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Alex Smith had reason to leave the San Francisco 49ers following the 2010 season. The 49ers likewise had reason to move in another direction at the position.

Their mutual decision to continue the relationship worked out well for all parties. But with the 49ers showing interest in Peyton Manning this offseason, Smith needs to more strongly consider other options in free agency.

That likely explains why Smith is considering an agent change, according to Kevin Lynch. Tom Condon has been representing Manning and Smith for years. He cannot plausibly pursue the best interests of both players if those interests are in direct conflict with one another. Manning would presumably be the top priority for any agent.

Finding a new agent could also be tricky. Condon and David Dunn have dominated the agent business when it comes to representing prominent quarterbacks. Dunn would normally stand out as a leading alternative to Condon, but he has represented 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke.

No matter which direction Smith goes on the agent front, staying in San Francisco represents the best career move for him.

Smith went 13-3 as the 49ers' starter last season, won a playoff game, knows the offense, fits with the coaching staff and has earned the respect of teammates. But if the 49ers are going to consider other options, why shouldn't Smith do the same?

The answer depends to some degree on if Smith feels comfortable with what the 49ers have told him privately. Does he still trust them?

If not, a free-agent trip to, say, Seattle would get the 49ers' attention. How would the 49ers respond if Smith appeared close to signing elsewhere? Would they continue to wait on Manning if they weren't sure about getting him?

Thanks go to Adam Schefter for passing along analyst Steve Young's comments about Matt Hasselbeck possibly landing with the San Francisco 49ers.

A few thoughts:

• Hasselbeck would fit in well with the 49ers. He knows the NFC West, obviously, and he's close to one of the 49ers' new coaches, Bobby Engram, from their years playing together with Seattle. Hasselbeck would benefit from the relatively strong ground game in San Francisco. He could stay on the West Coast, traveling easily between Seattle and the Bay Area. For him, this might be the next-best thing to staying in Seattle.
• Don't discount the role agents play. As Matt Maiocco pointed out, Young has ties to Hasselbeck's agent, David Dunn. Agents like to create markets for their clients. Sometimes they like to create the impressions of markets for their clients. Having the 49ers mentioned as a possibility for Hasselbeck creates a little buzz. Dunn has also worked with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke, with some reports suggesting Dunn has represented them. Are Dunn and the 49ers messing with Seattle? It's tough to say, but a fun thought.
• This would be bad for Alex Smith. Smith could not beat out Shaun Hill or J.T. O'Sullivan in previous camps. He's put up better numbers than Hasselbeck over the past couple seasons, but would Smith beat out Hasselbeck in an honest competition? The smart money says probably not.
• This would be good for the 49ers. They need quarterback depth. Smith has had injury problems. Rookie Colin Kaepernick could need time to develop. Between Smith and Hasselbeck, the 49ers would get through the season with a smart, experienced player behind center. Hasselbeck's résumé would enhance the position.

The Seahawks weren't interested in signing Hasselbeck to a deal that would have given him security beyond one season. Their reported interest in Tarvaris Jackson suggests the team could be ready to move on without Hasselbeck. I wouldn't rule out a return to Seattle, but if the 49ers are interested, Hasselbeck would be wise to listen.

Thoughts and questions after former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and agent Drew Rosenhaus issued statements Tuesday:

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AP Photo/J Pat CarterFormer Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor, right, and his agent Drew Rosenhaus discuss Pryor's future at a news conference in Miami Beach, Fla.
• Rosenhaus said he expects an NFL team to select Pryor in the first round of the supplemental draft. I've heard nothing from anyone in the NFL suggesting Pryor would command that much value. Rosenhaus might have a better idea, or he might be simply promoting his client. But if Pryor does go early in the supplemental draft, I cannot see him landing in the NFC West.
• The St. Louis Rams have their current starter. The San Francisco 49ers have their current and projected future starter. The Arizona Cardinals have multiple developmental quarterbacks. They need a veteran to step in and start right away. Pryor does not fit. The Seattle Seahawks said they could not afford to invest early draft choices in a quarterback given the state of their roster in other areas, notably the line. They addressed the line, but still have holes.
• Rosenhaus represents more NFL players than any agent. However, he generally is not the choice for quarterbacks. Does Pryor even project as a quarterback? Depends who you ask.
• Pryor does not perform like the typical quarterback on the field, having rushed for 2,164 yards at Ohio State. His choice for representation also goes against convention for quarterbacks. Three of the 145 signed players Rosenhaus represented during the regular season were quarterbacks, according to NFL Players Association records from November. Rex Grossman, Thaddeus Lewis and Billy Volek were those quarterbacks. David Dunn (17) and Tom Condon (13) had more than 28 percent of quarterbacks.
• The dynamics change if Pryor remains available late in the supplemental draft. There's much less risk at that point. In the meantime, ESPN's Chris Mortensen says we should expect to see Pryor meeting with Jon Gruden for a session similar to the ones Gruden put together for Cam Newton and others. Gruden reveled in putting pressure on prospects to prove how much they understood about offense. How well Pryor understands the game from a quarterback's perspective will affect how well he would fit even as a No. 3 quarterback.

