Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith is the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. The 36-year-old signal-caller deservingly nabbed the award after returning from a career-threatening compound leg fracture he suffered in 2018.
Washington QB Alex Smith was voted the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year after he returned from a compound leg fracture he suffered in 2018 to lead the WFT to a playoff berth.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) February 7, 2021
Smith was deemed as a lock for the award after anchoring Washington's offense and leading them to a surprising NFC East title. The media panel felt the same, as the three-time Pro-Bowl member received 49 of the possible 50 votes during the NFL awards show on Saturday. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger received one vote, while Aldon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys was also considered for the recognition.
While a leg fracture is not an uncommon injury in football, Smith almost lost his life when he developed sepsis, a condition that occurs when the body tries to battle a serious infection.
“The next thing I remember is waking up several weeks later faced with the decision of amputation or limb salvage at that point,” the Washington Football Team QB described his recovery, per CBS Sports.
It took a total of 17 surgeries for Smith just to be able to save his leg from amputation, all the while trying to stay alive from the infection. The NFL all-time passing rate leader sat out the entire 2019 season but came back strong in 2020. By Week 10, he regained his starting QB spot and led Washington to a 5-1 record during that stretch. He admitted that there were times that he wanted to give up during the rehab process.
“I think it was hard for a lot of people to digest that I wanted to do this, that I wanted to attempt this,” Alex Smith added, per Associated Press. “I did get a lot of pushback throughout the entire process. Why was I doing this? This was crazy. There were definitely periods throughout the entire two years of setbacks and when I really would doubt anything like this was possible.”
Earlier, Smith's Washington teammate Chase Young was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of The Year.
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