San Francisco 49ers, QB Competition: Will New Veteran QB Be Signed?

The San Francisco 49ers played one preseason game and ever since the rumors have been swirling regarding a quarterback competition between Alex Smith and rookie Colin Kaepernick.

This is an option that doesn’t really make sense and could backfire in the team’s locker room and with their preparation for the upcoming season.

Jim Harbaugh had a long, extensive offseason conversation with Alex Smith, who agreed to come back and lead the 49ers with the quarterback-driven offensive scheme that Harbaugh designed.

Coach Harbaugh obviously feels that Smith has what it takes to be successful in the NFL, but Harbaugh can’t play the games for Smith—and a seasoned veteran quarterback needs to be a strong leader on the field and in the locker room.

Harbaugh isn’t going to show his offensive scheme in the preseason and they ran limited plays against the Saints, which was evident by no check down plays to the running backs out the backfield to offset the blitz, and we didn’t see receivers Josh Morgan and Ted Guinn, who will be on the field in the regular season.

The 49ers have had their run at spending $50 million on a quarterback, and they’re not looking to make that investment a second time, with just pure draft speculation. If they can bring in a veteran quarterback who has had some success in the league, it only makes sense to have credible backup competing for the job versus an open competition with a seven-year veteran and a group of rookies.

The 49ers will be making progress this week and should have a better performance against Oakland, but they also have a lot of veterans on offense. Some plays will just have to be made by Smith and his ability alone.

Smith needs to show up with more confidence in the fact that he’s the guy to lead the team. He can't second-guess his plays on the field and needs to let his teammates know that he's the guy who's going to get it done.

The team has been in limbo since they drafted Smith. Players like Vernon Davis, Frank Gore and Alex Smith are working under their third NFL coach with the 49ers. The cards fell in Smith's favor because the NFL lockout somewhat forced the 49ers to keep him this season, but he has yet to come out and make the statement, “I’m not getting the job done and I will need to improve.”

If the 49ers force Kaepernick into starting duties and give him the responsibility of running the team in the season opener, the fans would have to really be patient, because that wasn’t in the organization's plans, nor was it their initial intentions for him this season. The locker room has the potential to be divided if Smith doesn’t meet the 49ers' quarterback expectations.

Harbaugh wouldn’t have spent the time courting Smith and getting his buy-in to return to the 49ers if he wasn’t intending to have him lead the team, but at some point reality has to set in, and the appropriate coaching decisions will need to be made.

Kaepernick showed some excellent mobility and instinctive play against the Saints. He has the potential, talent and heart to play in the league with the right development, coaching and experience.

The entire 49er organization is looking to have a successful season and be very competitive this year, but the 49ers made a risky bet on Smith, and if he fails, a veteran quarterback should relieve him of his duties and keep the team rolling.

The biggest challenge the 49ers will face if they don’t make the decision soon could be devastating, because the incoming quarterback would be behind in the offensive scheme, forcing Kaepernick into starting duties.

Kaepernick will need at least three years of on-the-job training—by then, it will have been a solid 10 years of pain for the 49er fans. These are the kind of quarterback draft promises that have been made in the past, and fans have watched Smith trying to develop at the quarterback position for the last seven years.

It's way too early—not even possible—to make an actual assessment after one preseason game, but to open up a quarterback competition, you have to have a player on the roster that can actually compete for the starting job.

The quarterback script has been written with the intent of Smith being the lead actor in the upcoming movie; however, if he can’t remember his lines, it’s very important for the 49ers to get a lead actor who has played the role before and is willing to step in and work with the veteran actors who already know their parts to continue shooting the screenplay.