San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Alex Smith will reportedly ask for his release from the team following Super Bowl XLVII, according to NBC Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.
Alex Smith will reportedly seek release from 49ers after Super Bowl
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith will reportedly ask to be released following Super Bowl XLVII, according to NBC’s Pro Football Talk.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Smith will almost certainly be on another team’s roster next season, but the matter of how Smith arrives to a new city is currently in question. As Florio points out, Smith is owed $8.5 million in 2013, with $1 million guaranteed, and the rest becomes guaranteed on Apr. 1.
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With Colin Kaepernick cemented as San Francisco's starting quarterback, Smith is unnecessary -- and for $8.5 million, he's a cap space liability as a backup quarterback.
It's believed that many teams will have interest in Smith, if and when he hits the open market. The Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles all struggled mightily at the quarterback position in 2012 and could have varying degrees of interest in Smith.
Prior to being benched in favor of Kaepernick, Smith was in the middle of a career year. Smith completed 70.2% of his passes for 1,737 yards, while throwing 13 touchdown passes against just five interceptions -- numbers good for a quarterback rating of 104.1.
Smith, however, was concussed, and ultimately lost his starting job to Kaepernick.
With Smith now likely to ask for his release and the information being leaked to the public, it seems unlikely that a team would trade for Smith and his salary, knowing that he could end up taking a lower cap hit in 2013. The possibility remains that a team could trade for Smith -- if they didn’t believe they had a chance to sign him in free agency, where Smith would be free to choose his next team.
Perhaps the most notable quarterback to be traded after the Super Bowl in recent memory, and after losing his starting job, is Drew Bledsoe. After Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XXXVI, Bledsoe was deemed expendable, and traded to the Buffalo Bills for a first-round draft pick.
Since Smith isn’t of Bledsoe’s stature, it’s unrealistic to believe that the 49ers will receive anything near a first-round pick in exchange for Smith.
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