49ers giving Alex Smith one more chance
Having lost out on Cardinals free agent quarterback Kurt Warner, the San Francisco 49ers have decided to give former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith another shot, as he wisely agreed to a restructured contract on Tuesday.
Smith got a new two-year deal reportedly for around $4 million per year. The 49ers were not going to let Smith on to the field to practice with the team under his old contract that called for him to receive $9.625 million in 2009.
“If Alex had a chance to leave, there were other teams willing to pay him more than what San Francisco was going to do,” Smith’s agent, Tom Condon, said. “But he’s determined to establish himself in San Francisco and be the starter and be a success.”
He will be battling Shaun Hill for the No. 1 job with the Niners – bet on their 2009 futures on WagerWeb.com. Smith hasn’t even been healthy for two seasons, injuring his shoulder in September of 2007, which eventually landed him on injured reserve. He had surgery to repair damaged ligaments in his shoulder on Dec. 13 of that year.
Last year, Smith injured the same shoulder in practice before the first game of the season and went on injured reserve again. Smith had further surgery on the shoulder in October.
Smith, the first pick in the 2005 draft out of Utah, had 30 starts in his first three seasons. His best season came in 2006, under then-coordinator Norv Turner, when Smith completed 257-of-442 passes for 2,890 yards, with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
The deal allows Smith to join the 49ers on Monday for their first offseason team meetings and a minicamp on the weekend under Jimmy Raye, San Francisco’s fifth offensive coordinator in Smith’s five seasons. Smith couldn’t have participated in the workouts without a new contract because of insurance liabilities.
There’s no doubt that Hill will open camp as the clear leader, but Smith has a much stronger arm then does Hill. There’s also a chance that San Francisco will draft a QB high in this year’s draft.
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#1 by GregC on March 11, 2009 - 5:14 pm
Hopefully between the two quarterbacks one will stand out this year and become the starter the 49ers really need.