The Washington Football Team on Friday released quarterback Alex Smith, who won the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in helping the franchise win the NFC East.
Washington, which went 7-9 in 2020, wants to upgrade at quarterback this offseason and, with Smith turning 37 years old in May and due to count $24.4 million against the salary cap, a release became inevitable.
The move will save Washington $14.7 million against the cap with $8.6 million in dead money. Because of his injury and an insurance policy it held on Smith, Washington was able to recoup $1.1 million in prorated bonus money in each of the final three years of his contract.
Smith had two years left on a contract he signed after Washington traded for him in 2018. He made it clear to Washington he wanted to continue playing.
But his tenure in Washington will be defined by the broken right fibula and tibia he suffered in November 2018 and subsequent comeback with his first game action on Oct. 11. In between, Smith underwent 17 surgeries to fight an infection and opted not to have his leg amputated.
Washington kept him on the roster in part because he was too expensive to release. But it also wasn’t sure he was done playing. Though many doubted he could pull it off — both inside and outside the organization — a number of people with the franchise would often say, “if anyone can do it, Alex can.”
Still, after an ESPN documentary aired last spring, some members of the organization wondered if a doctor would even clear Smith to play, but he passed all tests and was cleared. With each milestone, Smith had to prove he could take the next step — being on the field for 11-on-11 work; making the roster; playing; starting.
He did all of that and, after starting quarterback Dwayne Haskins was benched and Kyle Allen was injured, Smith started six games in 2020. Washington went 5-1 in those starts. During his three years here, Washington went 11-5 in games Smith started and 6-27 with anyone else at quarterback.
Smith, however, told GQ Magazine that his comeback threw a “wrench” into the team’s plans and that he didn’t feel wanted by the organization this past summer.
They didn’t see it, 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,” Smith told the magazine. “Mind you, it was a whole new regime, they came in; I’m like the leftovers and I’m hurt and I’m this liability.
“Heck no, they didn’t want me there. At that point, as you can imagine, everything I’d been through, I couldn’t have cared less about all that. Whether you like it or not, I’m giving this a go at this point.”
Smith has not said for certain that he’s going to return for the 2021 season, but sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that he wanted to continue playing.
Smith’s value went beyond his stats this past season — he threw six touchdowns to eight interceptions. His calming manner, experience and leadership proved valuable to his young teammates. Washington started rookie Antonio Gibson at running back and of its top five wide receivers, only one entered last season with more than 58 career receptions — journeyman Dontrelle Inman. If Washington wasn’t going to get a lot of production, it at least needed someone who could manage the game like Smith.
Smith suffered a bone bruise in his calf during the first half of a Dec. 13 win against the San Francisco 49ers, preventing him from playing in the second half. He missed the next two games — both losses — and struggled in the season finale in part because of the injury. Smith lobbied to play in Washington’s playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he wasn’t mobile enough for the coaches’ liking and was inactive.
Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft by the 49ers, has started 167 career games. His team’s record in those games is 99-67-1. He spent seven years with the 49ers, who traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs. Smith spent five years with the Chiefs — they were 1-4 in the playoffs with him. Kansas City drafted Patrick Mahomes in the first round in 2017 and, after that season, traded Smith to Washington in exchange for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick.
Washington recently extended quarterback Taylor Heinicke to a two-year deal with incentives that make it worth up to $8.75 million. Kyle Allen is an exclusive rights free agent and expected to return. It also has Steven Montez, who as signed last offseason as an undrafted free agent.