ASHBURN, VA. – When Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera had a chance to chat with quarterback Alex Smith, who questioned the team’s desire in August to have him around, Rivera used one particular phrase: You were right.
He didn’t say Smith was right about everything, but Rivera admitted that he was scared to play Smith and that he wasn’t sure if Smith would be able to play – questions that prompted Smith to tell GQ Magazine that he was not in Washington’s plans at the time. introduce yourself to the training ground.
Smith was released shortly after his conversation with Rivera last week, but Rivera agreed with his sentiment in the article.
“It was always on my mind, what if he gets hurt again? What if he hurts his leg again? videoconference with reporters on Wednesday, the first since Smith’s release. “I struggled with that every day. It was difficult.”
Smith’s launch was expected and was not affected by his comments to GQ, according to several sources. In the article, Smith said he believed Washington did not want him around. It was a new team that was embarking on a reconstruction, and a 36-year-old defender out of 17 surgeries did not fit his plans.
“They didn’t see it, they didn’t want me there, they didn’t want me to be part of it, they didn’t want me to be on the team, on the squad, they didn’t want to give me a chance,” Smith told the magazine. “You see, it was a totally new regime, they came in; I am like leftovers and I am hurt and I am this responsibility.
“Hell, they didn’t want me there. At that point, as you can imagine, everything I went through, I couldn’t have cared less about it all. Whether you like it or not, I’m giving it a point at this point.”
Eventually, Smith convinced the coaches to give him a chance at the end of August to show what he could do in a high-speed 11-by-11 session. He also had several conversations with Rivera before the final cuts about not putting him on the wounded reserve because he was no longer injured.
“I felt like I still hadn’t received my fair treatment at that time,” Smith told GQ. “I wanted to see if I could play as a defender and football, and I feel like I haven’t had the opportunity to find that out yet. It’s like getting so close to the finish line of a marathon and they’re telling you that you can’t finish the race. It’s like , f — that. I’m finishing this. At least I’ll see if I can. So, I’m grateful that we worked with all this, but no, it wasn’t like open arms coming back after two years. “
Rivera and Smith met for breakfast last week before Smith’s release, and Rivera responded publicly for the first time to these comments on Wednesday.
“It was very positive,” Rivera said of the meeting. “We both had a chance to see the other side and the perspective. I don’t disagree with many of the things he said. They were fair. The biggest thing we talked about was that there was no road map for getting to where we were. I told him exactly how I felt and how difficult it was for us. “
Rivera also said that on the day he was hired, Smith visited him at the home of owner Dan Snyder. He was the first player to meet Rivera. After speaking with Smith, Rivera told Snyder that he reminded him of Thomas Davis Sr., the only professional athlete to return after tearing the same ACL three times.
“[Snyder] said: ‘If he plays, I’m betting on the old man, “” Rivera said. ” Knowing Alex, he will have the opportunity to play again. He will do a great job with that. “