Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith nearly saw his NFL career come to an end in 2018. During a game against the Houston Texans, Smith suffered a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg and was forced to get 17 different surgeries on the leg to repair the bones, and also an an infection.
There were talks of possibly needing to amputate the leg, due to the severity of the injury but the veteran quarterback ended up working his way back to the gridiron. During Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams, Smith entered the game after quarterback Kyle Allen had suffered an arm injury and it was the first time in 693 days that Smith had played in an NFL game.
Now that Alex Smith has returned to the field, NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award odds have changed. According to odds projected by SportsLine, Alex Smith is the new favorite at -350. When the 2020 season began, Alex Smith's odds of winning at William Hill Sportsbook were +450.
Following Smith in the latest Sportline projection are Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (+300), New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (+400), and Dallas Cowboys defensive end Aldon Smith (+1500). It's certainly a very impressive field with Roethlisberger and Newton battling their way back from significant injuries to get off to strong starts. In addition, Smith hadn't played a snap since the 2015 season after multiple off-the-field issues.
In his 2020 debut, Smith completed 9-of-17 passes for 37 yards in relief of Allen. The veteran signal caller certainly felt what it was like to deal with NFL pass rush again as the Rams sacked him six times during the game.