Rosenhaus and Pryor refused to answer questions following their statements.

"I think I've said it all," Rosenhaus told reporters.

SEATTLE -- The guest list for Jake Locker's pro day at the University of Washington offered up a few surprises.

Former Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, in town on business, dropped by the Dempsey Indoor facility. Former NFL officiating czar Mike Pereira, in town for a meeting related to his role as interim head of Pac-10 officials, also attended.

Former Washington quarterbacks Warren Moon, Damon Huard, Brock Huard (working for ESPN), Hugh Millen, Cary Conklin and Sonny Sixkiller were there.

The quarterback-needy Tennessee Titans sent a large contingent featuring vice president of player personnel Ruston Webster, offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and pro scouting director Lake Dawson. Keith Gilbertson (Cleveland Browns), Randy Mueller (San Diego Chargers), Bob Ferguson (Indianapolis Colts) and Mike Sheppard (Jacksonville Jaguars) were among the former Seahawks staffers in attendance.

The Seahawks' current decision-makers and most of their coaches drove over from team headquarters, no surprise given the proximity and coach Pete Carroll's ties to Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian, his former USC assistant.

But if the Seahawks' division rivals have any interest in Locker, they hid that interest quite well. The Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers did not send representatives, to my knowledge. They certainly did not have any high-profile staffers in attendance. That comes as a bit of a surprise given their obvious needs at quarterback and Locker's potential availability early in the second round, if he slips outside the first.

"I never read anything into which teams attend pro days," Locker's agent, David Dunn, said on the field following the workout. "I've had too many players selected by teams that weren't at pro days or didn't even visit with players."

Fair enough, but teams generally pay closer attention to quarterbacks. The 49ers sent Jim Harbaugh to Blaine Gabbert's pro day at Missouri. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt ran Auburn's Cam Newton through various throws at a recent workout.

"With quarterbacks, you want to be able to touch and feel and see how they are as people as well as athletes and players," Dunn said.

Locker was not the only Washington prospect performing for scouts, but he was the main draw. He did nothing obvious to damage his draft stock during the workout. He completed all but a couple of passes while showing fluidity in his drops and a short delivery, according to scouts who agreed to speak in general terms and not for attribution.

"I've never nitpicked a guy like I've nitpicked Locker," one of them said. "The guy is a winner, and at the end of the day that has to count for something."

Locker has been working with former NFL quarterback Ken O'Brien to bring his hand over the top more quickly when delivering the ball.

The controlled environment was set up to make him look good. No NFL coaches or personnel people asked Locker to perform unscripted throws. They watched Locker zip the ball with ample velocity and accuracy most of the time, save for a couple high throws that his overworked wide receiver, D'Andre Goodwin, snatched away from his body.

"I'm focusing on the fluidity of the drop, getting my feet in the right spot and just bringing the hand over the top as quickly as I could, rather than dragging my hand," Locker said afterward. "I have a tendency to do that sometimes. I want to bring my hand over the top and really point that finger at my target. I have been spinning the ball a lot better and it's been coming off my hand a lot better."

Locker's relatively low completion percentage at Washington and his inexperience running a pro-style offense have raised questions about his readiness for the NFL. Can he read defenses? Can he throw accurately and on time from the pocket? To what degree did a weak offensive line and receiving corps hamstring him in college?

I've heard differing opinions from scouts as to how well Locker would fit with the NFC West teams that need quarterbacks (Seattle, Arizona and San Francisco).

"A lot of people seem to have him pinpointed to Seattle at No. 25, but I don’t think that makes any sense at all," Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. said. "It works for people who do not know the X’s and O’s of it all. At 25, he has some value. He went to school in that area. It is easy to say that is a good fit, but I think Seattle is going more and more to a pure West Coast offense, and Locker doesn't fit the West Coast offense at all."

The Cardinals pick fifth and the 49ers pick seventh, earlier than Locker is expected to come off the board. Seattle is one of the few quarterback-needy teams picking later in the first round, when Locker figures to become a more likely selection.

"Jake seems to be an acquired taste," Dunn said. "The more you watch him on film, the more that you are around him, the more you like him."

How well Locker would fit with the Seahawks could hinge on the degree to which Williamson is right in his assessment of how Seattle's offense will evolve.

New coordinator Darrell Bevell comes from the Andy Reid/Mike Holmgren branch of the West Coast offense, a branch that relies more heavily on short, precise passes. Before Bevell replaced Jeremy Bates, the Seahawks had been running Mike Shanahan's version of the West Coast system featuring more quarterback movement, hard play-action fakes and deeper throws requiring greater arm strength.

Carroll, who attended the workout Wednesday, has said the Seahawks do not plan to significantly diverge from the system they ran last season. But it's plausible to think that Bevell's background could steer them away to some degree.

"You do have to be a precise passer in a Bill Walsh, traditional West Coast offense," Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFL Draft Scout, said from the Dempsey Indoor facility. "But I like any offense that is going to use Jake Locker's mobility as an asset rather than just keeping him pinned in that pocket. If you can use his legs as a weapon, that is where he has been his most accurate. He made significant improvements in his accuracy from the so-called pocket in this workout, but at the same time, his strength remains throwing on the move."

