It has taken 17 surgeries and almost two years for Alex Smith to get this close to playing again. He will serve as the Washington Football Team’s backup quarterback to Kyle Allen on Sunday.
It marks the first time Smith will dress for a game since he departed the field on a cart on Nov. 18, 2018, with a compound fracture to his right leg.
The question is: Is Smith ready to return to game action?
“I have no trepidation having him come in and play if that’s what happens,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said, via John Keim of ESPN.
Washington made Smith inactive for the first four games. But Rivera not only benched Dwayne Haskins but demoted the former first-round choice to third string for this week’s game.
Smith played for Norv Turner in 2006 when Turner was offensive coordinator in San Francisco. Turner’s son, Scott, is the offensive coordinator in Washington.
Smith’s knowledge of the offense made him a better choice as Allen’s backup than Haskins, Rivera said.
“He understands it and I want to put the ball back in the hands of somebody who’s been in it,” Rivera said.