After making his long anticipated decision to take snaps for the Denver Broncos last week, the teams who were in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes that missed out on the 4-time MVP are now forced to lick their wounds and find an alternative at the quarterback position. Among those teams were the San Francisco 49ers who following the failed attempt to land the future Hall of Fame quarterback, were forced to kiss and makeup with Alex Smith after flirting with the longtime QB of the Colts. Shortly after the news broke that the 49ers were among the finalists in landing Manning, Smith too was exploring other options just in case Manning chose the bay area, with Miami being the most likeliest of his destinations. But once Manning notified the 49ers and Tennessee Titans that Denver was where he had chosen to take his talent, San Francisco's GM Trent Baalke reminded Smith about the 3-year deal that was still on the table.
After leading the 49ers on a magical run which saw the franchise capture its first division title in nearly a decade as well as a trip to the NFC title game, Alex Smith agreed to return to the organization that will pull the curtain on the 2012 season as one of the favorites to win it all next year. The 3-year deal reportedly worth $24 Million had to be an easy one to agree to for Smith who saw nothing but improvements made on offense this off-season as he'll now have two new weapons to throw to in Randy Moss and Mario Manningham. But the decision to bring back Smith didn't prevent head coach Jim Harbaugh from adding another player at the quarterback position to heat up the competition as former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Josh Johnson agreed to a 2-year contract. Having played under coach Harbaugh at the University of San Diego where the two won back-to-back Pioneer Football League Championships together, the addition of Johnson not only gives Harbaugh a player he's familiar with, but it also gives him a solid backup to rely on if Alex Smith were to get hurt or struggle. After grooming Smith the way he did last year, I'm curious to see what Harbaugh could do with a player he's coached in college.
Perhaps the most overlooked signing of the 49ers off-season so far is that of wide-receiver and kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. Many fans including myself believe that if Ginn was healthy enough to play in last year's NFC Championship game against the New York Giants, it would've been the 49ers who represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. Sidelined with a knee injury, substitute Kyle Williams was called upon to be the backup where let's just say he had a game to forget. Similar to Mario Manningham who last week joined the team he helped defeat in January's NFC title game, former New York Giants running-back Brandon Jacobs followed his teammates lead by signing a one-year, incentive laden deal to serve as Frank Gore's backup in SF. The acquisition of Jacobs bolsters an already dominant running game led by the aforementioned Gore as well as backups Kendall Hunter and Anthony Dixon.
And the last signing, but definitely not the least was made today as San Francisco and cornerback Carlos Rogers worked out a 4-year extension, meaning the 49ers will have all 11 of their defensive starters in 2011, back for another go around in 2012. With defense being their most strongest asset last season, it was important to re-sign Rogers who not only made his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2011, but also played as big a role on the defensive side of things as anyone. After tying Dashon Goldson with the team lead in interceptions with six, good enough for fourth in the league, it was a no-brainer for Jim Harbaugh and company to reach out and sign Rogers to a long-term deal given the former first round pick out of Auburn finally found the perfect fit on defense in Vic Fangio's system. With all these personnel additions and returns, one thing that's certain regarding the 2012 San Francisco 49ers is that the team should be just as lethal as last year and then some.
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