The Washington Football Team plans on keeping quarterback Alex Smith on their 53-man active roster, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Smith is owed $16 million fully guaranteed this season. But he has a long way to go before he could actually step on the field. He returned to the practice field after being medically cleared 20 months after his catastrophic leg injury that nearly caused amputation.
Last week, Smith participated in his first full-team 11-on-11 non-contact practice since undergoing 17 surgeries on the leg he broke in November 2018. He has not yet been cleared by the team for full contact.
However, keeping him will allow Smith time to continue to work his way back while helping second-year starter Dwayne Haskins. Smith’s mentoring has had a positive impact on Haskins’ young development.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera named Haskins as the starting quarterback. He has yet to confirm who will be the backup between Kyle Allen and Smith, but all indications point to Allen at least to start the season while Smith continues to work his way back.
Regardless where he starts the season on the depth chart, Smith being part of a 53-man roster is astonishing. Not many outside of Smith and his family anticipated he would be on a roster at any point after the severity surrounding his leg injury.
