Alex Smith has leg brace removed eight months after leg injury

Alex Smith has taken the next step to recovery. The Washington Redskins quarterback had his leg brace removed eight months after suffering a leg injury against the Houston Texans.

When Alex Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury against the Houston Texans, there was little doubt that his season would be over. And after several surgeries and stays in the hospital, some believed his career would be over.

While that was never confirmed to be true and Smith seems fully intent on attempting a comeback, he was repeatedly seen wearing a limb-stabilizing leg brace in the aftermath of the surgeries. He wore that brace for many months after suffering the leg injury.

Until today.

According to Elizabeth Smith’s Instagram, Alex Smith had his brace removed on Monday. Here’s her post in full.

The Redskins official Twitter account also sent out an image of Smith holding his brace in the aftermath of having it removed.

It’s great news that Smith’s brace is now off. It’s a massive milestone, as his wife said, and now, the next step for Smith is trying to run again (per NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay). That may be a bit far off, but the fact of the matter is that his leg is healing. And that is good news.

Smith’s recovery process is still ongoing and it’s still highly likely that he will not be playing for the Redskins this season. But his recovery goes beyond the football field and Redskins fans should be happy to see that he is finally able to shed the brace.

Perhaps while Smith rehabs, he will be able to at least help out a bit with the quarterbacks. If he is around, Smith will join Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, and Dwayne Haskins in a quarterback room loaded with plenty of veteran voices. That could be great for Haskins’ development if Smith is willing to help him. But, of course, Smith’s rehab will be his top priority and we’ll keep you updated on how that goes.