Patrick Mahomes believes Alex Smith will make comeback
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes believes that Alex Smith will be able to come back successfully from a spiral fracture of his leg.
Just over a week after Alex Smith was carted off of the field with a gruesome leg injury, the reports on any potential comeback are cautiously optimistic at best.
For anyone who saw the replay of the injury or heard the official report, it makes sense to doubt any player’s ability to return. Smith, the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins, went down in Week 11 with a spiral fracture of his tibia and fibula, which implies greater damage than a clean break, including the fact that it broke through the skin. Even the written description is a bit much to stomach.
In recent days, reports have emerged that Smith’s ability to return to the field is in jeopardy. Various articles have asked whether or not Smith has played his last game. Any rehabilitation is supposed to take up to eight months, but it might be much longer than that—maybe something more akin to Teddy Bridgewater’s timeline. ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Smith’s return is “not a certainty” and it’s impossible to avoid the Joe Theismann comparisons.
Questions have even arisen about the future of the position, and a recent column at the Washington Post already tackled the idea of drafting a new quarterback. For a team with a 34-year-old stater who just went down with an ugly injury, it’s an understandable question (and not a bad idea), but that doesn’t mean that rookie will be starting a year from now. It’s the glass half empty notion.
If you ask current Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes about Smith, you’ll find someone with a much more positive focus on Smith’s potential to return. Mahomes sat behind and studied under Smith for a full season and both players have been nothing but respectful in public toward each other since Mahomes was drafted in 2017. When asked about whether or not he’d been in contact with Smith, Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday:
"“I have talked to him. He’s in good spirits. He’s got the holiday season coming up and he has his kids, so I know he’s in good spirits about making a comeback. I know with his mentality that he will.”"
Smith has overcome multiple hurdles in the past, including season-ending injuries. Smith once missed an entire season due to injury early in his career to his throwing shoulder, and he’s also weathered difficult scenarios regarding his place on the roster, his chance to be a starter and more. In short, Smith has proven himself to be a determined leader in the past and that bodes well for his ability to return from perhaps his biggest setback yet.