The San Francisco 49ers announced that they have signed QB Alex Smith to a three-year deal through the 2014 season.
"We are pleased that Alex has chosen to continue his career as a 49er," said 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke. "His contributions were instrumental to our success in 2011, and we look forward to the continued growth of our offense under his leadership."
Smith (6-4, 217) enters his eighth NFL season after leading the 49ers to a 13-3 record, the NFC West division crown and a trip to the NFC Championship game, in 2011. Smith started all 16 regular season games and two playoff contests this past season, setting multiple career passing marks. Smith completed 273 of 445 passes for a career-high 3,144 yards with 17 touchdowns and only five interceptions. His interception total ranks tied for 3rd in NFL history for the fewest thrown in a season, while his interception percentage of 1.1 ranks 3rd all-time. Smith also posted a career-high 90.7 QB rating, while leading the 49ers to five, 4th-quarter comebacks in the regular season, including four on the road. His four come-from-behind road victories tied the franchise record set by Joe Montana in 1989.
During the postseason, Smith tossed five touchdowns and no interceptions in two games. In the Divisional Playoff game vs. the New Orleans Saints, Smith engineered scoring drives of 80 and 85 yards in the final four minutes of the game, and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to TE Vernon Davis with 14 seconds remaining to advance to the NFC Championship game. Smith tossed two more TDs in the NFC Championship game vs. the New York Giants to become the first starting quarterback in franchise history to not throw an interception in his first two playoff games.
The 49ers originally selected Smith with the 1st overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. During his seven-year NFL career, Smith has thrown for 12,543 yards with 68 TDs and 58 INTs. In 2010, Smith played in 11 games and had a passer rating of over 80.0 in seven of those contests, and a passer rating of over 90.0 in the other four games. Smith threw for a career-high 18 TDs in 11 games during the 2009 season. In 2006, Smith became the first quarterback in 49ers history to take every snap over the course of a season. His rookie year, Smith was the first rookie to start at quarterback for the 49ers since QB Jim Druckenmiller in 1997.
The 27-year-old native of San Diego, CA, starred collegiately at the University of Utah, where he earned a 21-1 record as a starter and was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
