49ers fans should appreciate Alex Smith more after watching Project11

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith went through a lot of ups and downs in his NFL career, but ESPN’s Project11 tells a side of him which commands the utmost respect.

I usually stick to the usual San Francisco 49ers editorial content, breaking down which players could break out this season or whatever.

But this editorial is different.

Like many football fans out there, I just finished watching ESPN’s E:60 documentary, Project11, which details the rise of former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, the team’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, through the up-and-down years in San Francisco, with the Kansas City Chiefs and all the way through the gruesome November 2018 compound leg injury he suffered with the Washington Redskins.

And more incredibly, Smith’s recovery.

If you haven’t watched it yet, please try to. It’s doubtful you’ll ever look at the veteran signal-caller the same way again.

Fans with a slight pulse on the goings on around the league remember when Smith suffered that injury on Nov. 18 at FedEx Field. It didn’t take much to see it was bad. But what many didn’t know, at least until watching Project11, was just how life-threatening the injury truly was.

In November 2018, Washington Redskins QB Alex Smith suffered a devastating leg injury against the Houston…

Posted by ESPN on Friday, May 1, 2020

It’s not for the faint of heart or the weak-stomach viewer. The infection which beset Smith shortly after his immediate surgery following the injury created a life-threatening situation, which ultimately forced doctors to prioritize saving Smith’s life first, then worrying about his leg later.

Smith’s survival from that would have been good enough a story; inspiring at a time when the world could use a little inspiration.

But Smith, whom former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh called “tougher than a $2 dollar steak,” made the story that much better. Incredibly, miraculously, Smith is eyeing a comeback despite the 17 surgeries he had to first save his life, then start the long and grueling road back to recovery.

Yes, Smith wants to play football again. And it sure is miraculous to see him doing things so many of us take for granted.

Equally important to the storyline is Smith’s wife, Elizabeth, whom ESPN’s Stephania Bell credited for being “the hero in this story.”

If there was one person guarding over and pushing the quarterback, it was Elizabeth. That part is equally true.

Smith’s time with the Niners was turbulent, to say the least. The pressure of being the top pick in the 2005 draft, going to a bad 49ers team, didn’t generate any favorable conditions. Yet arguably Smith’s crowning achievement with San Francisco, briefly showcased in the documentary, was his clutch fourth-quarter performance against the New Orleans Saints in the 2012 divisional playoff game.

That might be 49ers fans’ most memorable moment from Smith’s career donning the red and gold.

After watching Project11, however, Smith’s road to recovery should be the most memorable moment for fans everywhere.