Ron Rivera: Alex Smith's leadership helped Washington win NFC East

As had been expected since earlier in the week, the Washington Football Team officially parted ways with 36-year-old veteran quarterback and 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Alex Smith on Friday. 

In a team statement shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, head coach Ron Rivera thanked Smith for his service and also credited the signal-caller with Washington winning the NFC East in 2020. 

"I had a chance to meet with Alex Smith this week and we had a very honest and real discussion," Rivera said. "We had the chance to reflect on the 2020 season and talk about moving forward into next year. After the conclusion of that meeting, we decided that it would be best for both parties to move on and will be granting Alex his request to be released. I want to thank Alex for his contributions this past year. He made such an impact on our young roster and his leadership was one of the key factors in our late-season success and in making the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Everyone here in Washington wishes Alex and his family the best going forward and appreciates all that he gave to our organization." 

Smith nearly lost more than his career when he suffered a gruesome broken right fibula and tibia in November 2018, but he returned to action last fall and passed for 1,582 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions across eight games until he was sidelined with a calf injury. More impressively, the three-time Pro Bowler completed 66.7% of his passes and tallied a 5-1 record. 

Smith suggested he wants to play again this year.