The Washington Football Team And Alex Smith Will Be Parting Ways

Scott Taetsch. Getty Images.

We can maybe call this inevitable as the writing was on the wall, but as they say, parting is such sweet sorrow. 

At 36 years old, Alex Smith was able to return from quite possibly the worst injury in the history of sports. He nearly had his leg amputated. Nobody knew if he would walk again, nevermind play football. But you know the story by now, how he overcame everything, played QB again, and led us the playoffs. It's the most improbable comeback we'll ever see.

What it boils down to is your classic "Washington wants to move on and Alex wants to keep starting at quarterback" situation. Alex would be $24 million against the cap, and though he still can play a bit, the team was not ready to give him the job at that price. 

So the right thing is being done and Alex will be given that opportunity with a new team. The question is of course, will a team offer him the chance to start? And that's a big question. He didn't have zip, he was very immobile, and of course every time he was sacked you would hold your breath. If I had to guess, he won't start somewhere opening week next season, but then again, who am I to doubt Alex? He's proven everyone wrong every step of the way, so there's no doubt in my mind he can do it again.

It's not a surprising release, but it still stinks. Bittersweet. It was great to watch him come back and lead us to the playoffs, but the time is right for both sides to move on. Hopefully when he hangs the cleats up, he returns to Washington in a front office role. He definitely has a bright future in player development, no doubt about it.