Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

Alex Smith was hurt in a game I was at. I knew the injury was bad because of how fast they got him out of there.

It was a Compound Fracture, which means the broken bone is exposed thru the skin. Multiple surgeries, then bacteria in the wound, then sepsis - which is an extremely dangerous condition.
Finally, he beats that life-threatening condition, and starts to comeback. And how he has come back - not to the level just to be able to walk as a 34-year old, but perhaps even to come back to PLAY AGAIN IN THE NFL.

This post-season, Alex made it clear he DOESN’T want a NFL football management position, which also negated the possibility of being Dan Snyder’s football knowledgeable guru buddy.

Due to Bruce Allen’s incredibly generous (read : ridiculous) contract, he will get $21 mill in guaranteed money this season, so he doesn’t need to play a single play this season. BUT, he wants to play again! And based on the latest released video’s of him moving around in a hospital evaluation room, he MAY BE ABLE TO PLAY QB once again.

So, what should he do? Play in the NFL or play it safe for his remaining non-NFL life?
How should the Redskin’s use him? Backup and QB whisperer to Haskins, as he did for Mahomes? Many of the Chiefs say he was an inspiration as the team moved forward after Mahomes took over as QB. OR should the Redskins use Alex Smith to CHALLENGE Dwayne Haskins for the #1 QB spot? What say you all about the truly “Bionic Man”?



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Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

Use Alex Smith as the backup QB, as long as he qualifies medically and physically. Heck, we might as well get something for the money. He can continue to help Haskins grow and the Redskins to mature and build a winning culture.

DO NOT need or want ANOTHER QB “competition”. Haskins is our QB, for better or worse, and he needs the first-team reps that he was denied last season under Gruden and Callahan. We don’t need another season where Haskins splits the reps and game starts with someone else. In other words, Alex Smith is the backup QB, period.

Haskins needs to grow into a franchise QB or NOT, but splitting his reps and starts with another QB (like Smith) just delays us knowing how good he is and him getting to the top of his potential - whatever that is.


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Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

In the interview he did (before the superbowl?) ... sounded like some days he cant even plant and throw a ball.

hes had 17 surgeries including "limb salvage" surgery where they cut out the infected parts of his bone then graft it with other peoples donated bones and a metal.

$$$$ is the only reason he is trying to come back. Im sure he still does want to play but he has to know it seems like a 2% chance. If he retires, he may forfeit or even pay back some of that huge guaranteed money. I also read that the redskins insurance on him requires him to try and come back? Didnt fully understand it.

Im not mad about it. Skins gave him a ton of guaranted money, hes doing what any player would do. Plus he gets top notch PT and rehab. I do kinda roll my eyes when I read how courageous he is for trying to come back .. dude he has like 32.2 MILLION reasons to not retire. Courageous?

[url]https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17174-limb-salvage[/url]
[url]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001100178/article/alex-smith-lucky-to-be-alive-after-serious-leg-infection[/url]

Skins will cut him after 2020 when his dead cap isnt so bad.

edit - after reading my post I think I come across as being to dismissive of him with the "courageous" stuff. Yes it is courageous and took him a ton of hard work to just get to where he is today and he still has a long road ahead of him. I guess my point is, once his bones snapped and got infected .. he, like any one of us in that situation, have no choice but to be "courageous" and go through surgeries and rehab.

Options are die or follow your doctors advice. Every single one of us would also be just as courageous as Alex Smith if we had both our leg bones broken and sepsis/infection.

I feel bad for the guy, tip my hat to him.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

Man's gotta finish up and get that retirement bonus before the Redskins let him walk.

Idk about you guys, but everyone loves a courageous gritty comeback story. The only solution is let him battle Haskins for the starting job in camp.

/s

I mean really, does this end with any other route than him retiring after collecting his money from the Skins? Even assuming he gets back to full health in the next year or so, who the hell is going to bring in a late 30's guy who hasn't played football in 2-3 years and let him compete for a starting job?

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=Warthog;1244588]Alex Smith was hurt in a game I was at. I knew the injury was bad because of how fast they got him out of there.

It was a Compound Fracture, which means the broken bone is exposed thru the skin. Multiple surgeries, then bacteria in the wound, then sepsis - which is an extremely dangerous condition.
Finally, he beats that life-threatening condition, and starts to comeback. And how he has come back - not to the level just to be able to walk as a 34-year old, but perhaps even to come back to PLAY AGAIN IN THE NFL.

This post-season, Alex made it clear he DOESN’T want a NFL football management position, which also negated the possibility of being Dan Snyder’s football knowledgeable guru buddy.

[B]Due to Bruce Allen’s incredibly generous (read : ridiculous) contract, he will get $21 mill in guaranteed money this season, so he doesn’t need to play a single play this season.[/B] BUT, he wants to play again! And based on the latest released video’s of him moving around in a hospital evaluation room, he MAY BE ABLE TO PLAY QB once again.

So, what should he do? Play in the NFL or play it safe for his remaining non-NFL life?
How should the Redskin’s use him? Backup and QB whisperer to Haskins, as he did for Mahomes? Many of the Chiefs say he was an inspiration as the team moved forward after Mahomes took over as QB. OR should the Redskins use Alex Smith to CHALLENGE Dwayne Haskins for the #1 QB spot? What say you all about the truly “Bionic Man”?



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Why do people keep saying that? Just because he got hurt? He was paid market rate for his standing in the NFL's QB class, nothing more. If Alex is healthy and wants to be a mentor to Haskins and QB#2 I am fine with that.
We don't need a competition with Haskins looking over his shoulder. Time to see if Dwayne is the long term answer or not.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I don't think it's about money for him at all. He's just got that crazy competitive drive and he wants to push himself as far as he can. That said I find it awfully hard to believe that leg will ever be able to hold up to the rigors of playing in the NFL again. But you can't help but root for him.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[QUOTE=MTK;1244603]I don't think it's about money for him at all. He's just got that crazy competitive drive and he wants to push himself as far as he can. That said I find it awfully hard to believe that leg will ever be able to hold up to the rigors of playing in the NFL again. But you can't help but root for him.[/QUOTE]



I agree. He’s got the huge guaranteed money no matter what. He could be just taking it easy and trying to learn to walk without a limp. But he’s pushing it very, very hard to get back on the field.

My question is this: let’s say he get’s himself “football ready” BUT his doctor says, “one big hit from a 300+ lb DE on your injury site could leave you a cripple”. What would he do then? What would you do?

I’m rooting for him but wonder if a comeback comes with a serious, hidden danger. Like any player who wonders, “can I take one more concussion?”


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Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

The injury almost killed him. Would a doctor even sign off on him playing again?

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

It's key to understand the salary cap side of this because it rules out cutting him as a legit option. Alex's salary is guaranteed this year so if we cut him the cap hit would be the same as if we kept him on the roster this year.

So from a cap perspective you are incentivized to keep him. There's no financial benefit to cutting him.

As for what to do with him, I think if setting a culture is what I'm primarily looking to do, I'd let the team see how hard Alex is working to get back, and thus you give him a legit chance to work his way back and prove himself. If he can do it physically, and he can show enough to compete with Haskins and win the job, then you give him the starting job.

Whether or not that's a long shot is irrelevant. The team needs to see that you're keeping an open mind and ready to reward the best player.

And if he works his ass off but still physically unable to perform, then you shelve him again on PUP/IR.

As for whether he'd help mentor or develop Haskins, I think he'd be doing that no matter his physical condition (both Mahomes and Haskins have said he was helpful in this regard). As long as he's on the roster, and like I said he has to be because of $, then he'll be an active mentor.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=Warthog;1244607]I agree. [B]He’s got the huge guaranteed money no matter what. [/B]

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Not if he retires. He would most likely have to actually pay the Skins back some money.

According to the CBA, “any player who willfully fails to report, practice or play” due to poor conduct, incarceration, or voluntary retirement “may be required to forfeit signing bonus, roster bonus, option bonus and/or reporting bonus.”

Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Borland ... they not only forfeited future guaranteed money but had to pay back prior already paid signing bonus money.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I think Alex Smith is smart enough to not try and play again. NFL is no joke.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=MTK;1244610]The injury almost killed him. Would a doctor even sign off on him playing again?[/quote]

Important to understand though that the condition that almost killed him was sepsis - which is what happens when an infection gets into your bloodstream and spreads all throughout the body.

Once the infection is eradicated with antibiotics, there are no lingering effects from the infection. The body returns to full health. The doctor won't have a problem with his returning because of the infection, the infection and the sepsis isn't the problem. The problem is whether the leg can bounce back given all the tissue that had to be removed.

And on that point all we can do is wait and see, and let the doctors evaluate how well he's moving around this summer leading into camp. If he's moving around well and passing physical exams, then there's no reason he can't play again. All signs point to him making pretty good physical progress, I wouldn't rule it out at all.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=SunnySide;1244612]Not if he retires. He would most likely have to actually pay the Skins back some money.

According to the CBA, “any player who willfully fails to report, practice or play” due to poor conduct, incarceration, or voluntary retirement “may be required to forfeit signing bonus, roster bonus, option bonus and/or reporting bonus.”

Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Borland ... they not only forfeited future guaranteed money but had to pay back prior already paid signing bonus money.[/quote]

If Alex retires I don't see how you could call it "voluntary" after he almost lost his leg and worse yet his life.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=Schneed10;1244617]Important to understand though that the condition that almost killed him was sepsis - which is what happens when an infection gets into your bloodstream and spreads all throughout the body.

Once the infection is eradicated with antibiotics, there are no lingering effects from the infection. The body returns to full health. The doctor won't have a problem with his returning because of the infection, the infection and the sepsis isn't the problem. The problem is whether the leg can bounce back given all the tissue that had to be removed.

And on that point all we can do is wait and see, and let the doctors evaluate how well he's moving around this summer leading into camp. If he's moving around well and passing physical exams, then there's no reason he can't play again. All signs point to him making pretty good physical progress, I wouldn't rule it out at all.[/quote]

Oh I know about the sepsis, almost killed my Dad too. Smith was also faced with the decision of amputation or saving the limb. Thankfully it worked out for him.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I'd root for him, but really wouldn't want to see the guy complicate his life after football just because he wants to play again. Ridiculous contract is right and its a shame from every side that it worked out this way. W/ever happens happens but I doubt we see him on the field again.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=Buffalo Bob;1244618]If Alex retires I don't see how you could call it "voluntary" after he almost lost his leg and worse yet his life.[/quote]

Andrew Luck, Luke Keuchly ... they retired due to injury concerns and gave up any future salary and bonus money as well as the teams "could if they want to" seek repayment of any prior signign bonus on a pro-rata basis of years left on his contract.

Ive beat this drum enough and wont keep repeating myself ...

Alex Smith wont retire bc he would be giving up all future money and the Skins could go after any prior paid signing bonus money on a pro-rata basis based on the years remaining on his contract.

Alex Smith is doing what he has to do. Hes making sure he gets his money and hes making sure he takes rehab very seriously so he can walk when he is 60.

Skins are doing the only thing they can do. They cant cut him bc of all the dead money so there only option is to support him.

Alex Smith has no other option then doing what he is doing.

Skins have no other option except doing what they are doing.

Perfect world - they negotiate an injury buy out. This wont happen but it is the only other alternative I see. But that might void the insurance policy they took out on Smith. Thats were it gets complicated.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I’d love to see Alex play again. He won’t though. This is all about money. He may be on the roster. He may even practice some with the team as a 3rd stringer. However, you won’t see him dress out on a single game day. Best case scenario is that he’s there to help mold the young QBs into being smarter. That’s all.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I'm sure this is mostly about Smith just being competitive and doing the best he can to recover and rehab with full and free access to an NFL teams facilities and staff. He likely knows he will never play again, but the more he does now to rehab to potentially help him return to football will only help him have as close to normal use of his leg for non-football activities for the rest of his life.

