Difficult to imagine Smith elsewhere next year

Share

SANTA CLARA -- Alex Smith might not have a contract with the 49ers for the 2012 season, but it appears once again he has something seemingly as binding.It's unsigned. It's probably even been unspoken. But at this stage in the season, it seems unfathomable that Smith will be anywhere else in 2012 because of the mutual trust and loyalty that both sides have exhibited.
Remember, Smith was unsigned during the lockout when coach Jim Harbaugh handed him the playbook. Smith studied it for a month. Then, he organized two weeks of get-togethers to teach the system to the 49ers' offensive players.RELATED: Alex Smith 2011 game logs
Harbaugh trusted Smith to do his work. And Smith trusted Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke that a return to the 49ers -- against what Smith had planned in the aftermath of the 2010 season -- would not backfire. And both sides have been rewarded.Smith has started every game and taken every significant snap as the 49ers have clinched the NFC West with a 10-2 record. His passer rating is a career-best 94.9.Let's remember, Smith, a seven-year NFL veteran, is only 27 years old.And while the 49ers rank 29th in the NFL in passing yards per game, Smith's confidence and comfort are growing. Theoretically, he should continue to get better.RELATED: NFL Stats leaders
After all, Harbaugh said any quarterback will continue to get better the longer he is within the system."When you're in a system for six months, you know it better than you did the first month," Harbaugh said. "And when you're in it 12 months, you know it better than you did at six months, particularly this system. I've seen evidence of that."And I think by two years in it, you're an expert and they're able to coach guys on it because they know it so well."Where Smith had a head start is that he learned the system well enough in May during the lockout to teach it to the 49ers' offensive players in June."I felt the same thing back then, what a fabulous thing that was -- not only for Alex but for our team," Harbaugh said. "Those motivated players were getting together in the summer and holding workouts, and team workouts and really player-led practices. I pretty much knew back then that that was a very good sign."The 49ers will want Smith back. And Smith will want to return. And it seems implausible that another organization will try to lure him away by out-bidding the 49ers.Any team in need of a quarterback will be well-versed in Smith's history as a player who has not been provided any stability in his career.The 49ers will not have make Smith among the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Early speculation around the league is that the 49ers could re-sign Smith to a two- or three-year contract for 8 million to 11 million annually. It's possible that Harbaugh and his staff had no idea that Smith would be as efficient this season as he has turned out. But working with him every day, there is a belief that Smith can get better and the passing game can continue to improve.The 49ers will expect the quarterback position, as a whole, to be better next season. There's no doubt about that.
And that can be accomplished without making a change to their depth chart. After all, Smith and rookies Colin Kaepernick and Scott Tolzien were good enough to comprise the 49ers' depth chart in 2011.And each of those players should be improved next season.

Contact Us