Washington Football Team plans to release quarterback Alex Smith

The Washington Football Team plans to let the NFL’s 2020 comeback player of the year, quarterback Alex Smith, depart this offseason as the organization reconfigures the position group, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise despite the inspirational campaign that Smith orchestrated last season, returning from a devastating 2018 broken leg to play for the first time midway through the season before leading Washington on a run to the NFC East title.

Smith, who turns 37 in May, has a $24.4 million cap hit for 2021. Though he provided a steadying force to the offense, his mobility was indeed limited because of the injury – which required 17 surgeries to repair, including the insertion of a titanium rod in his tibia and the transferal of muscles from his calf area to the front of his leg.

Washington QB Alex Smith won five of his six starts in 2020. (Photo: Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports)

Smith missed four of last season's final five games, including Washington's playoff defeat to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with an injury related to that surgically altered calf.

He maintains a desire to play in 2021, but Washington has other plans for its QB depth chart. In addition to re-signing Taylor Heinicke, who started in the playoff game, Washington is expected to draft a quarterback and sign a veteran in free agency or acquire one via trade.

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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones and listen to the Football Jones podcast on iTunes.

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