Alex

Smith

The former No. 1 overall pick will call it quits after 16 seasons in the NFL -- seven years with the 49ers, five with the Chiefs, and three with Washington. Against all odds, Smith’s recovery from a tragic 2018 leg injury culminated in 2020 with his emergence as the Football Team’s starting QB. “Two years ago I was stuck in a wheelchair, staring down at my mangled leg, wondering if I would ever be able to go on a walk again or play with my kids in the yard,” Smith said in a recorded statement posted to Instagram. “On a routine play, I almost lost everything. But football wouldn’t let me give up. Because, no, this isn’t just a game. It’s not just what happens between those white lines on a Sunday afternoon. It’s about the challenges and the commitment they require. It’s about how hard and how far you can push yourself.” Smith’s best fantasy season came in 2017, when he eclipsed 4,000 yards for the only time in his career and threw 26 touchdowns to five interceptions for Kansas City. The streaming QB mainstay also ran for 355 yards and a score. Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who coached Smith at Utah, had tried to lure the veteran to Jacksonville as a mentor for incoming rookie Trevor Lawrence. With no shot at starting in 2021 and nothing left to prove following his horrific injury, Smith chose retirement.

Meyer acknowledged the team had talked to Smith about coming to Jacksonville, presumably to serve as backup and mentor for soon-to-be No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Meyer coached Smith at Utah in the early-2000s before Smith was selected first overall by the Niners, and Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke was the 49ers GM when the team drafted Smith. “He’s like our family. Both of us feel so strongly about them. But that’s something that we’re just going to keep an eye on because I hope he comes back,” Meyer said. After returning from a catastrophic 2018 leg break, Smith struggled mightily down the stretch in 2020, bothered by the calf on his formerly broken leg. He sat out the Football Team’s Wild Card loss to Tampa. With no chance to start for a team in 2021, Smith could retire.

Smith is familiar with coach David Culley from their time together in Kansas City and remains insistent about being a starter in 2021. He could at the very least enter camp in a competition with Tyrod Taylor if Watson isn’t available, whether that be via trade, holdout, or even an extended stint on the commissioner’s exempt list. Houston is one of the few/only teams which have been linked to the 36-year-old veteran since he was released from Washington.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement announcing Smith’s release that he met with Smith and “decided that it would be best for both parties to move on.” Smith’s request for release aligns with comments he made in February about the team not including him in their 2020 plans. “They never thought I was coming back. No one there,” Smith told GQ. He insisted there were no hard feelings between him and the coaching staff, but the well had clearly been poisoned. Releasing Smith, 36, makes financial sense for the Football Team, which save nearly $15 million against the cap.

Smith, expected to be released by Washington this week, could reunite with Matt Nagy in Chicago. Nagy, of course, coached Smith in Kansas City, where Nagy served first as quarterbacks coach, then as offensive coordinator from 2016-2017. The Bears would offer one of Smith’s only chances to start in 2021. Jacksonville has been mentioned as a potential fit for Smith, who was coached by Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer at Utah.

Smith, 36, is owed $26.2 million in 2021. Releasing him before June 1 would save Washington $14.7 million against the salary cap. The 2020 Comeback Player of the Year came back from a two-year leg injury to start six games for the Football Team after starting the season as a third stringer. Smith said recently that he knew Ron Rivera’s coaching staff “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.” Apparently he was right. Jaguars Report’s John Shipley said a reunion between Smith and Urban Meyer, his coach at Utah, would make sense. In February, Washington signed Taylor Heinicke -- who impressed in a playoff start against Tampa -- to a two-year deal. Heinicke, 27, will have a shot at the starting job in 2021 even when Washington brings in signal callers via the draft and free agency.

This one was pre-ordained after 36-year-old Smith’s miraculous recovery from a 2018 compound leg fracture that ended up requiring 17 surgeries due to a host of complications. The football was not necessarily scintillating — never an aggressive player, Smith was understandably even more conservative in 2020 — but Smith was the best quarterback on the Football Team’s division-winning roster. Smith is undecided on returning in 2021. The Football Team has signaled it will probably go another direction at starter, but Smith’s experience and brainpower would be invaluable in a backup.

Washington offered its first- and third-round picks for Matthew Stafford before he was traded to the Rams. They’ve also been linked to Derek Carr, Deshaun Watson, and Sam Darnold, though none are a lock to be dealt. Washington should be among the most aggressive teams on the quarterback market this offseason, but they may have to settle for another year of Smith if a deal doesn’t get done. Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston, and Ryan Fitzpatrick headline this year’s free agent QB class.

The Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala said the Football Team’s offer for Stafford “was better for the Lions this year than what the Rams offered.” The Rams landed Stafford on Saturday in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick, a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and Jared Goff. Apparently Washington’s offer for Stafford wasn’t as loaded on the back end, but may have included a bigger draft pick haul for this year. It’s noteworthy that the Football Team made an aggressive push for Stafford -- they’re clearly not committed to heading into the 2021 season with Alex Smith as the team’s unquestioned starter. It makes sense: there’s a real argument that, by season’s end, Taylor Heinicke was Washington’s best QB option by a long shot. Ron Rivera’s team could be a dark horse to sell out in pursuit of Deshaun Watson in the coming months. Washington could also land a free agent signal caller. Unrestricted free agent QBs this offseason include Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cam Newton, Tyrod Taylor, and Mitchell Trubisky.

Taylor Heinicke will get the call against the Bucs’ tough but vulnerable pass defense. Smith did not look ready for prime time during his Week 17 return and apparently felt worse as the week progressed. This is the right call for the Football Team, but also a complete Hail Mary. Heinicke did look better than Dwayne Haskins in Week 16, but that isn’t much of a bar to clear. All roads to a Football Team upset begin and end with the defense.