Alex Smith lost all of his negotiating leverage with San Francisco when the Seahawks and Dolphins signed Matt Flynn and David Garrard, respectively. Smith should consider himself lucky the 49ers didn’t play hardball.
The NFL Network is reporting that Smith and the Niners have agreed to terms on what is believed to be a three-year contract worth about $8 million per season.
While he stopped short of confirming the contract’s completion Tuesday night, coach Jim Harbaugh insisted that the 49ers’ failed pursuit of Peyton Manning, which allegedly “upset” Smith, won’t affect the coach-quarterback relationship moving forward.
“It’s been a good — strong relationship, as always,” Harbaugh said, per CSNBayArea.com. “It’s a very strong relationship.
Smith has no room for maintaining hurt feelings. The 49ers could have squeezed him after the Manning, Flynn, and Garrard signings, but they chose not to. For a quarterback with a losing career record and one legitimately good season among seven, Smith couldn’t have been treated more fairly.