Optimism is low for Alex Smith to play vs. Panthers after experiencing ‘soreness’ in calf

Alex Smith is yet to be ruled out for Sunday, but optimism is reportedly running low after the QB experienced some soreness in his calf on Saturday.

The most important day for any NFL player who is recovering from an injury always comes the day after they really put some exertion on their ailment. For Washington quarterback Alex Smith, that day was on Saturday, after the veteran was a full participant in practice on Friday and took the majority of first-team reps while working back from a calf strain.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Smith was pretty sore from the work on Saturday, and while he still has a chance to play on Sunday, optimism is waning, which would leave QB Dwayne Haskins as the man to watch.

Haskins spent much of the week taking first-team reps in practice in preparation to play on Sunday, but there were some questions as to if Smith could give it a go or not. While we still don’t know for sure, it seems that the arrow is pointing towards No. 7, rather than No. 11 for the start vs. the Panthers.

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