Alex Smith goes to Washington as Redskins’ undisputed leader
Alex Smith doesn’t believe in assigned seats.
As he tried to get to know his new Washington Redskins teammates, Smith sat in a different seat for each meeting.
Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula knew that from his time with Smith in San Francisco, and running back Chris Thompson beamed, “That’s a trait from your quarterback that you like to see.”
It’s a concerted effort by Smith to fit in with the guys, something he did quickly after taking over as the Redskins’ franchise quarterback.
Be it his personality, his depth
of NFL experience or the long-term contract that previous starter Kirk Cousins never had in Washington, Smith has already assumed the place of unquestioned leader and made players sense an entirely different vibe around the team.
“(It’s about) putting yourself out there, being real and nothing fake, nothing phony but getting to know the guys, letting your guard down,” Smith said. “I’m more conscious of it as I’ve gotten older about that, about the responsibility as a teammate, being a good teammate.”
No one around the Redskins is calling Cousins a bad teammate, and team brass is reluctant to compare him and Smith on or off the field. But ever since Smith took the field in practice in burgundy and gold, he has been the subject of glowing praise about his ability to lead.
“He’s always been a leader,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “You could tell he’s comfortable in that role. He’s what we needed.”
A series of one-year contracts made Cousins unwilling or unable to fully fill that void. After signing a guaranteed $84 million, three-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, Cousins felt he finally had a “license to lead” that was never there with the Redskins, who took him in the same draft as Robert Griffin III, made him compete for the starting job and never agreed to a longterm contract.
Washington not only acquired Smith from Kansas City but signed him to a $94 million, four-year extension with $71 million guaranteed and put the pressure on him to get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season. That’s as much as license to lead as anything, but the 34-year-old brushed off the trappings of that kind of security.
“All you’re guaranteed is a year at a time here and even game by game,” Smith said. “I appreciate so much the opportunity I have today and right in front of me and I’m not really thinking past that. Contract, all this and that, I’m not feeling any kind of comfort in that. No. I’ve got a huge sense of urgency to go out there and to go right now, to go today. I’m not waiting on anything. So it doesn’t change my approach at all.”
It’s that approach that quickly won Smith the respect of teammates, who spent the opening days of training camp talking about things feeling “different” this year.