Alex Smith said he was watching live from home when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a gruesome ankle injury against the New York Giants. The scene was somber, as the severity of the injury was immediate recognized from the camera views of Prescott holding his leg.
After Prescott was carted off the field with an air cast on his injured leg, the Cowboys announced the 27-year old had suffered a compound ankle fracture and dislocation. He underwent surgery Sunday night and was released from the hospital Monday.
Prescott’s injury overshadowed an otherwise joyous day for Smith and the NFL world. A Just hours earlier, the Washington quarterback completed a miraculous comeback 693 days after he suffered a similarly gruesome-looking compound leg fracture. Smith, who called himself an expert of lower leg injuries, said while appearing on the Dan Patrick Show he knew right away what Prescott was facing.
“I’ve been thinking about him a lot,” Smith said. “I thought a lot about shooting him a text, but part of me also didn’t want to scare the hell out of him by shooting him a text and getting him thinking he might be headed down this road. I’ll let the infection risk kind of get out of the way and hopefully reach out here soon.”
Smith has good reason to feel hesitant to reach out to Prescott. After fracturing his fibula and tibia, Smith developed sepsis, a bacterial infection that ravaged through his leg. The infection nearly cost him his leg and life. Through his own account in an ESPN documentary, Smith endured 17 surgeries in total that saved ad repaired his leg. However, he faced a long road to recovery, one that put his playing career in doubt.
He sat out the entire 2019 season but returned this year, making Washington’s 53-man roster. After four weeks of being inactive, Smith entered Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams as the backup quarterback. But, he was thrust into the game after starter Kyle Allen suffered an arm injury on a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Smith completed 9-of-17 passes for 37 yards and was sacked six times in a highly emotional return.
Smith pointed out he and Prescott have a lot in common. Prescott’s head coach in college at Mississippi State, Dan Mullen, was Smith’s quarterback coach in college at Utah. Prescott’s QB coach in college was Brian Johnson, Smith’s friend and former college teammate. Unfortunately, the similarity in devastating injuries is something else Prescott and Smith have in common.
Presumably, when the time is right, Smith will eventually reach out to Prescott in an attempt to encourage him, as he faces his own road to recovery.
