Alex Smith Could Be Back in San Francisco ... If He's Willing to Play for Less Money

Now that the J.T. O'Sullivan experiment is, for the time being, over in San Francisco, the 49ers turned their offense over to Shaun Hill last night and, well, we're still not exactly sure what happened. Basically, the 49ers are right back where they started -- in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. Heck, forget franchise quarterback, they just need a quarterback.

If only they had taken a signal-caller with a No. 1 pick in recent years, somebody to help turn the franchise around and ... oh. Right. Alex Smith. Yeah, about him ...

Earlier this season, 49ers general manager Scott McCloughan made it clear that the only way Smith, the former No. 1 pick, would be a member of the team in 2009 is if he clearly, without a doubt, was the starting quarterback heading into the season.

Well, as it turns out, there's another way he could find himself on the team: If he takes a pay cut. From John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle:

The key thing is it's got to make sense for both sides. I fully think he's going to be a good quarterback in the NFL. They're hard to come by. You never count anyone out that you think is going to be a good quarterback."

Smith lost the starting job in training camp to O'Sullivan because offensive coordinator Mike Martz was a huge fan. While O'Sullivan fumbled his way around on the field, Smith suffered a shoulder injury that eventually led to him being placed on injured reserve, which ultimately led to the assumption that his career in San Francisco was finished.

He won't play a single down for the 49ers this year, which might be the best thing that's ever happened to him in terms of earning a possible starting job with the team in 2009.

I mean, just look at what the other two guys have done this year. He could win the job simply by default.