This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Smith got a warm welcome home on Monday night.

It was the first time the former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback had been on the field at Arrowhead Stadium since January 2018.

This time, however, Smith was in town with ESPN for Monday Night Football, acting as an analyst during the Chiefs game against the New York Giants. Smith retired after last season with Washington.

On Monday night, Smith was on the field during pre-game, taking part in ESPN’s show but also talking to his former teammates.

Then during the first half the Chiefs honored Smith on the GEHA Deck, where he got a roar of support from the Kingdom.

The Pro-Bowl quarterback was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Utah.

Smith joined the Chiefs in 2013 and was instrumental in returning the Chiefs to the playoffs and winning three-straight AFC West titles. In 2017, he was traded to Washington as the Patrick Mahomes-era began.

But in November 2018, Smith was sacked and suffered spiral and compound fractures to his tibia and fibula and suffered complications post-surgery with infections.

Amazingly, Smith returned from what many thought would be a career-ending injury in 2020 with Washington and helped the team get to the playoffs. He then won the Comeback Player of the Year award after the 2020 season before later announcing his retirement.