Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden is very impressed with Alex Smith’s time with the team in training camp.
Smith won’t be playing this season after obliterating his leg last year against the Houston Texans, but he’s still doing his best to stay involved. That’s made the head coach very happy. (RELATED: Washington Redskins
GRAPHIC WARNING! Oh, maaan. That’s a shocking injury for Alex Smith. Never like to see that #NFL #HOUvsWAS pic.twitter.com/0JWCFxlGNV
— Michael Randall (@MickRandallHS) November 18, 2018
Gruden told the press the following Sunday, according to ProFootballTalk:
I think he’s just a calming influence for them. He’s very supportive for each individual guy, he’ll get on them when he needs to get on them a little bit, in a fun-loving kind of way but he’s just a great presence to have in the quarterback room and we obviously welcome it whenever he wants to come in here.
Nobody knows if Smith will ever play again or how he’ll recover from snapping his fibula and tibia. I was there when it occurred, and you could feel the energy just get sucked out of the stadium. He’s on the wrong side of 30, which will only make things more complicated when it comes to healing and playing again.
Having said that, it’s great to see him staying involved with the team. He clearly wants to be around the guys and he still has money left on his deal.
While he might not be able to play, he at least has something to do by participating as much as he can in an advisory role.
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The good news for Smith is that he’s played for a long time in the NFL, and should have a ton of money set aside. Even if he never plays another snap of pro football, he should be just fine.
Of course, I think everybody is hoping he takes some more snaps. I’m just not holding my breath. Broken tibias and fibulas aren’t the easiest injuries to recover from.
We’ll see what happens, but at least Smith is staying involved. That’s always a good sign.