At a ‘young’ 34 years old, Alex Smith says ‘best football’s still ahead of me’

Richmond, Va. • Alex Smith can hear it all: The questions, the comments, the critiques. He’s older now. And he knows it. But as he heads into his 14th NFL season — this time, as the new face of Washington’s franchise — the veteran quarterback insisted he isn’t fixated on his detractors, nor is he worried that he’s past his prime.

“I don’t necessarily want to put a label, as far as ‘prime’ ... but I feel like my best football’s still ahead of me, certainly,” the former Utah star said Thursday, following his first training camp practice with his new squad. “I still feel like I haven’t reached my potential and that still pushes me, challenges me to continue to try to get better.”

He then added with a smile: “I feel like I’m a young 34-year old and I do have a lot of ball left ahead of me and I’m excited to kind of keep pushing that, push that ceiling. I still feel like I haven’t reached it.”

Smith had his best statistical season last year in Kansas City, throwing for a career-best 4,042 passing yards, along with 26 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He also finished the year with a career-best 104.7 passer rating that led the NFL. Smith went 9-6 as the Chiefs’ starter, making his fourth postseason appearance in his fifth year with the organization. But his impressive stat line has done little to silence his critics.

“The longer you play, there’s always going to be naysayers,” said Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick who was deemed a bust by some due to his poor play in San Francisco early in his career. After seven seasons with the 49ers, he was traded in 2013 to Kansas City, where he compiled a 50-26 record.

“You’re never going to make everybody happy, there are always going to be people that, yeah, aren’t with you. That’s the nature of sports,” he said, adding that it’s “unrealistic” to please everybody. “ ... I think you hear it. I’m not naive to anything. But I think at the same time, that’s not why I’m playing.”