Washington’s Smith forced to exit early
Washington Football Team quarterback and former 49ers No. 1 pick Alex Smith left Sunday’s game against the Niners just before halftime with soreness in his right calf.
Smith, who did not return to the game, was seen on the Washington bench in the second quarter receiving some treatment on his right leg. A trainer appeared to be flexing his foot to stretch the calf.
X-rays on Smith’s leg came back negative, NFL Network reported. Washington head coach Ron Rivera said Smith suffered a strain and he was kept out of the game because the team wanted to remain cautious with him.
Of course, Smith’s right leg has been through a lot in the last two-plus years
He suffered a compound fracture of the leg Nov. 18, 2018 when he was sacked during a game against the Houston Texans. An infection threatened Smith’s life and doctors contemplated the possibility of amputating his leg.
Seventeen surger ies and many months of rehab later, Smith wa s cleared this offseason to return to football activity. He took over midway through the season after Washington benched D way ne Ha sk ins a nd backup Kyle A llen was injured. Haskins replaced Smith in Sunday’s game.
Smith was 8 of 19 for 57 yards with an interception in Sunday’s game, which Washington won 23-15. Haskins didn’t fare much better, completing 7- of-12 passes for just 51 yards, but the Washington defense scored two touchdowns to
let the offense off the hook.
Reports from Fox’s commentary team of Chris Myers, Greg Jennings and Jen Hale noted that Smith was having trouble pushing off with the right leg in his throwing motion.
Several 49ers were asked after the game if they noticed any difference in Smith’s play. Cornerback Jason Verrett, who intercepted a second- quarter pass from Smith said he didn’t notice any dropoff, adding that Smith usually isn’t a particularly aggressive downfield passer outside of a few particular loks.
Smith spent the first seven seasons of his career with San Francisco before being traded to Kansas City after the Niners chose to go with Co
lin Kaepernick under center in 2012 when Smith returned from a concussion. After five years starting in Kansas City, the Chiefs sent him to Washington when they were ready to unleash future MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Smith spoke earlier this week about his plan to retire to the Bay Area once his NFL career comes to an end.
“My wife is from the Bay Area. All three of my kids were born at Stanford. It’s still the plan for that to be home for us,” Smith said Thursday on a media conference call. “The Bay Area is a place really special to us. We’ve spent a lot of time there in the offseason and it is amazing to be out and about and have that kind of response.”