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‘Skins scoop: Alex Smith a consistent presence in quarterback room, reflects on recovery & ‘Skins QB competition

Posted at 4:11 PM, Aug 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-05 16:11:19-04

Alex Smith has external fixator removed (Courtesy: lizbsmith11/Instagram)

RICHMOND, Va. – Despite still being in the midst of a grueling recovery process, Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith is a consistent presence in the team’s quarterback room.

Alex Smith tells Redskins.com’s Larry Michael that he’s been in every meeting, going through the process as if he was preparing to take the field each day of training camp.

Smith’s been able to take on a ‘coach’ role with the three quarterbacks competing for the starting job: Case Keenum, Colt McCoy and Dwayne Haskins.

“There’s a lot of voices [in the quarterback room] and for me I try to select my words carefully,” Smith said.

Quarterback Alex Smith of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

“It can be a lot of clutter, especially for a young guy like Dwayne, and Case who’s new to the system. I’ve been in a lot of quarterback situations. I’ve been in three-way competitions before. I’ve been in a lot of battles. I feel like I’ve been around a lot of different guys and seen how it’s gets handled. I think for me even just kind of being that presence for them.”

Smith is still on crutches, but he’s able to get upper body workouts in with the Redskins’ training staff. He throws every day as well, but does it while seated because it becomes hard to throw while standing on crutches.

“When you get that stuff taken away from you for a little while you forget what it’s like,” Smith said. “How much I enjoy just breaking a sweat and getting some work in, and so that’s been a nice release for me.

“I don’t think I ever anticipated what this road would be like. I get my head set on certain timelines, and then you realize those are not set in stone, and very flexible and moving. Getting accustomed to that and just trying to get the most out of every day, stay short-sighted, not get ahead of myself.”

Smith is happy with what he’s seen from the Redskins this training camp, especially the young guys.

“I think we’re sitting in a great situation. I think we have the talent, the ability, the guys the character, leadership to absolutely do what we want to do,” Smith said. “I think any successful team is gonna get production from their rookie class. You have to have some of these guys that, they need to step up and be playmakers for us to contribute and I think I’m excited about that, excited about the rookie class, the guys we have out here and what they can bring, the added depth that they bring.”

Watching his team come together during training camp reminds him of how much he loves to compete this time of year.

“The older you get I think the more you realize how precious these situations are,” Smith said. “It’s not gonna last forever. Being down here I think, if anything, has only encouraged that for me. You only have so many years left, and to have this challenge set out in front of me, I mean how often do you get a challenge like that to try to overcome.

“I still feel like I’m young at heart, and got a lot left ahead of me and want to take that on.”