NFL Free Agent Rumors: Alex Smith Should Be the Only QB on 49ers' Radar

A couple weeks ago, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers would be getting back together via a multi-year contract.

Now, it seems like Smith and the 49ers are only getting farther apart.

It all started with the 49ers' ultimately futile pursuit of Peyton Manning, which Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reported had Smith feeling pretty "upset." Manning has signed with the Denver Broncos, but that hasn't stopped the 49ers from looking at other options.

According to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group, the 49ers have been in contact with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup quarterback Josh Johnson, who played under Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego.

Other quarterbacks have been linked to the 49ers in recent days, most notably Vince Young and Tim Tebow. Young hinted on Twitter that he can see himself in a 49ers uniform:

"

"@DeniseWhite_EAG: How about @VinceYoung to the Dolphins? I hear rumblings? Would he be a good fit for them??" Or the 49ers

— Vince Young (@VinceYoung) March 19, 2012"

Whether or not the interest is mutual is unclear. Regardless, the 49ers should probably steer clear of Young, who is and likely always will be a massive bust.

As for Tebow, that all stems from this tweet by ESPN's Adam Schefter:

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Three teams to monitor as trade talks for Tim Tebow pick up: Jacksonville, Green Bay, San Francisco.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 20, 2012"

Thankfully, we know via Inman that 49ers CEO Jed York does not have Tebow in his sights:

"

49ers CEO Jed York on Tim Tebow: "He's not coming here."

— Cam Inman (@CamInman) March 20, 2012"

So much for that.

As for where things are headed with Smith, the situation is a little fuzzy. We know from Barrows' report (see above) that the 49ers offered him a multi-year contract with a respectable dollar amount, but Smith apparently didn't feel that the deal gave him enough job security.

Instead of squaring things with Smith, all the latest reports concern other quarterbacks the 49ers may be interested in (with Johnson being by far the most realistic of the bunch).

This isn't just wrong on the 49ers' part. This is stupid.

The only quarterback the 49ers should be concerned about right now is Smith. First and foremost, the 49ers need to take a look around and realize that there are no better options on the free-agent market than Smith. By continuing to fraternize with other quarterbacks, they're running the risk of finally alienating a guy who has until now proven to be impossible to alienate.

If the 49ers actually end up watching Smith sign with another team, their failure will be complete, and it will be utterly baffling. They could have made it easy on themselves by re-signing the quarterback who took them to the NFC Championship Game this past season, but instead they kept posturing and posturing until Smith finally decided he didn't want to put up with any more crap from an organization that has never made it easy on him.

None of this is to say that the 49ers should be scorned for taking some time to take a look at Manning, as it's just not every day that a franchise gets a chance to look at a free-agent quarterback like Manning. But since that experiment ended in failure, the time is now for the 49ers to make sure that they won't still be experimenting with their quarterback situation at the start of the season.

Smith has been the safest option all along. Right now, he should be the 49ers' only option.

UPDATE: Tuesday, March 20 at 8:50 p.m. EST

Smith and the 49ers have agreed to a new contract. Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network reported the good news via Twitter:

"

RT @nfl: The @49ers and QB Alex Smith agree to terms on a new contract, @nflnetwork's @michaelombardi reports. #freeagency

— Michael Lombardi (@michaelombardi) March 20, 2012"

Evidently, somebody in San Francisco listened to me.