Tackle Marvel Smith is being scheduled to visit the 49ers on Wednesday. With the team's need for a right tackle, could Smith be the answer?
One of the biggest concerns of fans (and I can see how you guys feel from your recent comments) is that the team isn't aggressive enough in this year's free agency market. In fact, the team hasn't made a big splash at all. We were led to false hopes with Kurt Warner and now, the team is just sitting down.
However, Smith would be an interesting addition to the team no doubt. And why wouldn't be come to San Francisco? According to Barrows:
Smith is from the Bay Area having played high school ball at Skyline High School in Oakland. He went to Arizona State and was a second-round pick by the Steelers in the 2000 draft. Smith has two Super Bowl rings and he went to the Pro Bowl in 2004.
Smith is a strong player, but he has missed 15 games over the past two seasons. But having played for the Steelers, I think he would bring a tremendous amount of experience from playing with such a talented team. Also, as the 49ers are looking for a new right tackle, I think I might feel a little bit better signing an experienced veteran than try to work a rookie into the mix.
Smith isn't that big name tackle, but he sure is a tackle that I believe can perform well if healthy. The 49ers should try their best to sway Smith to play for the 49ers. After the failed experiments of Adam Snyder and Barry Sims (because of Jonas Jennings' injuries), I would like to have a tackle that I truly can believe in. Of course, the physical at Stanford tomorrow would be a huge indicator if Smith is healthy enough to play for us.
Let's assume that he is ready to play. The 49ers can definitely sign him and not worry about trying to get a tackle in the first round. With that, they can either go for that wide receiver (Jeremy Maclin maybe) or that pass rusher (Everette Brown). Heck, they can even try to trade away that first round pick to a team that wants Mark Sanchez (the Jets maybe?) or if it's not too crazy, trade it for Jay Cutler.
We'll see how tomorrow goes for Smith. If he's healthy, let's get him!