Where Does Alex Smith Fit Into Washington’s Plans?

After a gruesome leg injury, Alex Smith has been cleared for football activity. The injury that took him out of the game for 21 months has finally got to the point where doctors think he can go back to his career as QB for the Washington Redskins.

Sorry, that’s my mistake The Washington Football Team.

Now that Alex Smith is set to return for the “Football Team”, he can join every bit of awkwardness this season has to offer. Yes, the Redskins needed to change their name to something more fitting with the times, but just saying Football Team is strange. “Hey did you catch the Cowboys game against the Football Team last night?” It just doesn’t seem to fit in.

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Speaking of fitting in, now that he’s cleared to play, where exactly does Alex Smith fit into Ron Rivera’s game plan. Surely its a great comeback story that needs to be highlighted for the fans who respect the work Smith put in, but this is Dwayne Haskins’ team now. He’s the future of the franchise and Alex Smith is a 36-year old veteran coming off a horrific injury.

But if he’s healthy, he’s proven to be a winner. Before going down for the count, he had the then Redskins off to a 6-3 record and pushing for the division. He also lead the Kansas City Chiefs to multiple 10-win seasons before heading to Washington. Alex Smith is a winner.

So at the end of the day, Ron Rivera has very tough questions to consider. First, is Alex Smith truly healthy enough for full contact football? Then if he is, is he the same comfortable quarterback who could control the football and manage football games? On top of that, if Smith is ready to go has Haskins developed enough that he has the same understanding as the veteran? Finally, if they do go with Dwayne Haskins does it put them in the best position to win football games? Will he step up and outshine his predecessor should he be given the starting job?

Dwayne Haskins might be the future of the Washington Football team, but if he struggles early on, no one would blame them for scaling back his duties. If he needs more time to develop then no one should question a healthy Alex Smith. Going forward, maybe their team name won’t be the hardest decision they have to make.