Redskins Suffer a Key Loss In Alex Smith

by Ryan Duvall ‘21

 Last week the Washington Redskins suffered two losses, one to the Houston Texans, and the other being the season-ending injury to quarterback Alex Smith. Midway through the 3rd quarter Smith was hit by the Texans safety Kareem Jackson and was carted off the field immediately. After the game, the Redskins announced that Smith had fractured his tibia and fibula, and would be out for the rest of the season. Every Redskin fan was sick to their stomach after seeing their star QB get hurt, but no one was as shocked as Joe Theismann.

 Theismann was a Washington QB who led them to two Super Bowls, winning one. On November 18, 1985 Theismann was sacked by legendary Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and suffered a career-ending leg injury. The Redskin great was in attendance for the game against the Texans, which marked the 33rd anniversary of his injury. When Alex Smith went down, Theismann was disgusted. He claims that he turned away, and later tweeted about how bad he felt for Smith, and how similar the two injuries were. This raises the question, was the Smith injury just a coincidence or bad karma for Redskin QBs? Redskins quarterbacks have had a history of bad injuries, ranging from Theismann and Smith’s gruesome leg injuries to Robert Griffin III struggling to keep a healthy knee. At this point, it seems as if almost any good Washington QB may be due for an injury.

 Head Coach Jay Gruden announced on Monday that the recovery process for Smith will take six to eight months. Smith was traded to Washington in January, where the Redskins instantly gave him a 4-year 94 million dollar contract. Smith will be 35 when he is slated to come back and have three years left on his contract. Although Smith may not be the same quarterback he is now when he returns from injury, the Redskins GM says that they are focused on this season and not the future. At 6-5, Washington is in the 2nd wild card position with a key Monday night matchup next week against the Eagles. They will need backup quarterback Colt McCoy to perform well in order to sneak into the playoffs.