{"id":105521,"date":"2021-03-05T06:49:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T11:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=105521"},"modified":"2021-03-05T06:49:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T11:49:34","slug":"alex-smith-free-agent-team-fits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/03\/05\/alex-smith-free-agent-team-fits\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Smith Free Agent Team Fits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Following one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/nfl-teams2\/washington\/\" target=\"_self\">Washington Football Team<\/a> is expected to release quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=SmitAl03,SmitAl02&amp;search=Alex+Smith&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Smith<\/a> and make him a free agent. Washington went 5-1 with Smith at the helm, but the quarterback didn\u2019t quite look like his old self. Still, he could get better with a full offseason of health and is, at the very least, one of the most reliable backups in the league.<\/p>\n<h2>2021 Free Agent Profile: Alex Smith<\/h2>\n<h4>Jacksonville Jaguars<\/h4>\n<p>Even with the recent Zach Wilson hype in the NFL Draft community, everyone knows that Trevor Lawrence is going to be the first quarterback off the board. Lawrence is widely considered to be the best prospect since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/L\/LuckAn00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Luck<\/a>, and he should succeed at the next level. That said, the adjustment to NFL life is difficult for any prospect, and Alex Smith would significantly help in this regard. The quarterback is widely considered to be one of the smartest players in the league and would be a valuable resource for the first-year quarterback.<\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;3936&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h4>San Francisco 49ers<\/h4>\n<p>Alex Smith returning to where it all began would make sense for both sides. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/G\/GaroJi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a> isn\u2019t a great quarterback, but he\u2019s good enough to operate Kyle Shanahan\u2019s offense at a high level. However, the former second-round pick <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/02\/24\/nfl-rumors-tom-brady-jimmy-garoppolo\/\" target=\"_self\">struggles to stay on the field<\/a>, with only one 16-game season to his name. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MullNi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Mullens<\/a> isn\u2019t the best backup in the world, and Smith would be a notable upgrade for a team that will probably have to turn to their backup at some point in the season.<\/p>\n<h4>Denver Broncos<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/L\/LockDr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drew Lock<\/a> has made some impressive plays during his first two years in the league, but his overall level of play has been below-average. Denver wants Lock to turn into a franchise quarterback, but they need to have an insurance plan in case he never takes that proverbial next step. Just like with Lawrence, Smith should be able to teach Lock the subtle nuances of the position. If he still can\u2019t put it all together in his third year, then an otherwise-talented <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/01\/03\/new-york-jets-fired-adam-gase\/\" target=\"_self\">Denver Broncos<\/a> team could still function with Alex Smith running the offense.<\/p>\n<h4>Miami Dolphins<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/T\/TagoTu00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tua Tagovailoa<\/a> had one of the most disappointing rookie seasons in recent memory. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HerbJu00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Herbert<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BurrJo01.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Burrow<\/a> both looked like legitimate NFL passers, Tagovailoa looked absolutely lost during his first year in Miami. It\u2019s too early to completely give up on the former fifth-overall pick, but Miami needs to accept the possibility that Tagovailoa was a product of Alabama\u2019s system. The Dolphins won 10 games despite their quarterback situation and can probably get by with a competent passer under center. Smith doesn\u2019t have the highest ceiling in the world, but 2020 proved that he can provide adequate quarterback play.<\/p>\n<h4>New York Giants<\/h4>\n<p>After a promising rookie season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JoneDa05.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daniel Jones<\/a> fell flat on his face during Year 2. This wasn\u2019t entirely his fault, as the supporting cast and scheme were one of the worst in the league. However, he will need to put up some wins in Year 3, as Dave Gettlemen and Joe Judge probably won\u2019t survive another losing campaign. If Jones can\u2019t get the job done, then New York needs to have a Plan B. Smith is one of the better backup options available and could win some games in a presumably-weak NFC East.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"SP6A6um6R31LPfhO5KNuPA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1294668065\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'SP6A6um6R31LPfhO5KNuPA',sig:'s_FMWua7pKdMLtimg7IPXakWj_S1OxG_P5uD6hez1F0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1294668065',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After his release from the Washington Football Team, free agent quarterback Alex Smith should have plenty of suitors on the open market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":105522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,15,4,20,31],"tags":[7654,337,7641,7634,7648,7646,1608],"class_list":["post-105521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jaguars","category-broncos","category-dolphins","category-giants","category-49ers","tag-49ers-featured","tag-alex-smith","tag-broncos-featured","tag-dolphins-featured","tag-giants-featured","tag-jaguars-featured","tag-nfl-free-agency"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}