The free agent QB met for close to 40 minutes with new Niners coach Jim Harbaugh on Friday, and Harbaugh is convinced Smith will return to the team and be the front-runner for San Francisco's starting job.
In fact, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick out of Utah left team headquarters with a playbook -- not a common practice for an unsigned player considering how teams so closely guard their schemes -- though these are unique circumstances with the NFL in lockout limbo. The 49ers had to be pretty confident in their chances of bringing him back to hand over Harbaugh's playbook.
"I do [expect him to be here]," Harbaugh said Saturday in a post-draft news conference. "I absolutely think it's a great fit."
Harbaugh said, "Alex Smith is a 49er," and all indications are he will stay put once the lockout is lifted, free agency begins and teams can sign players.
"I think he's going to come back to the team. There's a leap of faith there," Harbaugh added. "There's no gentleman's agreement. It's intuition, a gut feeling."
Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself, said Smith would have the head start in any upcoming QB competition just based on his experience in the league.
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