Alex Smith visited the Jaguars before retiring originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Once Alex Smith made his retirement official Monday afternoon, a report surfaced that multiple teams had an interest in signing Smith for the 2021 season.
One of the teams figured to be in the mix were the Jaguars, led by Smith's former college coach Urban Meyer. The Jags are expected to take quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and could have had Smith act as the de facto veteran mentor he was for Patrick Mahomes in 2018.
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In an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schapp after his retirement, Smith revealed he went as far as visiting the Jaguars.
"I gave that a lot of thought," Smith said. "I took a trip to Jacksonville and checked it out and I left there so excited about what Coach Meyer has going and what he's building, and his vision and the culture he's gonna bring."
However, Smith, who said he was leaning toward retiring anyway, decided not to continue his playing with a fourth team.
"Even though it was 20 years ago that I played for him in college, he still has that fire and that definitely did excite me," Smith said. "I wanted to do my due diligence even though I was leaning towards retirement and I wanted to marinate in it and see what's out there. I'm happy I did, but I was ready [to retire]. I am ready, and I'm so excited about what's out there and most of all, to get to experience it with my family."
His playing career may be done, but Smith probably has a future in coaching if he wants one. Chiefs coach Andy Reid already announced dibs on potentially adding Smith to his coaching staff one day.
