Alex Smith is tired of waiting around for the 49ers to learn whether they’ve won the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. So Smith is looking elsewhere.
Smith will visit the Dolphins today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
After having his best year as a pro and leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game last season, it appeared that Smith was going to be in San Francisco for the long haul. But Smith is an unrestricted free agent and hasn’t worked out a deal with the 49ers yet, because the 49ers are making Manning their top priority. That puts Smith in a tough position.
So it makes sense for Smith to stop waiting and start looking around for another team. The Dolphins, who want to sign a starting quarterback and were spurned by Manning, could make sense for Smith, especially if free agent quarterback Matt Flynn picks the Seahawks over the Dolphins.
The 49ers spent the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft on Smith, and he has spent his entire career there. In 2011 Smith started all 16 games and had career highs in passing yards (3,144) and passer rating (90.7) while throwing just five interceptions.
And now the pressure is on the 49ers to get something done at the quarterback position: If Smith signs with the Dolphins, and Manning chooses the Broncos or Titans, last season’s NFC runner ups will have a major question mark at quarterback.