Alex Smith Likely to Stick With the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers were one of several teems trying to win over Peyton Manning despite already having a relatively successful quarterback, Alex Smith. Now that the Broncos have snatched up Manning, however, it looks like the 49ers may be holding onto Smith–perhaps grudgingly.

Smith was fully aware that his team was looking to have him replaced with Manning, and so Smith booked a flight to Miami to spend a little quality time with the Dolphins, presumably in hopes that the team would pick him up as their starting quarterback. That option is now off the table, too.

Smith’s hopes of joining up with the Dolphins was dashed when on Monday the Dolphins instead opted to go with 34-year-old David Garrard, a 10-year NFL veteran who missed out on the 2011 season due to an injury. Gerrard is expected to compete with Matt Moore for the starter position.

Despite all of the talk that came about from Smith’s visit with the Dolphins, a friend of the 49ers quarterback said that it wasn’t like Smith to essentially tell his team to shove it and go for a position with the Miami Dolphins.

“Alex isn’t that type of kid, never has been,” said a person who knows Smith very well (via Yahoo Sports). “Yeah, everybody reaches a breaking point, but [he] should have reached that long ago and didn’t. He’s a tougher kid than you think and he wants to prove people wrong.

“He doesn’t care about the money. He likes where he is. He wants to raise his family there [he and wife Elizabeth have an infant son]. He’s a West Coast guy.”

Smith was offered $24 million for a over three years for his contract when the 49ers were looking to court Manning, and a recent statement to CSNBayArea.com from 49ers CEO Jed York says that the offer is still on the table.

“Obviously I always wish him the best, whatever he decides is best for his career and his family,” San Francisco kicker David Akers said by phone Monday. “I think he’s a great guy and a great player, obviously he showed us what we needed as a team leader this year. I’d love to continue to play with him. I’d love to play with a lot of guys I don’t get to. That’s part of the business. You just have to get used to that.”