Alex Smith reportedly plans to play in 2021

Alex Smith may not be back with Washington next season due to his contract situation, but the veteran quarterback is not ready to call it a career just yet.

Smith played in eight games with Washington in 2020 and had mixed results. Because of his high salary cap number for 2021, it is widely assumed that he could be released. Even if that happens, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has been told the 36-year-old wants to keep playing.

“I’m told that Alex Smith — after a great comeback year, going 5-2 down the stretch — does want to continue playing football,” Fowler said Sunday, per Kevin Brown of NBC Washington. “He’s leaning that way, but he’s got a large cap hit. Washington could save $13.6 million if they did move on. And many people around the league believe their answer at quarterback is not in the building. So maybe they could work something out with Smith, but he does want to play somewhere.”

Smith is scheduled to make $18.75 million next season, which is a reasonable salary if Washington views him as a starting quarterback. He’s obviously a major injury risk, however, and he has a salary cap hit of $24.4 million. The team would be on the hook for that if Smith got hurt again.

Smith finished the 2020 season with 1,582 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions. A major adjustment period was expected given that he missed the entire 2019 season after his devastating leg injury. Washington is known to be in the market for a quarterback, and head coach Ron Rivera has not committed to Smith.

It will be interesting to see how the market develops for Smith if Washington does part ways with him.

Photo: All-Pro Reels/Flickr via CC BY-SA 2.0