If the Washington Football Team is going to beat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night, it will be without its starting quarterback.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports Alex Smith is inactive for the first round of the NFL playoffs because of a calf injury. Backup Taylor Heinicke steps in and will get the start for the NFC East division champions.
The injury is one Smith has been dealing with for a little while. He suffered the injury in Week 14 against the 49ers. Smith proceeded to miss the next two games versus the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers. The 36-year-old returned this past Sunday in a must-win season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith went 22 of 32 for 162 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions to lead Washington to a 20-14 victory.
It'd been expected Smith would line up under center against the Bucs, but the calf got worse as the week progressed.
Heinicke replaced ex-Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins in the loss to the Panthers. The four-year veteran went 12 of 19 for 137 yards with a touchdown pass.
Smith had returned from a gruesome leg injury suffered in Nov. 2018 that put his career into severe question. He appeared in eight games this season, starting six and going 5-1 in the process. Smith completed 66.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,582 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions.