Photo Credit
ttps://www.arrowheadpride.com/f/
2021/4/19/22392856alex-smith-kept-me-
from-giving-up-on-the-chiefs
researched and compiled
by Carrie Birdsong
Part 3 of Alex Smith with Information
about his time with Kansas City Chiefs
On February 27th, 2013, the 49ers agreed to trade Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs for the Chiefs’ second round pick in the 2013 NFL draft and a conditional pick in the 2014 NFL draft(98). The deal became official at the beginning of the new league year on March 12th.(99)
After the trade became official, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stated that Smith would be the starting quarterback for the 2013 season. Smith’s job as the starter was solidified during OTA’s (Organized Team Activities, a term usually referring to NFL pre – season activities). According to coaches and teammates, Smith displayed a very high “football IQ,” and his accuracy in passing was lauded as the best many had ever seen. According to Kansas City’s quarterbacks coach, Smith was “super intelligent” and had all of the intangibles that he looked for in a quarterback(100).
The Chiefs were the last unbeaten team in the 2013 season NFL season with Smith winning his first nine regular – season starts, gaining 1,919 passing yards with nine touchdowns compared to four interceptions(101). Smith earned his first and only perfect passer rating on December 15th, 2013. He was 17 of 30 with 287 yards and 5 touchdowns, four of them going to Jamaal Charles, in a victory over the Oakland Raiders(102). Smith and the Chiefs lost to Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card Round – on January 4th, 2014. Smith threw for four touchdowns, completing 30 of his 46 pass attempts for 378 yards and no interceptions, while also carrying the ball 8 times for 57 yards. However, he did commit his team’s only turnover, losing a fumble. The final score of the game was 45 – 44 in favor of the Colts.(103)
Smith was elected to his first Pro Bowl at the end of the season as a replacement for Tom Brady(104). In the game, Smith led all quarterbacks in yards, tied for most touchdowns, and led the game – winning drive at the end of the game that resulted in him throwing a touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray for a 22 – 21 win.(105)
2014 season:
On August 31st, 2014, Smith and the Chiefs agreed to a four – year contract extension(106). Smith appeared in 15 games and completed 65.3% of his passes in the 2014 season while throwing for 3,265 yards and 18 touchdowns to only six interceptions(107). However, the Chiefs finished with a 9 – 7 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.(108)
2015 season:
After another strong season in 2015, Smith was elected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate, but turned down the offer. He once again led the Chiefs to the playoffs, where they defeated the Houston Texans 30 – 0 in the Wild Card round. Smith threw for 190 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the victory over the Texans. He also rushed five times for 27 yards, and had a 64 – yard scramble, which was called back due to a holding penalty(109). The Chiefs went on to lose 27 – 20 to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round(110).
The Chiefs became the first team ever to start the season 1 – 5 and win a playoff game. At the end of the season, Sports Illustrated named Smith the best – looking quarterback in the NFL, an honor previously won by Tom Brady(111). He was named team MVP for 2015 alongside safety Eric Berry. In the regular season, Smith threw for 3,486 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions, with a completion percentage of 65.3, a passer rating of 95.4, and 7.4 yards per attempt. He also rushed 84 times for 498 yards, two touchdowns, and an average of 5.9 yards per carry(112). At the end of the season, Smith was recognized as the 81st best player by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.(113)
2016 season:
In week 1, Smith led a fourth quarter comeback over the San Diego Chargers to win the game 33 – 27 in overtime after facing a 24 – 3 third quarter deficit. Smith won the game in overtime with a two – yard rushing touchdown. This became the largest comeback victory in Chiefs history as the Chiefs started the 2016 season on a positive note(114). In 2016, Smith posted a career – high 328 completions despite missing one game. He also ran for a career – high five touchdowns, with three of them coming in the last three games(115). Smith helped lead the Chiefs to the postseason, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round(116). He was ranked 81st by his fellow players, for the second consecutive year, on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.(117)
2017 season:
During the season opener, Smith finished with 368 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Chiefs pulled off a 42 – 27 road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots(118)(119). Smith’s 368 passing yards and four passing touchdowns were both the second most in a game in his career(120). Smith’s performance in week 1 led all eligible passers in yards and earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week, marking the first time that he won the award(121). During week 13 against the New York Jets, Smith finished with 366 passing yards and four touchdowns. After the first 2 minutes and 46 seconds had passed in the first quarter, Smith quickly threw two touchdowns passes to Travis Kelce. However, the performance was overshadowed as defensive penalties and errors proved to be costly as the Chiefs lost on the road by a score of 38 – 31(122). With his performance against the Jets, Smith became the first players in the modern era to have both a 70 – yard pass and a 70 – yard run in the same game.
