Colin Kaepernick: Should Alex Smith Step Aside for Rookie QB?

It looks like the clock might be close to striking midnight on Alex Smith, the former first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Coach Jim Harbaugh was quick to pull the underachieving quarterback with an undisclosed injury and then put him back in causing major confusion in the world of Twitter and fantasy football waiver wires.

Clearly, Coach Harbaugh is searching for a reason to sit Smith down and put in Colin Kaepernick but has not been able to find the right moment. Harbaugh might have thought that he had it with an "injury" to Smith that obviously wasn't very serious.

It creates a lot of questions as to what may be going on in San Francisco on the sidelines. Is Harbaugh trying to subtly hint that Smith should get hurt and "stay down" for the good of the team?

It sounds very unlikely that a situation like that would occur on an NFL sideline, but where there is smoke there is some kid of fire and Smith should know that Harbaugh is not invested in him.

Alex Smith will never willingly cede his starting role to Kaepernick which means that if Harbaugh wants a change he needs to make it.

The 49ers need to move on from what can only be described as a first-round bust in Alex Smith, and see if they have anything they can work with in Kaepernick. The organization has already chosen to move forward with Harbaugh, and the time is right for him to move forward with a roster that he feels is his own.

That decision starts at QB. In a division filled with young QBs it wouldn't put them too far behind other teams in the NFC West to start Kaepernick. Players like Frank Gore and the Niners defense need to pick it up and make that transition easier to handle.