After an eventful and inspiring 16 year NFL career, Alex Smith announced his retirement. His former coach, Andy Reid, wasted no time in recruiting him.
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Alex Smith truly embodied the spirit of an athlete. Coming out of Utah, Smith was selected by the 49ers with the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.
The QB moved to Kansas City in 2012, where he would end up playing the most successful seasons of his career. He earned 3 Pro Bowl selections and even led the league in passer rating in 2017.
Eventually though, Smith would give way to the NFL’s freshest superstar, Patrick Mahomes. Many believe that Smith played an important role in the young QB’s development, and therefore the Chiefs’ recent success too.
Taking nothing away from his career as a whole, the truly miraculous part of Smith’s story came after he joined the Washington Football Team. In a November 2018 game against the Texans, Smith went down with one of the most gruesome injuries the game has ever seen.
To make matters worse, his leg would end up being infected by a flesh-eating bacteria, putting his life in danger. He went through 17 surgeries, after which his doctors were surprised he was still alive, let alone ready to play football again.
Smith made his fairytale comeback to the NFL in 2020, earning the starting job and seeing his team reach the playoffs. At the NFL honors, Smith was unsurprisingly named the Comeback Player of the Year.
We didn’t know it then, but it was a fitting goodbye to a football legend.
Andy Reid: “If he does get into coaching, I get first dibs on him”
In the past couple of days, there had of course been speculation as to what was next for Smith. A number of teams were rumored to be interested, but it was clearly nothing serious as the QB announced his retirement on Instagram today.
Smith’s former coach, Andy Reid, seemed eager to bring his former signal caller back home. Seeing the impact he had on Mahomes, and the consequent effect that had on the franchise, it’s probably not a bad idea.
Also read: NFL New Uniforms 2021 : Cincinnati Bengals reveal new uniforms after 17 years