Additionally, he has to at least try to make it back and not be cleared in order for the skins to get the salary cap credit from an insurance policy the skins took out on him before signing the deal. If i recall, the policy pays around 12M (which can be credited to the cap) if Smith suffers a career-ending injury. That insurance company surely would find a way not to pay the claim if it appeared that Smith and the team didn't do everything in their power try to get him back to playing football.

We should all root for him as a human being, but it is almost certain that he will never play professional football again.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

Ultimately though, whether he will actually succeed in playing football again is irrelevant for our personnel department this year. They’re stuck with his big cap number. As long as he’s trying to come back, we owe that money, and if we owe that money we might as well keep an open mind and see what he can do.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. We have to acquire another QB to be Haskins’s backup, either through FA or draft. And if it turns out Alex can actually play, great. But we have to plan as if he can’t and we’re stuck paying a shit ton for another PUP season.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=SunnySide;1244612]Not if he retires. He would most likely have to actually pay the Skins back some money.

According to the CBA, “any player who willfully fails to report, practice or play” due to poor conduct, incarceration, or voluntary retirement “may be required to forfeit signing bonus, roster bonus, option bonus and/or reporting bonus.”

Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Borland ... they not only forfeited future guaranteed money but had to pay back prior already paid signing bonus money.[/quote]

Those guys all retired not due to injury but concern for future injuries, so Alex Smith's situation is different. He has already made $202 million -- this is not at all about the money. (Parenthetically, he lives in my town and is building a house here; I'm sure it is already paid for.)

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

He needs to retire. It's over. He's lucky to be alive. He had a septic infection?? That is crazy. He has the rest of his life to live and should figure out the next phase.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=skinsfan69;1244657]He needs to retire. It's over. He's lucky to be alive. He had a septic infection?? That is crazy. He has the rest of his life to live and should figure out the next phase.[/quote]

Yeah I get the whole "prove them wrong" aspect but cmon man, this is ridiculous

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

Why would Alex retire and give up tens of millions of dollars, at the end of his career? He’s a super competitive and first-class player who is respected by fellow players, the coaches and the media. The Chiefs are still raving about him and how he helped Mahomes and the team’s culture.

Alex is doing the same positive things here for Haskin’s and the team that he did for the Chiefs. Look how much he helped Haskin’s last season to grow and mature. I’m guessing Alex Smith’s interesting association with Dan Snyder last season perhaps helped Snyder to mature as an owner. It maybe even assisted Snyder cut his dependence on Bruce Allen and made it easier to fire Allen.

So Alex Smith keeps trying to come back to football strength and perhaps may even workout in the OTA’s and TC.

Alex Smith was handed a crazy and ridiculous contract by Bruce Allen. Allen was frantic at that time to hire a competitive QB after the media criticism for how “Kurt” Cousins was managed by Bruce Allen. The Redskins are paying cap-wise now for Bruce Allen’s mismanagement and this contract, but the team is getting some unexpected benefits from Alex Smith now. Certainly Alex will continue to assist Haskin’s as he matures as a QB. His grit and toughness in this comeback story is an inspiration to the players and he will perhaps even continue to provide good advice to Snyder.




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Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

1. All this talk about Alex Smith was paid an insane contract is nonsense. He was paid the going rate for a NFL caliber starting quarterback at the time. You can put a lot of things on Bruce Allen, but this isn't one of them. It's standard practice to trade for a guy and then give up a long term extension to complete the deal, otherwise the player might not agree to the trade.

2. I'm not saying Alex Smith is doing this for the wrong reasons, his track record as a team player goes back to when Kaepernick was on the 49ers. He will absolutely be an asset for Haskins to have around. And I'm not disputing his mindset right now is "I want to go as hard as I can for as long as I can, and be the first quarterback to come back from an injury this severe."

