Alex Smith's wife shares inspiring birthday video of him working out after gruesome leg injury

Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith isn’t giving up on the idea of returning to the football field, despite his gruesome leg injury during the 2018 NFL season, which led to 17 surgeries and a severe infection that threatened his life.

And Thursday, his wife, Elizabeth, reminded everyone of her husband’s longterm goal with an Instagram post celebrating the quarterback’s 36th birthday.

In addition to a photo of the couple, she shared a video of Smith doing various football drills, and looking pretty good while doing it. That’s not to say Smith is on his way back to the NFL or anything like that, but it’s still encouraging — especially considering the horrifying shape his leg is in.

In Elizabeth’s Instagram caption, she wrote:

Happy Happy Birthday to this handsome, hard working man
The last week we’ve been overwhelmed with love,support and sweet messages. We cannot thank you enough. #project11 was a look into what the last 18 months have been (mostly Alex refusing to give up). I am in awe of his perseverance everyday. He just keeps getting stronger and refuses to give up… Forever grateful

It’s worth noting that we don’t know exactly when this video was taken or what the specific purpose of the leg sleeve is. But Smith looks awfully impressive, all things considered.

In the caption, she references an ESPN E60 report called Project 11, which documented the quarterback’s challenging path to recovery after his devastating injury, the possibility of his leg having to be amputated and the scary-looking condition it was in when they filmed.

Based on ESPN’s footage, the idea of Smith returning to the football field seems preposterous. But the video Elizabeth posted for his birthday seems to keep that door open for now.