With a playoff spot already secured, Smith was given a rest in week 17, and Chiefs’ 2017 first round pick Patrick Mahomes made his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos(123). Smith finished the 2017 season with 4,042 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, both career highs. He was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl, eventually replacing Philip Rivers(124). Overall, Smith finished with 4,042 passing yards (8th in the NFL), 26 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a league – leading 104.7 passer rating(125). During the Wild Card round against the Tennessee Titans, Smith had 264 passing yards and two touchdowns in the narrow 22 – 21 loss(126). He was also credited as being instrumental in the development of Mahomes who would go on to be named NFL MVP in his first year as a starter and win multiple Super Bowls with the Chiefs(127)(128). Smith played a part in starting one of the longest eventual division – winning streaks in NFL history as he rounded off his Chiefs career with two consecutive AFC West titles.(129)
Washington Redskins / Football Team
Photo Credit
On January 30th, 2018, Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins in exchange for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third – round pick (78th overall) in the 2018 NFL draft(130). The trade became official on March 14th, the first day of the new league(131). Smith subsequently signed a four – year, $94 million dollar contract extension with them.(132)
In his Redskins debut, Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a 24 – 6 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals(133)(134). Through the first nine games of the season, he helped lead Washington to a 6 – 3 record.(135)
Leg Injury:
During a game against the Houston Texans on November 18th, 2018, Smith suffered a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg when he was sacked by Kareem Jackson and J.J. Watt(137)(138). The injury drew parallels to former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, who suffered a career – ending leg fracture in a game 33 years to the day prior in 1985(139). Theismann was also present during the game and witnessed the injury. The game ended with the same 23 – 21 final score as the one in which Theismann was injured, though the Redskins won the game against the Giants in 1985.
"I remember a really funny feeling in my leg. It wasn't like I knew it was broken immediately. It went fuzzy. That's what it felt like. And then it really was the visual when I looked down and could see, you know, that my leg obviously wasn't straight anymore that told me that I had broken it."
Alex Smith, 2021 interview with GQ[136]
Following the initial surgery, Smith developed life – threatening necrotizing fasciitis that resulted in sepsis which required him to undergo 17 surgeries, including eight debridements, across four separate hospital stays over a period of nine months(140). Doctors had suggested amputation above the right knee might be his only option before performing skin grafts and an operation transferring muscle from his left quadriceps to save it.(140)(141)
As a part of his recovery process, Smith wore an external fixation device for nearly a year.(142)(143)
2019 season:
Smith was placed on the team’s physically unable to perform (PUP) reserve list in 2019, missing the entire season(144). Despite the severity of the injury which many though he would never come back from, Smith affirmed his intent to return in early 2020(145). An ESPN documentary following his recovery, Project 11, aired in May 2020.(146)
2020 season: Return and Comeback Player of the Year
Smith was cleared by his doctors to resume football activities in July 2020, with the team placing him on the physically unable to perform list to begin training camp before being activated on August 16th, 2020.(147)(148)(149)
Smith’s first game appearance since his injury occurred in 2020 against the Los Angeles Rams in week 5. He entered the game after Kyle Allen left with an arm injury in the second quarter and finished with nine completions for 37 yards while being sacked six times as Washington lost 30 – 10(150). Smith made his next appearance in week 9 against the New York Giants after Allen left the game with a dislocated ankle, throwing for 325 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions in a 23 – 20 loss(151). Smith started against the Detroit Lions the following week,(152) where he threw 55 times for 38 completions and 390 yards, all career high highs, during the 30 – 27 road loss(153). The following week, Smith had his first win since the injury in a 20 – 9 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals, in a game where Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow also suffered a leg injury(154). During week 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Smith helped lead Washington to a 23 – 17 upset victory with 296 passing yards and a touchdown(155). The following week, he was pulled out of a game against the San Francisco 49ers due to a bone bruise in his right leg, reported at the time as calf soreness(156), and subsequently missed the rest of that game and the next two.(157)(158)(159)
Smith returned for the regular – season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing for 162 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 20 – 14 victory as Washington clinched the NFC(160)(161). However, he did not play in the Wild Card Round against the eventual Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to lingering issues with his bone bruise. In Smith’s place, Taylor Heinicke passed for 306 yards, a touchdown, and an interception during the 31 – 23 loss(162)(156)(163). Following the season, Smith was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the Associated Press(164), Sporting News(165), and Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).(166)
Smith was waived on March 5th, 2021(156). Despite garnering interest from several teams to claim him off waivers, he announced his retirement on April 19th(167)(168). In June, Smith was named the winner of the George Halas Award by the PFWA.(169)
In June 2021, Smith signed a brand partnership with recovery shoe brand Oofos(170). he credited the shoes for helping with his recovery from his 2018 injury.(170)
Part 4 of the Alex Smith Article will be
posted on Friday August 29, 2025
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