Alex Smith's inspirational comeback story takes another astounding turn on Sunday. Per Field Yates of ESPN, the Washington Football Team quarterback will make his first start in nearly two years against the Detroit Lions.
It's truly an incredible tale:
This comes after Smith suffered a career-threatening injury — a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg — on Nov. 18, 2018 after being sacked by Kareem Jackson and J.J. Watt in a game against the Houston Texans. The three-time Pro Bowler underwent 17 surgeries and even almost lost his leg due to life-threatening complications and infections.
After going through hell and back to repair the compound break, Smith made his miraculous return to the field for Washington in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams. He was sacked six times in his return contest and finished with nine completions on 17 passes for 37 yards.
Four weeks later in Week 9, Smith made his second appearance of the season. The 15-year veteran saw an uptick in playing time after Kyle Allen went down with an injury and proved he could still perform when needed. Smith played relatively well with 24 completions on 32 passes for 325 yards. He even scored a touchdown pass, but he did throw three interceptions.
Smith will finally get his starting opportunity again for Washington. Sunday's game should be an emotional moment for him considering everything he has gone through. It was certainly a special moment that he even made it back to the field. It's even more remarkable that he's going to start again, and he very well could be starting for the rest of the season due to Allen's injury.
Washington has struggled to a 2-6 record this season, but Smith's miraculous return and head coach Ron Rivera beating cancer are bright spots.