It isn’t particularly surprising that the San Francisco 49ers are trading backup quarterback Alex Smith. Ever since Smith lost the starting job to Colin Kaepernick, the writing has been on the wall.
Smith lost that job, not because he was performing all that poorly, but because he was knocked out of the lineup with a concussion. There is an unwritten rule in football that you cannot lose your job due to injury.
The fact that 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was willing to break that rule showed just how sold on Kaepernick the team was. At the beginning of this month, San Francisco made their attempts to trade Smith official.
Deadspin is now reporting that the 49ers have a deal in place, but no one seems to know who will be the recipient of Smith’s services.
The Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs seem to be the two teams who are most desperate for a new starting quarterback. The Chiefs are reportedly about to cut former starting quarterback Matt Cassel, who has been largely a disappointment since being brought over from New England.
There are a couple of teams that have been ruled out. The Sporting News is reporting that the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cleveland Browns have been ruled out thanks to statements by their respective front offices.
Smith could be quite the get for a team desperate for a QB. While the former Utah Ute phenom had been largely considered a bust coming into the 2012 season, he seemed to be turning it around this year.
Before his concussion, Alex Smith had thrown 13 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 10 games. He had also completed just over 70 percent of his passes.
Had he managed to finish the year at that pace, it would have been one of, if not the most accurate passing season in NFL history.
It appears that we might be waiting a while to see where Alex Smith ends up. The trade cannot be made official until March 12, the first day of the new NFL year.