Maiocco: Troy Smith, Westbrook unlikely to return
Feb. 17, 2011
Matt Maiocco
CSNBayArea.com
Jim Harbaugh's brother John released Troy Smith at the beginning of last year. (US Presswire)
Coach Jim Harbaugh has not publicly closed the door on the potential returns of any 49ers free agents. But circumstantial evidence suggests quarterback Troy Smith and running back Brian Westbrook will not return to the club.
Harbaugh has not shied away from heaping praise on scheduled free agent quarterback Alex Smith. But, then, when I asked Harbaugh last week about his thoughts on Troy Smith, this is what he had to say:
"Like everybody, I don't want to get into each specific guy. But that's also my job to evaluate the same with everybody."
Harbaugh always cites "accuracy" high on the list of attributes he wants from his quarterback. Troy Smith completed 50.3-percent of his passes. Also, Harbaugh's brother, John, released Troy Smith prior to the start of the regular season last year and decided to stick with just two quarterbacks (Joe Flacco and Marc Bulger) on his Baltimore Ravens roster.