3. I think it's a perfect storm of circumstance, we knew after he went down that we had to hold onto him for at least 2 years because of the cap implications. This gives him 2 years minimum to rehab his leg and hopefully worst case scenario be able to step away from the game with no long-term complications. Best case scenario he comes back from the brink of having his leg cut off and plays football again, whether as a backup or starter. But even in his best case scenario he would only be competing for a starting spot on a team, most likely as a bridge to the next long-term qb of a franchise. So he has the motivation to do this, and he has the comfort of knowing his cap hit means he's here until next offseason at a minimum. But realistically, even if he does come back and prove he belongs on the 53, it hopefully won't be as a starter here because that would mean Haskins is a bust. I personally hope Haskins seizes this opportunity and removes all doubt whatsoever that he can be a stud qb in this league. And even if he doesn't, I consider it highly unlikely the Redskins would go into next offseason thinking Alex Smith deserves the starting job again. Alex Smith will either retire next offseason or the Redskins will release him and he will battle on another squad for a starting or reserve job.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=mooby;1244669][B]1. All this talk about Alex Smith was paid an insane contract is nonsense. He was paid the going rate for a NFL caliber starting quarterback at the time. You can put a lot of things on Bruce Allen, but this isn't one of them. It's standard practice to trade for a guy and then give up a long term extension to complete the deal, otherwise the player might not agree to the trade. [/B]

2. I'm not saying Alex Smith is doing this for the wrong reasons, his track record as a team player goes back to when Kaepernick was on the 49ers. He will absolutely be an asset for Haskins to have around. And I'm not disputing his mindset right now is "I want to go as hard as I can for as long as I can, and be the first quarterback to come back from an injury this severe."

3. I think it's a perfect storm of circumstance, we knew after he went down that we had to hold onto him for at least 2 years because of the cap implications. This gives him 2 years minimum to rehab his leg and hopefully worst case scenario be able to step away from the game with no long-term complications. Best case scenario he comes back from the brink of having his leg cut off and plays football again, whether as a backup or starter. But even in his best case scenario he would only be competing for a starting spot on a team, most likely as a bridge to the next long-term qb of a franchise. So he has the motivation to do this, and he has the comfort of knowing his cap hit means he's here until next offseason at a minimum. But realistically, even if he does come back and prove he belongs on the 53, it hopefully won't be as a starter here because that would mean Haskins is a bust. I personally hope Haskins seizes this opportunity and removes all doubt whatsoever that he can be a stud qb in this league. And even if he doesn't, I consider it highly unlikely the Redskins would go into next offseason thinking Alex Smith deserves the starting job again. Alex Smith will either retire next offseason or the Redskins will release him and he will battle on another squad for a starting or reserve job.[/quote]

A lot of people that complain about the Smith's contract, need to realize that no one saw this type of freak/fluke injury happening. Yes, old QBs are more likely to get injured, but these type of freak injuries happen by chance and could happen to anyone (see Teddy B.'s injury).

And the funny thing is that this offseason we may be seeing two old QBs get paid big time (Brady and Rivers).

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=mooby;1244669]1. All this talk about Alex Smith was paid an insane contract is nonsense. [/quote]

I think the criticism from some fans (me included) was that Bruce:

- didnt offer Cousins (28 yrs old?) fair guaranteed money to sign him long term
- didnt trade him (bc he sd a deal would get done) and only got the comp pick
- traded a 3R plus Kendal Fuller for Alex Smith (33-34 yrs old/)
- then gave essentially 71M guaranteed to Alex Smith for essentially 3 years

Its not revisionist history imo, I remember a majority of fans were not happy with the trade or the contract Bruce gave to Alex.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

The first 90 seconds against Tyson are probably just as challenging as coming back from this leg.

[IMG]https://giantbomb1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/2/22629/794716-miketysongameover.jpg[/IMG]

Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[QUOTE=mooby;1244669]1. All this talk about Alex Smith was paid an insane contract is nonsense. He was paid the going rate for a NFL caliber starting quarterback at the time. You can put a lot of things on Bruce Allen, but this isn't one of them. It's standard practice to trade for a guy and then give up a long term extension to complete the deal, otherwise the player might not agree to the trade.



