Comeback conquered, Smith decides to retire
Alex Smith retired after making an improbable comeback from a gruesome broken leg, saying he’s ready to leave the NFL but believing he’s still able to play quarterback.
Smith made the announcement Monday on Instagram a few weeks shy of his 37th birthday.
“I want to say thank you for believing in me, and thank you for helping me believe in myself — and in the impossible,” Smith said.
Smith, 36, earned AP Comeback Player of the Year honors for getting back on the field last season, two years removed from an injury that required 17 operations. After breaking his right tibia and fibula in a game Nov. 18, 2018, against Houston, hewas hospitalized for almost a month and survived a life-threatening infection in addition to the operations.
He appeared in eight games in 2020 and went 5-1 as a starter while throwing for 1,582 yards and six touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Washington released Smith in March and signed veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Smith expressed his intent to keep playing but went unsigned more than a month into free agency.
Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in 2005 and played 14 seasons for San Francisco, Kansas City and Washington.
Odds and ends
Tom Brady is recovering from offseason knee surgery and expects to be ready for June minicamp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Speaking at a fundraiser for Bucs coach Bruce Arians’ foundation, the 43-year-old quarterback joked that he didn’t know “if I can go this week” and then added “I feel pretty good and I push myself pretty hard. … We we will see how things play out.” …
A sheriff ’s office in Louisiana has issued an arrest warrant for Seattle Seahawks defensive end Aldon Smith. St. Bernard Parish detectives identified the suspect in an alleged assault on Saturday as Smith, 31, and took out a warrant for second-degree battery. Smith’s off-field troubles are lengthy and include four full seasons out of the league due to suspensions.