It nearly has been 17 months since former 49ers QB Alex Smith's brutal leg injury in Week 11 of the 2018 NFL season while playing quarterback for Washington.
His road to recovery still is quite the long one, and what he already has gone through is unbelievable. All of that will be documented in "Project 11" which debuts Friday, May, at 4:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.
“No NFL player has ever been through what Alex Smith has,” Andy Tennant, E60 executive producer, said. “He’s normally a very private person but he wanted to document his road to recovery as well and as detailed as possible, with the hope that future players could use it as a road map.
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“The access that he and his family granted to E60 is incredible and viewers will see a story of strength, dedication and perseverance.”
A preview for the documentary shows just how gruesome the leg injury was. A Twitter search shows even more head-turning visuals, but we'll let you do that yourself.
Smith severely broke his leg in the November game against the Houston Texans. He developed a serious case of sepsis and underwent 17 surgeries to deal with the infection, with amputation as an option.
Washington was 6-3 going into the game where Smith was injured. He was in the first year of a four-year, $94 million contract he signed with the team.
San Francisco 49ers
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The 49ers took Smith with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He went 38-36-1 in the regular season for San Francisco, and 1-1 in the playoffs.
Between the 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington, Smith has thrown for 34,068 passing yards, 193 touchdowns and 101 interceptions.
[49ERS INSIDER PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode]