Alex Smith was acquired by the Washington Redskins in the offseason to replace Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback. It was a move that many thought was a mistake, but Smith had the Redskins on the right track heading into Week 11. Unfortunately, things ended in gruesome fashion for Smith against the Houston Texans.
According to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, Smith will miss the remainder of the 2018 NFL season after suffering a nasty-looking leg injury against Houston.
Washington will now turn to Colt McCoy as their starting quarterback. He ended up playing a large portion of the second half after Smith went down with the injury. In the limited playing time, McCoy completed six of his 12 pass attempts for 54 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions.
The Redskins were unable to defeat the Texans, which now has them sitting at 6-4 on the season. With that record, Washington still holds first place in the NFC East as of this writing.
Smith's season will end after a solid all-around season. He ends the year with 2,180 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions. In addition to his passing numbers, Smith ran for 168 yards and a touchdown.
At 34 years old, Smith's road back to the field is not going to be an easy one. Suffering that traumatic of a leg injury is never easy to return from. That being said, he will attack his rehab and try to come back stronger than he was before the injury.
McCoy will be asked to shoulder a large workload for the remainder of the season. Jay Gruden and company still believe that they can win the NFC East and make the playoffs, but things have definitely gotten much more difficult with this injury.