I'm really excited about, you know, I really for a long time never thought it would happen.

Even as I dared to dream it, I really, you know, that's not realistic and obviously the odds are stacked against me.

So to kind of be here on the cusp, really excited, it's something that obviously, you know, when it gets taken from you, you don't realize how much you're going to miss it,

you know, for me to break down the last remaining kind of mental barriers that are there,

that if I can go play quarterback again, even in a practice setting,

certainly I don't think I'll be I'll be second-guessing myself doing anything else in life.

That in life. That was Washington quarterback Alex Smith, who just yesterday practiced in pads for the first time

in nearly two years since suffering one of the most gruesome injuries in football history.

It was an injury that forced Smith and his family to consider

amputating his leg in order to ensure his life wouldn't be in danger. And no one even considered

the possibility of him ever playing football again. No one except Alex Smith. Today we're

joined by Stefania Bell, the reporter who has chronicled Smith's recovery

every step of the way to discuss his remarkable return to the field and whether he really has

a shot of playing under center this fall. I'm Pablo Torre. It's Wednesday, August 19th. This

is ESPN Daily.

Stefania, thank you for making some time for me today.

And thank you for making some room for me on your dining room table alongside I would imagine.

Is it an even larger tower of paperwork and documents?

It's ever-growing, Pablo.

Pretty soon you're going to have your own notebook if we keep meeting like this.

Stefania Bell is ESPN's injury analyst, a physical therapist, and the co-host of the Fantasy

Focus football podcast.

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