Alex Smith asks San Francisco 49ers for his release before free agency after coach Jim Harbaugh benched him for Colin Kaepernick.
Alex Smith has been the good teammate all year since being benched after suffering a concussion and now it appears he is ready to move on from the San Francisco 49ers.
According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, Smith will ask for his release before the free agent signing period begins on March 12, making him eligible to sign with any team. Smith was the starting quarterback for the team last season when the 49ers went to the NFC championship game and was benched earlier this year after suffering a concussion.
He began the season as the starter, completing over 70 percent of 218 pass attempts for 1,737 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions, but was replaced after getting inured against the St. Lo9uis Rams for Colin Kaepernick, who started the next game against the Chicago Bears.
Smith became the starter when Harbaugh first came to the team and completed 61.3 percent of his pass attempts for 3,144 yards with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Prior to the season, Harbaugh allowed Smith to test free agency by flirting with Peyton Manning and after the Dolphins showed interest, Smith decided to sign a a three-year, $24 million contract that included $15.5 million (partially) guaranteed money to remain with the 49ers.
According to Yahoo, "Smith received a $3 million roster bonus on March 26, 2012 - $1 million of which was deferred until March 15, 2013 - and his $5 million base salary in 2012 was fully guaranteed. Smith is due to earn $7.5 million in base salary in 2013, with $1 million already fully guaranteed. If Smith is on the 49ers' roster on April 1, the remaining $6.5 million will become fully guaranteed."
The 49ers could trade Smith, but they will only have a few weeks to do so, since Smith is due a $1 million roster bonus on the third day of the 2013 league year, which gives the 49ers around 48 hours to move Smith, and his contract, to another team's roster, according to Yahoo Sports.
The path to this moment all started with a concussion. Earlier this season with the 49ers sitting at 6-2, Smith was sidelined after suffering a concussion against the Rams, forcing coach Jim Harbaugh to bring in Colin Kaepernick. The game ended in a tie and the following week Smith had to sit out, giving Kaepernick his first start in which he threw for 243 yards with two touchdowns in a 32-7 win over Chicago.
A controversy was started when Harbaugh said after the game: "we have two quarterbacks that have a hot hand", essentially tossing aside the old adage that no player in the NFL should lose their job to an injury.
But before the 2012 season recap for Smith, it is important to look at his whole time with the 49ers to truly see what he means to the team. He was drafted over Aaron Rodgers as the number one pick in the draft in 2005 and was a big disappointment, especially when everyone saw Rodgers lead the Packers to the Super Bowl.
Smith showed skills on the field, but could never find a consistent rhythm, as he was given six different offensive coordinators in his first six seasons. Finally, in 2011, Harbaugh was brought in and instead of going out and bringing in other quarterbacks he convinced Smith to stay with the team and he signed a one-year $5 million contract. It paid off big time for the 49ers as they had the best season in a decade, going 13-3 while winning the AFC West.
The confidence in Smith, as well as the play calling of offensive coordinator Greg Roman allowed Smith to have the best statistical season of his career, setting highs in nearly every category. He threw for 3,144 yards, reaching 3,000 yards for the first time in his career, with 17 touchdowns and a league-low five interceptions while completing over 60 percent of his passes.
Smith played well in the playoffs and got the 49ers to the NFC championship game before falling to the Giants, passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-17 overtime loss. Following the 2011 season Smith was a free agent again and once the team showed interest in signing with Manning, he had to come to terms with the possibility of leaving. Instead, Manning signed with the Broncos and Smith returned to the 49ers with a three-year contract worth $24 million.
Everything seemed secure for Smith in San Francisco, but as they say, "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."
So halfway through the season, with the 49ers 7-2 and looking like one of the best teams in the NFL, Harbaugh made the tough choice to go with Kaepernick over Smith. At the time of the switch, Smith was healthy enough to play and was ranked third in the NFL in passer rating (104.1), while leading the league in completion percentage (70%), making the move even more dramatic in the eyes of some in the media.
Harbaugh took a lot of flak for the move, but here is the team now, getting ready to start the Super Bowl. The most amazing thing about the whole situation though? Smith never made a peep. Sure, there were a few quotes at the beginning when the situation was confusing, but once Kaepernick took hold of the starting job, Smith was there to be a mentor.
Things easily could have turned badly, as it did with teams like the Jets, who also had quarterback issues. Instead of becoming fractured, the team came together around Kaepernick while still supporting Smith and the results have been "super".
Kaepernick has proven to be a game changer for the 49ers, and was a huge part of Sunday's 28-24 win over the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, throwing for 233 yards and one touchdown. He had a much different game from the one he played against the Packers, proving he can be a running and throwing quarterback.
Against Green Bay, Kaepernick had a coming out party, setting a record with 181 rushing yards to go along with 263 yards and two touchdowns while also adding another two scores on the ground.
During the regular season Kaepernick went 6-2 as a starter and had a passer rating of 98.7 with 13.1 yards per rushing attempt. The Ravens will need to contain Kaepnerick for a chance to win in New Orleans, or it could be the Packers game all over again.
Even though he played in parts of 10 games, Smith still put up some solid stats for the 49ers this season, throwing for 1,737 yards and 13 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Following the NFC championship game in which the team came back from a 17-0 deficit, Smith was quoted as saying he 'couldn't be happier' the team made it to the Super Bowl.
"I'm so happy, man," Smith told Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports in the wake of San Francisco's 28-24 victory over the Falcons on Sunday. "This is so surreal. It's such a crazy time, such a crazy moment. Obviously, it's been a unique year, and it would be great to be in there. But I couldn't be happier. This is a great group of guys, and they're all Super Bowl bound. I'm just so happy for all of them."
The victory over the Falcons likely gives Harbaugh the "genius" title for sitting Smith for Kaepernick, but everyone in the organization knows that San Francisco would not be playing in New Orleans without Alex Smith. Now it is clear that Smith wants out, he will have many places to choose from, including the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and the Arizona Cardinals among many others.
