Washington QB Smith suffers broken right leg
Alex Smith seemed to know immediately this was bad. Really, really bad. He covered his face with both hands, then a white towel, before his fractured right leg was placed in an air cast and he was carted off the field.
One of his predecessors as quarterback of the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann, was at Sunday’s game and sensed the same – all-too-familiar with what a season-ending broken leg looks and feels like.
Exactly 33 years to the day after Theismann’s gruesome injury during a nationally televised game , Smith went down with breaks to his right fibula and tibia midway through the third quarter of Washington’s 23-21 loss to the visiting Houston Texans on Sunday and was replaced at QB by backup Colt McCoy. Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Smith would have surgery “right away.”
“I saw a pile of people go down, and then I saw Alex’s leg in the position it was in. And I turned away after that. It brought back vivid memories,” said Theismann, hurt when hit by Lawrence Taylor during a Redskins’ victory over the New York Giants on Nov. 18, 1985.
“This date has always been a day in my life that I’ll never forget,” Theismann said in a telephone interview.
“My immediate thought was that my heart went out to him. I feel so bad for him. I know the road ahead.”
Smith was in his first season with the Redskins after arriving in a trade from the Kansas City Chiefs. He had thrown two first-half interceptions Sunday, one returned 101 yards for a TD by Texans safety Justin Reid, as Washington fell behind, 17-7.
The injury came when Smith was first hit by cornerback Kareem Jackson, then by defensive end J.J. Watt. Before Smith was driven off the field, players from both teams left the sidelines to offer well wishes. He waved to spectators as he was taken away.
“We’re all gutted for Alex,” Watt said. “I feel absolutely terrible for him.”
Browns say Rice isn’t a coaching candidate: The Cleveland Browns’ coaching search isn’t quite ready to cross gender or diplomatic lines.
General manager John Dorsey, who opened the possibility of hiring a woman to be Cleveland’s next coach, said that the team has not discussed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a candidate to become the club’s ninth coach since 1999.
ESPN reported that the team would like to interview Rice, an ardent Browns fan since childhood, for its coaching job.
However, Dorsey said she is not on the team’s current list of candidates.
Another record falls: Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri added another recordbreaking moment to his career when Indianapolis beat the Tennessee Titans, 38-10.
The 45-year-old Vinatieri participated in his 210th regular-season win, snapping a tie with the late George Blanda for the most in league history.
Mariota injures elbow again: The Titans lost quarterback Marcus Mariota in the final minute of the first half of their blowout loss to the Colts when he reinjured his right elbow.
Coach Mike Vrabel did not offer an update about Mariota.
Detroit rookie hurt: The Detroit Lions suffered a blow on offense when rookie running back Kerryon Johnson hurt his left knee against the Carolina Panthers. He left in the third quarter and didn’t return.