On November 18th 2018, during a Redskins home game against the Houston Texans, Alex Smith suffered a severely broken leg.
In a special edition of E60 called “Project 11”, the Redskins quarterback gives detailed explanations of the nature of his leg injury and why it was so serious.
ESPN Reporter Stephania Bell, who has been a physical therapist for almost 30 years, spent more than a year documenting Smith’s journey.
“No NFL player has ever been through something like this” Bell said. Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann suffered the same injury on the same day in 1985. He never played another NFL game again.
The story will also show never before seen, sometimes graphic, images, provided by Smith and his family, of setbacks and progress.
“Part of the reason that Alex traveled to San Antonio and had a consultation with the folks at the San Antonio Medical Center is that his leg really looked like the leg of someone who had a blast trauma,” said Bell. “Like our wounded soldiers with IED devices.”
RELATED: After breaking his leg, Alex Smith out for season, 33 years after Theismann's career-ending injury
The program includes new interviews with Redskins teammate Adrian Peterson and Washington D.C. native Vernon Davis who played with Alex Smith for the San Francisco 49ers and Redskins. The story also includes J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans, who made the fateful tackle on Smith at FedEx Field just over 17 months ago.
The one-hour program was produced by Daniel Lindbergh from more than 50 hours of original video shot as well as more than 40 hours of archival material that was pulled and screened. The E60 crew spent 14 days shooting with Smith and 27 total shooting days over more than a year.
The program debuts on Friday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