2. I'm not saying Alex Smith is doing this for the wrong reasons, his track record as a team player goes back to when Kaepernick was on the 49ers. He will absolutely be an asset for Haskins to have around. And I'm not disputing his mindset right now is "I want to go as hard as I can for as long as I can, and be the first quarterback to come back from an injury this severe."



3. I think it's a perfect storm of circumstance, we knew after he went down that we had to hold onto him for at least 2 years because of the cap implications. This gives him 2 years minimum to rehab his leg and hopefully worst case scenario be able to step away from the game with no long-term complications. Best case scenario he comes back from the brink of having his leg cut off and plays football again, whether as a backup or starter. But even in his best case scenario he would only be competing for a starting spot on a team, most likely as a bridge to the next long-term qb of a franchise. So he has the motivation to do this, and he has the comfort of knowing his cap hit means he's here until next offseason at a minimum. But realistically, even if he does come back and prove he belongs on the 53, it hopefully won't be as a starter here because that would mean Haskins is a bust. I personally hope Haskins seizes this opportunity and removes all doubt whatsoever that he can be a stud qb in this league. And even if he doesn't, I consider it highly unlikely the Redskins would go into next offseason thinking Alex Smith deserves the starting job again. Alex Smith will either retire next offseason or the Redskins will release him and he will battle on another squad for a starting or reserve job.[/QUOTE]



Mooby, you know after really looking at Alex Smith’s last three years, I have to admit that you are mostly RIGHT about his contract. His contract was in line with other QB contracts in 2017.Alex had the following PFF rankings versus other QB in the NFL from 2016-2018:

2016: 21 out of 32
2017: 7 out of 32
2018 (until injury): 22 out of 32. It was noted in 2018, that his long pass attempts and TDs were in the BOTTOM THREE in the NFL. In other words, Alex was throwing lots of short, but safe, passes - even when the team was losing.

It is easy to look at Alex Smith’s excellent ranking in 2017 and see why Bruce Allen became enamored with him. But how much of it was Alex Smith and how much of it was the Chiefs ascension to a superior offense?
That’s what Bruce Smith was paid to do as GM - try to predict how Alex would do with the Redskin’s offense, not with a excellent Chief’s offense.

Bruce paid for Alex based on his superior performance in 2017, on a very, very good team. In my opinion, Bruce was running scared and wanted to hook an exciting NAME in the off-season, which was his modus for his decade as the GM. Big splash in the off-season - “winning off the field”, and win just enough games in the season to be able to say, “we’re close”. Close to what??. Back in 2016-2017, the press had pummeled Allen for the Cousin’s drama and so he traded Kendall Fuller to the Chiefs for Alex - a player they were going to release anyway. Could he have got Alex cheaper? Probably, but Bruce didn’t care about that. He was desperate to get a name for the next season. In 2018, the Redskins had a good record out of the gate (6-2) but I think Defensive coordinators had figured out how Alex was playing and were countering that when he was hurt.

Another factor is age. Although we have seen phenomenal QB like Tom Brady play into his 40’s, many other QB see a decline at Alex’s age. Also, Alex was let go by two separate teams. That’s telling you something - they didn’t want him as their #1 QB. Obviously, when you have a QB of Mahome’s caliber, you can’t hold him down.
But teams didn’t know which Alex Smith was going to show up - the below average QB of 2016, 2018 or the smoking QB of 2017.

Obviously, there was no way to predict the injury he had. But Bruce Allen knew our OL was shaky, so he should have been looking for a younger QB who could take hits and/or could scramble.

I think Bruce overpaid for Alex Smith a little, but Mooby you are right - it was in tune with
with the QB salaries for his level in his excellent 2017 season. The mistake was with Bruce Allen not drafting a QB while Cousin’s was under a franchise contract. When they couldn’t hold Cousin any longer, Bruce had to pay top dollar for the biggest QB name available- regardless of age or whether he fit our team or not.


