How Can WFT Trust QB Alex Smith’s Calf?

ASHBURN, Va. – The Washington Football Team is dealing with some major questions at quarterback and running back heading into a huge game against the Seattle Seahawks at FedExField Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. 

We’ve already asked the question of whether we will see Alex Smith or Dwayne Haskins under center this week, and on Wednesday, Fish wrote about Smith missing practice, with Haskins taking all of the first-team snaps. 

READ MORE: Smith or Haskins? Washington’s Tough Decision

Now comes word that Smith is not practicing once again on Thursday as well. 

According to Washington head coach Ron Rivera, Smith is a wily veteran and knows the system well. So, they all could theoretically wait until Sunday morning to make a decision.

But, while not unprecedented, it’s rare for a team to wait that long to make a decision on a position such as the starting quarterback. That said, they should have a better idea of his availability before the end of the week

When the WFT allowed a rosy prognosis on Tuesday to leak — everyone thought it was a done deal that Smith would start. Not here. 

We say Rivera and his staff desperately want Smith to start, but how do they justify that decision after allowing Smith to play last week when he was already hampered going into the San Francisco game? So wait … when did the injury occur to Smith?

“It was something that was very minor that week,” Smith said. “I practiced and it was something that was good all week. For me, it was there a little bit but certainly not inhibiting me all week. Then during the game, very quickly it got worse to the point where it was really, really affecting my ability dropping back and being able to decelerate and push off. I felt like it was affecting me a ton, especially those last several drives battling with that for me, mentally, how much it was affecting me and limiting me out there.”

Smith was not listed at all on the injury report last week, so nobody knew that he was dealing with it coming into the game. 

Perhaps it was a minor injury, but either way, the WFT kept it under wraps heading into the matchup. 

Smith’s performance was sharply criticized last week as a result. Upon further review, it appeared that Smith slipped and suffered the injury on his second to last snap of the series. However, according to Smith, it was already aggravated, and he simply aggravated it more.

READ MORE: Wednesday a no-go for Alex Smith

Should Smith had ever been on the field? Should he have been pulled quicker?

Both of those questions are fair, but here is one more: How can the Washington Football Team be confident that he’ll be healthy enough to take the field on Sunday?

It’s hard to imagine that he will, and considering that they thought he would be last week, it does not seem likely. 

So what is the alternative? Perhaps they should promote a third quarterback (Taylor Heinicke?) let Smith rest, and give the reins to Haskins for one more week. 

That’s our idea at least, but it remains to be seen how Washington will handle the situation. Either way, Smith’s words add another level of worry to an already-concerning situation.