One of the most intriguing storylines ahead of Washington Football Team's Week 14 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday is that of former first overall pick Alex Smith, who is currently Washington's starting quarterback. The 36-year-old spent the first eight years of his career with the Niners, and Sunday's matchup will be a rekindling of an old flame for him of sorts.

Smith, who himself successfully recovered from a career-threatening leg fracture that required no less than 17 surgeries, recently opened up about his road to recovery, and how this has had a tremendous impact on not only his career, but in his life as well:

“I don’t wish that on anybody. It’s part of why I want to help young QBs,” Smith said. “It was very difficult and a hard road to go down. I learned a lot from it. I don’t think it’s totally necessary and it doesn’t have to be that way. A lot of that was my fault as well. It can get handled differently, and I’ve witnessed it.”

Smith is one of just a handful of players who have overcome such a challenging injury, and now that he has, he wants to make sure that he is able to help out anybody else that might be in a similar situation.

As for his former team, Smith expressed how he holds no ill will against the Niners whatsoever:

“It’s so far removed,” Smith said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the handful of guys still around. You throw in the fact we’re in Arizona, it makes it more different.”

Alex Smith is coming off an impressive showing for Washington in their Week 13 win over the league-best Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith and the squad will be looking to keep in going on Sunday against his former squad.