Alex Smith Negotiating Contract With The Dolphins?

Mike Klis of the Denver Post reported earlier that the Dolphins are working on a contract with QB Alex Smith that would supposedly pay him an average of $8 million per season.

If this is true, it makes the Dolphins organization look absurd after they weren’t willing to beat the $6.33 million salary that the Seahawks gave to Flynn earlier in the day. Why would they go and beat that offer considerably for Alex Smith when Matt Moore could end up being as good and possibly better?

This situation looks like a way for both parties to gain some respectability after botching their previous negotiations.

Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports tweets that the only way this happens is if Peyton Manning chooses the 49ers in the coming days. Cole adds that “even if [Miami] pay more, Smith wants to be on [California].

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Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports that QB Alex Smith will also be meeting with the Seattle Seahawks next week. Barrows writes that there’s a “growing sense that Smith may not be back even if Manning goes elsewhere.”

According to Barrows’ sources, Smith is “upset” with the way that 49ers have handled the negotiations after they made it apparent that he was apart of the future plans. Instead, San Francisco has been unwilling to meet his contract demands and their interest in Peyton Manning has left Smith with very little leverage in the current negotiations.

Meeting with the Dolphins and Seahawks will not only help him gain some much needed leverage but it could also help Miami and Seattle drive down the asking price of Matt Flynn.

All of this could chance quickly if Peyton Manning signs with someone in the coming days but until then, there figures to be plenty of jockeying going on between all parties involved.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the QB Alex Smith is visiting with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

This is definitely a bit of a surprise but considering that the 49ers have already met with Peyton Manning, this could very well be an effort to create some leverage of his own. The same could be said for the Miami Dolphins who recently met with Matt Flynn.

It would still be a surprise to see Smith sign anywhere other than San Francisco even with the 49ers interest in Manning.

We have him listed as the #4 best available free agent in our Top 50 Free Agents list.