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Alex Smith Says WFT Coaches Were 'Patronizing' After Comeback from Leg Injury
April 22, 2021
Alex Smith continues to be unhappy with how the Washington Football Team treated him during his comeback season in 2020.
In a profile by Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop, Smith said he found the Football Team's coaching staff "patronizing" toward him early last season after he was cleared to play.
"I'd rather have somebody right in my face say, 'What are you thinking?'" Smith said. "It pissed me off."
Smith was previously critical of the Washington organization with comments he made to Clay Skipper of GQ in February.
"When I decided to come back, I definitely threw a wrench in the team's plan," Smith told Skipper. "They didn't see it, didn't want me there, didn't want me to be a part of it, didn't want me to be on the team, the roster, didn't want to give me a chance."
Smith went on to specify that the Washington coaching staff "didn't want me there."
In a statement provided to Bishop through a Washington spokesperson, head coach Ron Rivera revealed he "was scared to death about putting [Alex] back out there."
Smith told Bishop that Washington's coaching staff put him through tasks that he had never done before in his NFL career, including carrying extra weights and pushing sleds.
Football Team doctors cleared Smith for football activities in August. He suffered a spiral and compound fracture to the tibia and fibula in his right leg during a game against the Houston Texans on Nov. 18, 2018. The three-time Pro Bowler underwent 17 different surgeries to repair the injury and save his life after developing an infection.
Smith wound up starting six games for Washington in 2020. He went 5-1 in those starts and threw for 1,582 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight games overall.
On Monday, Smith announced on Instagram that he was retiring from the NFL after 14 seasons. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. The Utah alum spent eight years with the Niners and five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs before being traded to Washington in March 2018.