Football is such a rough sport. Most observers take it for granted, they just assume each play is orchestrated in a way where the players block, run, throw, catch etc; with no consequence besides gaining yards/preventing yards. But the reality is each play is a 20 second burst of mayhem, pain, struggle and sacrifice. It only takes ONE play to erase an entire career. Whats worse, there is an obvious cumulative effect of these snaps, with every play adding to the wear and tear on bodies.
As an NFL player you pretty much KNOW you are signing up to something where you are going to pay a physical price. It takes something out of every player. But then you add in the fact the sport is so violent that a player can suffer a gruesome, career ending, potentially life threatening injury in a blink of an eye, and you start to realize how tough these guys really are, mentally as well as physical. Alex Smith ran that terrible hurry up 3 and out offense in San Fransisco, but he was durable overall. Ive seen him take some brutal hits and get back up and do it all over again, all the while having to deal with something insane like 4 or 5 different coaches and offensive coordinators in 5 years.
Then he suffers that injury, I feel bad for the guy.