There’s a new contender to start at quarterback for Washington. Doctors say Alex Smith is ready to step back on the field.
Smith suffered a Theismann-type leg injury in 2018 and missed all of last season. At one point, the leg became dangerously infected, raising concerns the leg might need to be amputated or go even be life threatening.
But Smith seems fine now. His doctors cleared him for football on Friday. He’ll likely begin camp on the PUP list, easing into action.
If Smith is right physically and isn’t too rusty, he could start a fair number of games. He’s a lot more experienced than the team’s other options. He’s 36, and he’s taken multiple teams to the playoffs.
Washington drafted Dwayne Haskins in the first round but hasn’t been able to get him going yet. It also traded for Kyle Allen, who has the considerable advantage of playing for this coaching staff last year in Carolina. I would expect it will be Allen starting at the beginning of the season.
Smith isn’t a dynamic quarterback, but he’s among the best at avoiding mistakes. He doesn’t force passes, and he doesn’t fumble.
Over the last five years, he’s thrown only 25 interceptions and lost only 6 fumbles. During that span, only Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers did a better job of avoiding turnovers.
| QUARTERBACK TURNOVERS (last 5 years) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | TD | Int | FL | TO% |
| Tom Brady | 2,820 | 149 | 36 | 8 | 1.56% |
| Aaron Rodgers | 2,586 | 138 | 27 | 16 | 1.66% |
| Alex Smith | 1,792 | 71 | 25 | 6 | 1.73% |
| Tyrod Taylor | 1,327 | 54 | 18 | 5 | 1.73% |
| Drew Brees | 2,703 | 151 | 43 | 7 | 1.85% |
| Patrick Mahomes | 1,099 | 76 | 18 | 4 | 2.00% |
| Russell Wilson | 2,525 | 155 | 42 | 12 | 2.14% |
| Dak Prescott | 2,071 | 97 | 36 | 15 | 2.46% |
| Derek Carr | 2,714 | 122 | 50 | 19 | 2.54% |
| Matthew Stafford | 2,597 | 125 | 49 | 18 | 2.58% |
| Matt Ryan | 2,901 | 140 | 56 | 20 | 2.62% |
| Carson Wentz | 2,055 | 97 | 35 | 19 | 2.63% |
| Joe Flacco | 2,275 | 70 | 51 | 9 | 2.64% |
| Kirk Cousins | 2,739 | 137 | 52 | 21 | 2.67% |
| Carson Palmer | 1,401 | 70 | 32 | 6 | 2.71% |
| Case Keenum | 1,761 | 64 | 39 | 9 | 2.73% |
| Sam Bradford | 1,207 | 44 | 23 | 10 | 2.73% |
| Andy Dalton | 2,338 | 105 | 52 | 13 | 2.78% |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2,276 | 112 | 60 | 5 | 2.86% |
| Mitchell Trubisky | 1,280 | 48 | 29 | 8 | 2.89% |
| Deshaun Watson | 1,204 | 71 | 29 | 7 | 2.99% |
| Philip Rivers | 2,913 | 145 | 76 | 12 | 3.02% |
| Jared Goff | 1,869 | 87 | 42 | 15 | 3.05% |
| Cam Newton | 2,057 | 100 | 54 | 9 | 3.06% |
| Eli Manning | 2,510 | 107 | 59 | 18 | 3.07% |
| Brock Osweiler | 1,135 | 36 | 31 | 4 | 3.08% |
| Andrew Luck | 1,477 | 85 | 40 | 7 | 3.18% |
| Marcus Mariota | 1,765 | 76 | 44 | 14 | 3.29% |
| Ryan Tannehill | 1,535 | 82 | 39 | 13 | 3.39% |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 1,876 | 87 | 60 | 6 | 3.52% |
| Blake Bortles | 2,159 | 92 | 58 | 18 | 3.52% |
| Jay Cutler | 1,049 | 44 | 30 | 7 | 3.53% |
| Baker Mayfield | 1,020 | 49 | 35 | 5 | 3.92% |
| Jameis Winston | 2,548 | 121 | 88 | 23 | 4.36% |
Smith needs to show he can still play, and he wasn’t as effective when we last same him. Washington’s offense was sputtering with him at the controls in 2018. But Smith still managed to go 6-4 as a starter that year.
There’s something to be said for just not beating yourself. In the just-completed decade, Smith won almost 65 percent of his starts. There are 34 other quarterbacks who’ve started at least 50 games since 2010, and only five have higher winning percentages. All five have also won Super Bowl games.
| WIN-LOSS RECORDS IN THE DECADE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | W | L | T | Pct |
| Tom Brady | 156 | 122 | 34 | 0 | .782 |
| Peyton Manning | 73 | 55 | 18 | 0 | .753 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 142 | 96 | 45 | 1 | .680 |
| Russell Wilson | 128 | 86 | 41 | 1 | .676 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 130 | 84 | 45 | 1 | .650 |
| Alex Smith | 121 | 78 | 42 | 1 | .649 |
| Dak Prescott | 64 | 40 | 24 | 0 | .625 |
| Drew Brees | 153 | 95 | 58 | 0 | .621 |
| Andrew Luck | 86 | 53 | 33 | 0 | .616 |
| Jared Goff | 54 | 33 | 21 | 0 | .611 |
| Carson Wentz | 56 | 32 | 24 | 0 | .571 |
| Joe Flacco | 139 | 78 | 61 | 0 | .561 |
| Matt Ryan | 159 | 89 | 70 | 0 | .560 |
| Tony Romo | 72 | 40 | 32 | 0 | .556 |
| Cam Newton | 125 | 68 | 56 | 1 | .548 |
| Andy Dalton | 133 | 70 | 61 | 2 | .534 |
| Matt Schaub | 53 | 28 | 25 | 0 | .528 |
| Kirk Cousins | 88 | 44 | 42 | 2 | .511 |
| Carson Palmer | 100 | 50 | 49 | 1 | .505 |
| Jay Cutler | 100 | 50 | 50 | 0 | .500 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 98 | 49 | 49 | 0 | .500 |
| Mark Sanchez | 58 | 29 | 29 | 0 | .500 |
| Matthew Stafford | 139 | 67 | 71 | 1 | .486 |
| Colin Kaepernick | 58 | 28 | 30 | 0 | .483 |
| Philip Rivers | 160 | 77 | 83 | 0 | .481 |
| Marcus Mariota | 61 | 29 | 32 | 0 | .475 |
| Eli Manning | 147 | 67 | 80 | 0 | .456 |
| Case Keenum | 62 | 27 | 35 | 0 | .435 |
| Josh Freeman | 52 | 22 | 30 | 0 | .423 |
| Sam Bradford | 83 | 34 | 48 | 1 | .416 |
| Derek Carr | 94 | 39 | 55 | 0 | .415 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 116 | 47 | 69 | 0 | .405 |
| Jameis Winston | 70 | 28 | 42 | 0 | .400 |
| Matt Cassel | 50 | 20 | 30 | 0 | .400 |
| Blake Bortles | 73 | 24 | 49 | 0 | .329 |
I’m not trying to get folks excited about Smith. If you’re in a mega-league where you’re getting down to selecting Washington quarterbacks, I would choose him after both Allen and Haskins. But add him to the considerable list of guys to keep an eye on.
—Ian Allan