NFC East News: Redskins expect Alex Smith to miss the 2019 NFL season

How will the NFC East and the Philadelphia Eagles be impacted Alex Smith missing the 2019 NFL Season?

The Washington Redskins had one of the toughest collapses during the 2018 season. Although the expectations for the Redskins headed into the 2018 season weren’t all that high, they ended up leading the NFC East for a while throughout the first half of the year. Unfortunately, all of that came crumbling down when their starting quarterback Alex Smith ended up suffering a gruesome leg injury that immediately ended his season.

While Smith is doing much better than he was a month or two ago, the Redskins passer suffered a couple of setbacks. There weren’t many details on Smith’s post-surgery infections as the Redskins steered clear of speculation, but there were rumors that the 34-year-old quarterback’s career could be in jeopardy as it’s going to take a while for him to get back into football shape and onto the field competing for the Redskins once again.

What’s the status on Alex Smith?

According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the Redskins aren’t too optimistic about Smith’s return being in 2019. Apparently, Washington is going to approach the offseason preparing as if Smith will not return next season. While it’s not exactly confirmed to be absolutely true or not, the writing is on the wall for Alex Smith’s 2019 season. Now, the Redskins will have to figure out what they are going to do at quarterback next year.

"“NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported the Washington Redskins are planning as if they won’t have Smith in 2019, according to sources informed of the situation. Washington believes Smith will miss the entire season with issues stemming from the compound fracture suffered in Week 11. If Smith ends up being ready for the season, the Redskins will be pleasantly surprised, Rapoport added. Rapoport reported back in December that Smith’s future was in jeopardy, due to the infections he battled, requiring a prolonged hospital stay.”"

Obviously, an Alex Smith-less Redskins team makes it very difficult for Washington to compete with teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys. However, since the Redskins will be on the hunt for a temporary quarterback, that could place Washington into the market for Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles.

There’s still no word on whether the Eagles intend to sign and trade Foles, or if they just let him walk. If we had to make a guess though, Washington would most likely take a look at Foles for 2019. Seeing as though Foles wants an opportunity at becoming a permanent starter, we can’t imagine Washington being the desired landing spot for him as Smith is on contract with the Skins’ until at least 2020. This year’s offseason can get quite interesting though regarding Foles.