Alex Smith was “still a little sore” Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera revealed Thursday. Washington is set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday night in an NFC wild card playoff game.
Rivera said he wished Smith had an extra day for Washington to evaluate Smith.
Smith has been hampered by a right calf strain since Week 14. He missed the following two games — both losses for Washington — before returning in Week 17 to lead the team to a NFC East-clinching win over the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Smith’s struggles with mobility was evident throughout the game.
Smith was limited in practice Thursday. As a result backup Taylor Heinicke took majority of the practice reps, Rivera said.
Smith is officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game. Rivera previously said he will consider rotating the quarterbacks given the circumstances of the game. The Buccaneers are known for applying pressure on the quarterback which could be problematic for Smith.
If all was clear, Smith would obviously be the choice to start. He is 5-1 as a starter this season and 11-5 in 16 starts since being traded to Washington in 2018. Additionally, Smith has seven starts in the playoffs throughout his 16-year career. In comparison, Heinicke has one career start coming in the regular season in 2018 with the Carolina Panthers.
