It’s been seven months since Alex Smith suffered a gruesome compound fracture in his right leg. The Washington Redskins quarterback opened up for the first time since he was carted off FedEx Field in Week 11 of last season.
Smith said that the he will have to wear the external fixator on his right leg for another four-to-six weeks.
“This thing is going to save my leg, save my bone, and allow me to heal and walk again and help me play football again,” Smith toldĀ FOX 5 DC’s Angie Goff.
Smith acknowledged that he has played golf and has worked out, although he cannot begin jogging until the external fixator is removed from his leg.
“The last three months have definitely been life-changing. I’ve been able to start driving, I can work out, I’m off the crutches,” Smith said. “The first four months were really, really hard, both (physically and mentally); just to be in a wheelchair for as long as I was.”
Returning to the football field is “the plan” for Smith. He admitted he will have to “learn to run again” after such a devastating injury.
“That’s the plan,” Smith said of returning to the field. “Steps. I’ve got to conquer some more steps before I get there. Learn to run again. That’s a big one. I’m already throwing. I already feel like throwing is not a problem. I feel like I can throw, but dropping (back), moving around, all that kind of stuff, change of direction.”
Alex Smith signed a four-year extension worth $94 million with $55 million guaranteed at signing after he was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Redskins.
Washington started the 2018 season with a 6-3 record with Smith under center before he was sacked by JJ Watt of the Houston Texans which led to his career-threatening injury.
The Redskins have since operated as if Smith would not return for the 2019 season, trading for quarterback Case Keenum and drafting Dwayne Haskins in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.
Smith’s road to recovery is expected to continue through the 2019 season. His 2020 salary of $16 million ($21.4 million cap hit) became fully guaranteed on Mar. 17 of this year, according to Spotrac.
