Alex Smith: Very Much Lucky To Be Alive

WASHINGTON D.C. – Former University of Utah and current Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith sat down with ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” to talk about the details behind his horrific injury he suffered in 2018.

Smith told ESPN that he is “very much lucky to be alive and very lucky to still have my leg” after his November 2018 injury that included a compound fracture of his right tibia and a fractured right fibula.

Serious Infection

The former Ute noted that the combination of the severity of the injury as well as a serious infection left him unsure of what the outcome would be.

“I had a pretty serious infection,” Smith said. “they had a lot of complications with it.”

Smith developed sepsis, which is a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the body is fighting an infection. He told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap that Smith didn’t remember much during those times due to being heavily sedated for pain. He did remember waking up several weeks after the injury facing a tough decision.

Below is the full interview with Jeremy Schapp on ESPN’s Outside The Lines.

“The next thing I remember waking up facing a decision to amputate or salvage the limb,” Smith mentioned.

Rehab Process

Now Smith is in the process of getting his leg back to full strength. The problem was that his injury was very unique in sports.

“There wasn’t anyone else that was in this situation in sports where I could see how the road that they went down,” Smith said. “This was really unique in that sense. The closest thing for me was the military.”

Smith will now look to return to the NFL, which he considers himself to be very lucky to be in that situation.

“I would be lying if I told you a year ago that there was serious doubts in my ability to walk normal, to play with my kids, to ever go on a hike, go on a walk with my wife, forget hiking and skiing, ” Smith said. “To still be considering a chance to play quarterback, I am obviously very lucky.”