EXCLUSIVE
Joe Theismann says he was so shook after watching Alex Smith‘s brutal leg injury on Sunday, he couldn’t sleep that night … telling TMZ Sports it’s brought back some painful memories.
Joe was at FedExField on Sunday when Smith took a hit from J.J. Watt that snapped his fibula and tibia — a compound fracture where the bone broke through the skin.
Of course, Theismann was on the receiving end of a similar hit back in 1985 when Lawrence Taylor brutalized him on “Monday Night Football” … causing the same injury.
“It was so surreal yesterday in the stadium,” Theismann told the guys on the TMZ Sports TV show … “to have what happened to Alex on the day it happened to me 33 years ago.”
Joe says the similarities between the two are eerie.
“It was I think 166th game for Alex. Mine was 167. Basically, the same place on the field. Heck, I have a nephew named Alex Smith who’s 33-years-old … the whole thing is crazy.”
Theismann says for the first time in his life, he couldn’t really sleep after watching the injury in person — saying, ” I didn’t really think this thing had bothered me as much as it did, and I think it probably got to me a little bit more.”
Joe says he considers Smith a friend and plans on reaching out to the QB after giving him some space to deal with the injury.
The big message for Smith — Theismann says there’s light at the end of the tunnel … so don’t give up hope.
Check out the “TMZ Sports” show weeknights on FS1.