ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on Wednesday’s NFL Live that the current trade market for 49ers QB Alex Smith is “limited,” via Rotoworld.
Mortensen adds that there’s “not a large buzz” surrounding him and believes that Smith ending up with the Browns would be a “long shot.”
There’s been plenty of speculation that Smith could be one of the hottest players this offseason, due to limited talent in this year’s draft class, but that goes against the fact that he found very little interest as a free agent last year. In fact, the Dolphins and 49ers were the only teams that showed interest in him and they both now have long-term solutions at quarterback.
San Francisco has said that they intend to shop Smith around before deciding whether or not release him outright, but this could be an indication that the latter is more likely.
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He became a (faithful) backup through no fault of his own and worked with Colin Kaepernik off the field. Even if there was interest in Smith, he should be released and given the opportunity to make his own deal, though I understand the 49ers unwillingness to see him sign with the AZ Cardinals.