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Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=SunnySide;1244695]I think the criticism from some fans (me included) was that Bruce:

- didnt offer Cousins (28 yrs old?) fair guaranteed money to sign him long term
- didnt trade him (bc he sd a deal would get done) and only got the comp pick
- traded a 3R plus Kendal Fuller for Alex Smith (33-34 yrs old/)
- then gave essentially 71M guaranteed to Alex Smith for essentially 3 years

Its not revisionist history imo, I remember a majority of fans were not happy with the trade or the contract Bruce gave to Alex.[/quote]

Bruce absolutely fucked up the Kirk situation and I have no problem blaming him for that. As soon as Bruce decided Kirk wasn't worth the going rate for a starting qb at the time he should've moved on to plan B, which would be figuring out his replacement and maximizing the return on Kirk. Instead he kept tagging him until it no longer became viable, then let him go for a 3rd round comp pick. You can't convince me there wasn't an NFL team that wouldn't give up a higher pick for Kirk if Bruce put him on the block. But Bruce's arrogance (or whatever you want to call it) got in the way.

I wasn't happy about giving up Fuller, I wasn't happy about letting Kirk go the way he did, and I wasn't happy exchanging Kirk for Alex Smith. But the contract Smith got isn't the problem here. We got burnt because of the flukiest of fluke injuries, qb's get sacked all the time without their bone breaking through the skin. Shit sucks but best case scenario this time next year we're talking about how to help our franchise qb named Haskins keep improving and Alex Smith is going to retire or compete somewhere else. I like Smith and think he has plenty to offer as a mentor, but do I want him being a primary backup as a qb in his late 30's who hasn't played in 2+ years? No.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I believe that the best decision is to let Smith continue his recovery before making any drastic moves with him. Let him mentor Haskins until Smith is once again a contender (if he decides to) for the QB spot, and then have them "battle" it out and then pray that nothing terrible happens again.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

Smith will never play another snap, but wont retire until this guaranteed money isnt coming in. To think otherwise is ridiculous. Hind sight is always 20/20...the contract seemed a bit much just because of the guaranteed money....but a team that needs a qb will do that. The injury was unforeseen, and the only real reason anyone is upset about the contract (now). We knew it would handcuff us, but we expected to have a game manager that we could start building other parts of the roster up. Obviously we were drafting heavily on the defensive side. I believe this was all part of a plan. The injury throws the whole equation off. But to think that Smith is going to play again is absurd. I agree with sunny. Both sides are doing exactly what they have to right now in this situation. Retiring on his side would be nonsensical, and cutting him would be nonsensical. You can really tell it's the slow part of the season with threads like this.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=redskinsfan402;1244711] Let him mentor Haskins until Smith is once again a contender (if he decides to) for the QB spot, and then [B]have them "battle" [/B]it out and then pray that nothing terrible happens again.[/quote]

That really serves no purpose. Even if he got back to 100% Alex Smith isn't the future of the Redskins. Alex Smith has no upside. If Haskins lost the battle to Alex it would do nothing but delay his development and the ability to decide whether the Redskins need to use a high pick on a QB in 2021.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=OnceWeWereKings;1244712]Smith will never play another snap, but wont retire until this guaranteed money isnt coming in. To think otherwise is ridiculous. Hind sight is always 20/20...the contract seemed a bit much just because of the guaranteed money....but a team that needs a qb will do that. The injury was unforeseen, and the only real reason anyone is upset about the contract (now). We knew it would handcuff us, but we expected to have a game manager that we could start building other parts of the roster up. Obviously we were drafting heavily on the defensive side. I believe this was all part of a plan. The injury throws the whole equation off. But to think that Smith is going to play again is absurd. I agree with sunny. Both sides are doing exactly what they have to right now in this situation. Retiring on his side would be nonsensical, and cutting him would be nonsensical. You can really tell it's the slow part of the season with threads like this.[/quote]

I don't mean any disrespect to you, but what makes you know for certain that Smith never plays again? Cooley talks about him all the time and has said several times that he does believe that Alex Smith will be playing somewhere this coming season.

