Subscribe
Follow Us
The Washington Football Team has announced that Dwayne Haskins will be the starting quarterback in Week 1 versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the team naming Haskins the starter, Ron Rivera shared that ‘he'd be comfortable' playing Alex Smith in Week 1, if need be, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports.
Asked what plenty of people are thinking, Ron Rivera says yes, if needed, he's comfortable playing Alex Smith Week 1 vs Philly.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 5, 2020
Even though 2020 has been a whirlwind of a year for everyone, there was great news to come out of Washington this offseason. Before the team prepared to begin training camp in August, Smith was medically cleared to return to football.
For those that are unaware, Smith was traded to Washington in 2018 after the Kansas City Chiefs named Patrick Mahomes their starting quarterback. In the latter portion of Smith's debut season with Washington, he would suffer a gruesome leg injury in which he sustained compound fractures in his tibia and fibula.
Article Continues Below
The veteran signal-caller would require multiple surgeries in an attempt to keep his leg intact. At the same time, he endured infections to the leg, causing even more complications along the way. Due to the extent of his injury, he was given a slim chance to return to the NFL.
However, Smith passionately battled his way back and was in uniform in Washington's first training camp practice. Hearing reports out of Washington, Smith was moving well and was continually getting better as the days went by.
After missing the 2019 season, Smith has lost the starting job to Haskins, who the team used the No. 15 pick on in the 2019 NFL Draft. While Rivera is confident in Haskins, he's also confident that Smith could fill in at quarterback this season if Haskins gets hurt or struggles. That goes to show how hard Smith worked to make a miraculous comeback this year.
