The team will free up space below the salary cap, leaving the defender who won the Comeback of the Year award in 2020.
Quarterback Alex Smith, who won the award The player of the year returned in 2020 after helping Washington to win the NFC East title, was released by the franchise on Friday, sources told Adam Schefter for ESPN.
Washington, who finished the 2020 season with seven wins and nine losses, were looking for a new defender, as Smith He will turn 37 in May and also had an impact of $ 24.4 million on the salary cap, so his release was inevitable.
Such a measure would save the framework from Washington up to $ 14.9 million in salary cap and Smith he will become a free agent. The defender had another two years of contract after signing with the franchise in 2018 and, on several occasions, he specified that he wants to continue playing.
However, his stay in the team was defined by the fracture of the tibia and fibula that he suffered in November 2018 and which determined him to play again until October 11, 2020. Smith He underwent 17 surgeries to fight an infection that put his foot in danger of being amputated.
Washington he held him in his staff, because it was too expensive to escape; but it was unclear if he would play again. Many doubted that he could succeed, but many in the organization were confident that “if anyone could do it, it was Alex.”
Despite all that, after a documentary ESPN Last year, some members of the organization wondered if a doctor would let the experienced player play, but the athlete passed all the tests and was discharged. The challenge was the next level, which was to train with the team and replicate the games on the field.
Smith He did everything after Dwayne Haskins Jr. sat on the bench and Kyle Allen was injured, Smith started six games in the 2020 season. Washington he left with five wins and one loss in that span. In the last three years, the team had been 11-5 Smith as a starter and 6-27 when another defender started.
For his part, the defender told GQ magazine that his return was something the organization did not expect and that he did not feel required by the franchise last summer.
“They don’t see me, they don’t want me there, they don’t want me to be part of them, they don’t want me in the team, the team, they don’t want to give me a chance,” he said. Smith. “I’m like the wreckage and I’m hurt. Right now, as you can imagine, I’ve been through it all. I can’t believe they care so little.”
Yes OK Smith did not say he intends to play in 2021, sources confirmed to Jeremy Fowler from ESPN that his desire is to play once more.
The value of Smith went beyond statistics last season: he threw six touchdowns for eight interceptions. His calm demeanor, experience and leadership proved valuable to his colleagues. Washington he debuted debutant Antonio Gibson as a runner, and of the top five wide receivers, only one finished last season with more than 58 receptions; receiver Dontrelle Inman. Yes Washington I wasn’t going to produce much production, at least I needed someone to handle the game Smith.
Smith He suffered a calf bruise in the first half of the Dec. 13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, preventing him from playing the rest of the game. He missed the next two games, both losses, and fought late in the season, in part due to injury. Smith pressed to play in the playoffs Washington against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he didn’t move enough to please the coaches and was inactive.
Smith, general election no. 1 in the draft in 2005 with the 49ers, he started 167 games in his career. His team’s record in those games is 99-67-1. He spent seven years with the 49ers, who traded him with the Kansas City bosses. Smith spent five years with the bosses; who were 1-4 in the playoffs with him. Kansas City selected Patrick Mahomes in the first round of the draft in 2017 and, after that season, the team traded Smith A Washington in exchange for defender Kendall Fuller and the third-round pick.
Washington granted quarterback Taylor Heinicke a two-year contract extension with $ 8.75 million in incentives. Kyle Allen is a free agent and is expected to return. While Steven Montez signed last season as a free agent.