Alex Smith’s decision to retire from the NFL apparently was not a foregone conclusion.
In an appearance on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” Monday, Smith admitted that he visited the Jacksonville Jaguars and did consider playing for his former college coach Urban Meyer before retiring.
Alex Smith details how he considered signing with the Jaguars before ultimately deciding to hang it up after 16 years in the NFL pic.twitter.com/t2v2w4AdSd
— Outside The Lines (@OTLonESPN) April 19, 2021
“I took a trip to Jacksonville and checked it out,” Smith said. “I left there so excited about what Coach Meyer has going and what he’s building and his vision and the culture that he’s going to bring. Even though it was nearly 20 years ago that I played for him in college, he still has that fire, and that definitely did excite me.
“I wanted to do my due diligence even though I was learning toward retirement, and I wanted to marinate in it a little bit. I wanted to see what was out there. I’m happy I did.”
Had Smith joined the Jaguars, he likely would have served as an insurance policy for expected No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence. That wouldn’t have been a bad gig, but it’s pretty clear that Smith was ready to move on.
Smith called it quits after 16 NFL seasons and a remarkable comeback from a catastrophic leg injury. He can certainly be proud of his accomplishments.
Photo: All-Pro Reels/Flickr via CC BY-SA 2.0
