunity yet to find that out. It’s like getting this close to the end line of a marathon and they’re telling you that you can’t finish the race. It’s like, fuck that. I’m finishing this thing.
Washington’s quarterback room has seen major shakeups over the last couple of months. Washington re-signed quarterback Taylor Heinicke earlier this offseason and also cut 2019 first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins, who signed with the Steelers. The franchise will now turn to the NFL Draft, and perhaps the free-agency market, to bring in other quarterbacks to compete with Heinicke for the starting job next season.
Smith’s current contract carries a $24.4 million cap-hit for 2021.