Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith exited the first half of Sunday's 23-15 win over the San Francisco 49ers and did not return to the game after experiencing muscle tightness in his right leg.
Ron Rivera told reporters after the game that Smith specifically experienced some muscle tightness in his calf, and the team kept him out of the game "out of an abundance of caution," per The Washington Post.
Halftime X-rays were negative, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. Smith will be checked again on Monday morning and has been diagnosed with a calf strain that seems "somewhat mild," Rapoport added.
"Alex developed some tightness and muscle soreness pushing off the right leg," Rivera said.
Rivera added that Smith could have returned to action in an emergency situation, and that the injury essentially was a calf strain, per The Post.
2019 first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins relieved Smith and went 7 of 12 for 51 yards.
At the time of the injury, Smith was enduring his worst performance of the season as he struggled to move the ball against the 49ers' front. Smith threw an interception in the first half and finished his day 8 of 19 for 57 yards.
Smith is in the midst of a phenomenal comeback story after suffering a gruesome leg injury in 2018 that sidelined him for the remainder of that year and all of 2019.
