If only we could sign Alex Smith......wait for it....that clammoring sound is everyone, EVERYONE rushing to a computer to tell me how wrong I am for whatever reason.

"We need to DRAFT our next QB", you're right, but there's no gaurantee the ones in this Draft can start immediately.

"There's better FA options than Smith", really? who? Foles, unknown commodity. Flynn, known commodity, couldn't beat out a 3rd round pick for the starting job in Seattle. Flacco, we can't afford him, and if we did, it would defeat the purpose of drafting a young QB now, Flacco is in his Prime, he'll be starting for the next 4-5 years at least. Do you want to waste a #1 overall to sit on the bench for the next 4 years? or to overpay a veteran to sit on the bench like we did with Cassel this year?

Alex Smith is our best option in Free agency because he isn't Joe flacco, he's perfect for us, he has shown that he can play in SF, there is no shame in being good and getting your spot taken by someone better, it happened to Joe Montana when Steve Young hit his stride, I know it was the end of Joe's career, but he was still starting caliber.

Smith can win games, but won't command super bowl MVP level $$$$ like a Flacco will. Smith is perfect for a team drafting a young QB and needing a veteran presence to hold the rookies chair for him. We play Smith 1-2 seasons while the new guy (hopefully Tyler Wilson) is groomed by Reid.

Alex Smith isn't a threat to drafting a young QB, and he gives us the security of not wasting a #1 overall on a guy that "might" be NFL ready. instead we can use that #1 to draft a replacement for whichever of our own FA's we can't secure, be it a WR, a new LT, a CB & then we use our 2nd round on Wilson, Glennon, Smith, whichever one is still there and one of them will be.

Smith stands out over the rest of the potential FA's because he should be a Value pickup, he will command starting $$ but not Tom Brady $$ like Cassel cost us. He is familiar with the west coast style of O, and from everything i have read is well respected in the league, so he should be able to command the huddle and be a leader in the locker room. looking forward to hearing/seeing the responses from my fellow AP'ers on this one.