Redskins quarterback Alex Smith is battling an infection in his broken fibula and tibia, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a serious matter and one that could potentially threaten his playing future. 
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When Smith suffered the gruesome injury against the Texans, his broken bone punctured his skin. The nature of the injury increased the likelihood for infection and that’s exactly what happened, even though Smith underwent immediate surgery to lessen the chance of that happening.
Smith, 34, posted the best campaign of his NFL career in 2017 as a member of the Chiefs before being shipped to the Redskins for a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller. Smith had reverted to his conservative ways in Washington and his yards per attempt average dropped by more than a yard from 2017-18. Among the 26 quarterbacks with at least 250 attempts, Smith ranked 19th in adjusted net yards per attempt and 20th in passer rating at the time of the injury.
The Redskins turned to Colt McCoy after the injury, but McCoy is likely done for the year after suffering a fractured fibula of his own. Mark Sanchez is now under center for Washington with the newly-signed Josh Johnson as his backup.
Get well soon dude.
Last year their defensive injuries were the worst in the league. This year it’s the offensive injuries. Bad luck or karma I guess.
And relying on an older roster.
I wish Smith well. I hope he fully recovers.
Hope he recovers well from this. While we watch these people as entertainment and know they assume these risks, it’s still tragic to see happen to anyone. Best wishes for him and his family.
Unfortunate, a true professional, wish him the best in his recovery
Very unfortunate news.
Alex Smith has been a model as a player and a leader since he entered the league. His ride has not been as smooth as some of his contemporaries like Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger but he’s always conducted himself with dignity and played well in whatever system has been imposed on him.
It’s a nasty twist of fate that just as Smith had reached a home where he was needed and appreciated and paid really big money, his life is in danger from an on the field injury.
Regardless of whether Smith plays again, this Redskin fan wishes him health and happiness.
I’m glad to see the league is at last taking some steps to reduce the risk of these kinds of injuries. It goes to show you that the league has not gone too far and that the punishment for hits which endanger the life of the opposing player should be even higher. A 15 yard penalty and even a game ejection are not enough.
What, do you just not want players to tackle each other at all? Injuries happen man, its a contact sport. Dont need to eject people for tackling a guy who had the ball .5 seconds before he let go of it. Do you want players banned for life for tackling the QB or something?
A little bit of history:
Horsecollar tackle – banned.
Helmet to helmet contact – banned.
Chop block – banned.
Blocking from behind – banned.
Hitting a defenceless receiver – banned.
Roughing the passer – banned and now with much lower thresholds to qualify.
Hitting the passer after the throw – banned this year.
All of these changes have significantly decreased the number of fatal and life changing injuries in the NFL. As the CTE issue and settlements continue to work there way through football, the NFL will become a much less contact sport.
It would really help if facemasks and those weaponised Ridell Helmets would be banned in favour of padded leather helmets so there would be much less temptation to spear and bash the opponent with the head. Not my suggestion but one of HOF Redskin owner George Preston Marshall.
So then why dont they just play rugby
I criticized you for calling for larger punishments for tackling a player in a game where the goal is to tackle the guy with the ball. You responded with a rant about how NFL should have leather helmets. Put that into perspective
Not a Redskins fan at all ( unless you’re playing Philly ) but this has been awful for Alex Smith – here’s hoping for a full recovery.
Living in Texas I feel for McCoy as well – he’s a class dude,
Scary stuff! Wishing you well Alex Smith. Wish there was something we could do.