Following a devastating tibia and fibula fracture that derailed his career back in 2018, Washington quarterback Alex Smith has hit a major milestone in his recovery – he has been cleared to return to football activity.
According to ESPN’s Stephania Bell, Smith has received clearance from his surgical team to return to full football activity and is going through COVID-19 testing as he expects to officially report to the team’s facility on Monday, where Smith will undergo a team physical.
Smith, 36, provided an update while filming for his E:60 documentary, “Project 11”.
“Everyone was in agreement that my bone was in a really good place,” Smith said, per ESPN. “I had healed a lot. They said that given the combination of the rod and where I was with the healing process, I had zero limitations and could even resume some football activities.
“To hear them say that, from a life standpoint, they wouldn’t restrict me from doing anything — I could go skiing or snowboarding tomorrow if I wanted — then on top of that, to get the green light that I could practice, get contact, that I had healed up, that much was pretty wild to hear. I didn’t know if I would ever hear those words.”
The next step for Smith, is practice.
“For me, all eyes are on practice,” Smith said. “That’s the next step. I have to go prove to myself and certainly to everybody else that I can go practice.”
Smith also spoke about the franchise’s rebranding process, and stated that he is “embarrassed” and “disgusted” by the recent Washington Post report on sexual harassment within the organization.
“As football players, you sign up to play football, you love it and everything that comes with it,” he said, “but the logo you wear on the side of your helmet, the name on the front of your jersey, it is a part of it. So I’m really proud of the organization for making a change, as I think all my teammates are. I am excited about new beginnings, excited about the new coaching staff, getting back to winning ways. But as I said, I’m proud of the organization for making the change.”
“We’re football players and out on the field, but there are a lot of parts of the building that go into game day and a season and the whole business side of the building, and to hear that some of this had been going on, I certainly don’t think players ever knew about it. But it’s not something any of us are proud of, and it needs to be changed,” Smith said. “I have a wife, a daughter, two sisters, and to ever think about something like that happening to them disgusts me and pisses me off; so hopefully, we get to where we need to be — an environment and a culture that’s acceptable for everybody and lets everybody thrive and is safe for everybody.”