I think his comeback from where he went from nearly losing his leg, to nearly dying from infection, to get back to being able to walk without a cane, and then from there, go back to working out on a football field again, running, throwing, dropping back etc., is nothing short of miraculous. He for sure has a warriors' heart and for someone to not give the man a fair chance to tryout / workout would be cruel when you think of how much Alex wants it himself, and how far he has came. If Alex is aware of all of the risks which i'm sure he is, it's his life if he wants to do it. If he gets a fair medical evaluation and someone signs off on him, i think he deserves the chance.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=MTK;1244610]The injury almost killed him. Would a doctor even sign off on him playing again?[/quote]

Can the leg suffer another injury ,...........I'm talking about even a sprained ankle ,17 surgeries why would he want to and why would his family let him?

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;1244796]I don't mean any disrespect to you, but what makes you know for certain that Smith never plays again? Cooley talks about him all the time and has said several times that he does believe that Alex Smith will be playing somewhere this coming season.

I think his comeback from where he went from nearly losing his leg, to nearly dying from infection, to get back to being able to walk without a cane, and then from there, go back to working out on a football field again, running, throwing, dropping back etc., is nothing short of miraculous. He for sure has a warriors' heart and for someone to not give the man a fair chance to tryout / workout would be cruel when you think of how much Alex wants it himself, and how far he has came. If Alex is aware of all of the risks which i'm sure he is, it's his life if he wants to do it. If he gets a fair medical evaluation and someone signs off on him, i think he deserves the chance.[/quote]



Everyone loves a good comeback story and it would be great to see him take the field again he is a great person and easy to root for but should he and the saine answer the common sense answer is no he shouldn't.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

I guess only time will tell with Alex. He is pursuing this comeback relentlessly. I have to assume his family is supporting the comeback efforts, otherwise he probably would have retired almost immediately once he got relatively healthy again following all of the surgeries.

That being said though,many people are reporting that no professional athlete has ever suffered that serious of an injury with all of the following complications and yet still tried a comeback after, so he is in uncharted territory here.

For anyone who remembers the whole Theismann ordeal, how long did it take for Joe to come out and admit retirement? Did Joe have to retire right away or did he too attempt a comeback at some point, but ultimately not get medical clearance?

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;1244813]

For anyone who remembers the whole Theismann ordeal, how long did it take for Joe to come out and admit retirement? Did Joe have to retire right away or did he too attempt a comeback at some point, but ultimately not get medical clearance?[/quote]

From Wikipedia:

The compound fracture of the tibia and fibula led to insufficient bone growth during Theismann's recovery, leaving his right leg shorter than his left. As a result, the injury forced Theismann into retirement at the age of 36.

So it appears Theismann never had a chance at a comeback.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[url]https://youtu.be/w8dB2hiGW4Q[/url]


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Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

There are some pictures floating around on the net of Smith's leg after surgery. I was going to post it but it was too disturbing so you can look it up if you want to. If it was in fact his leg, I can not believe that he still in fact has his leg.

Re: Alex Smith’s Amazing Comeback(?)
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;1244813]I guess only time will tell with Alex. He is pursuing this comeback relentlessly. I have to assume his family is supporting the comeback efforts, otherwise he probably would have retired almost immediately once he got relatively healthy again following all of the surgeries.

That being said though,many people are reporting that no professional athlete has ever suffered that serious of an injury with all of the following complications and yet still tried a comeback after, so he is in uncharted territory here.

[B]For anyone who remembers the whole Theismann ordeal, how long did it take for Joe to come out and admit retirement? Did Joe have to retire right away or did he too attempt a comeback at some point, but ultimately not get medical clearance?[/quote][/B]

I was at the game when he broke his leg. I will never forget it cause the people behind us had one of those old school portable tv's. They cut if off after the replay cause they were so disturbed.

Anyway, JT did his rehab at the old Redskin Park all off season from what I remember. When the spring finally came around JT was asked to go out on the field and do a workout. It didn't go well and it was determined that he could no longer play. Cooke told him to collect on his Lloyds of London insurance for a million dollars, which he did.