Alex Smith: 2020's Greatest Inspiration

The Washington Football Team quarterback has defied the odds to return to the football field

by Brendan Smith, Sports O’Clock Writing Team Member

(photo credits: NBC Sports)

The Washington Football Team was expected to roll with second year quarterback Dwayne Haskins this season with Kyle Allen serving as a backup option. However, new head coach Ron Rivera did not want Haskins running his offense and benched him in favor of Allen. Allen then proceeded to get hurt, but Rivera did not go back to Haskins. Instead, Rivera gave the reigns to a guy named Alex Smith.

In case you forgot, Smith suffered a gruesome compound fracture to his right leg halfway through the 2018 season. Smith’s leg required 17 surgeries to prevent the leg from being amputated due to severe sepsis, and he nearly lost his life from the infection.

After nearly two years on the sideline, Smith finally got his chance to start a game on Sunday and made the most of his opportunity. In a narrow loss to the Detroit Lions, Smith completed 69 percent of his passes and threw for a career-high 390 yards.

Smith’s stats, quite honestly, do not matter. What matters is a player who nearly had his career taken away from him worked incredibly hard to get back on the field. Smith went through intense rehab that could have easily discouraged him from pursuing a comeback, but he pushed through the pain and came back to take over for a franchise that desperately needed consistent quarterback play. Rivera even hinted that Smith could be the “quarterback of the future” for the football team.

Smith’s comeback is the most inspirational sports story of 2020. Some will consider it a miracle that Smith is on the football field again, but it is mostly a result work ethic and determination. Smith is an inspiration for the football world, and his comeback proves that anything is possible when you set goals and work hard to achieve them.

(Statistics taken from Pro-Football-Reference.com)

(All photos are cited properly. No copyright infringement intended.)