Rang said he would draft Locker in the first round as long as the team in question has a veteran starter in place.

I stood next to Moon, the retired Hall of Famer, throughout the workout. Moon said he sees the NFL game evolving to favor quarterbacks with mobility. Life for traditional pocket passers is getting tougher, in his view. Locker's athleticism and scrambling ability separate him from most prospects. He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds, a time that holds up against those posted by some wide receivers. But quarterbacks must also succeed as pocket passers to make it in the NFL.

"Locker is pretty accurate outside the pocket," Williamson said, "but as far as going 1-2-3 and getting it out, having good footwork, hitting a guy in stride, he is terrible. I don’t see that fit at all. I do not think he is going to be the precise passer Harbaugh is looking for, either. I can see someone like Arizona being really interested in him in Round 2. They might like a more 'toolsy' guy, like a Ben Roethlisberger."

Williamson sees Locker appealing to a coach such as Shanahan, who might see Locker as a cross between Jay Cutler and Jake Plummer, two quarterbacks Shanahan coached in Denver. That's the type of quarterback Seattle was seeking when Jeremy Bates was coordinating their offense. It's the type of quarterback the Seahawks might still value if Bevell installs the type of system Carroll has favored previously.

"I don't know in the NFL right now if people run different offenses," Sarkisian said. "It's so much of a copycat league and everybody runs so many things that are similar that it's hard to say that New England is different than Pittsburgh that is different than Seattle that is different from the Chargers. They all have their focal points, but at the end of the day, there are a lot of similarities. Things will be tailored for him [Locker], like they are for every quarterback, but I just think he fits in as an NFL quarterback."

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh has reportedly retained two agents, a potential contributing factor to confusing reports regarding Harbaugh's candidacies with the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and others.

Mindi Bach of CSNBayArea.com tweeted the details Friday: "Stanford AD told me he is working with agent Jack Bechta on Harbaugh's new contract proposal with the university. But agent David Dunn is handling negotiations on Harbaugh's behalf with NFL teams."

Bechta and Dunn are competitors. Each is presumably speaking with Harbaugh separately. Neither might know the full picture. Reporters speaking with various parties -- Bechta, Dunn, their associates or anyone else involved tangentially -- might have a harder time getting the full picture. The teams involved might not know.

Sounds like we might just want to sit back and wait for a formal announcement.

Most of you know that the Beast doesn't write a word without looking at every available metric. But we're no match for ESPN.com's KC Joyner, aka the Football Scientist, a man who crunches numbers for a living. This time, Joyner's outdone himself by suggesting that Houston's Andre Johnson isn't even the best wide receiver in the state of Texas.

After looking at 10 categories and making a deft reference to Bear Bryant, Joyner has concluded that Miles Austin is perhaps the best receiver in the league. If you're an ESPN Insider, you can read the entire story. If not, I've decided to circumvent company policy and reveal a couple of paragraphs.

Joyner says Austin has a "better set of metrics" than Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne, too. He uses the wildly popular yards per attempt (YPA) metric in the Johnson-Austin showdown. The 10 categories included short, medium and bomb-length passes. Joyner also took a long look at how the two wide receivers did against some of the league's top cornerbacks.

Long-suffering Texans fans had clung to the perception that Johnson was the best receiver in the league, but with one mighty column, Joyner has broken their spirit. Let's take a peek at one of the most interesting portions of the column:

Another way to measure receiving excellence is to see how well each wideout did when facing varying levels of competition," writes Joyner. "I went through the breakdown charts I did on every game from the 2009 season and pulled out the plays where a receiver faced a cornerback. I then assigned color-coded grades to the cornerbacks based on their 2009 YPA totals (which can be found in the KC Joyner Metricmania section in the 2010 ESPN The Magazine fantasy football preview).

Against cornerbacks who yield YPAs of 7 yards or fewer on average (red-rated CBs): Austin was hardly fazed by elite competition, as he posted 12.0 YPA against them. Johnson's 8.0 YPA in this category ranked 18th in the league but didn't keep up with Austin's total.

There's a lot more where that came from if you're an Insider. If you're not a paying customer at this point, just know that Joyner's metrics indicate that Austin may be the most underpaid wide receiver in the history of the league. Jerry Jones is hoping Austin's agent, David Dunn, is not an ESPN Insider.

It's actually pretty fascinating stuff, but everyone's waiting to see if Austin can repeat his performance now that he's not sneaking up on anyone. Oh, and there's the whole SI jinx thing to worry about if you've seen this week's issue. So do you guys put any stock in the Football Scientist's discovery? Did Austin actually have a better season than Johnson?

Can't we allow Texans fans to have at least one claim to fame since they're still waiting on that first playoff appearance? I'll try to find some metrics that suggest Matt Schaub had a better '09 than Tony Romo. Maybe that will smooth things over.

The NFL's list of projected unrestricted free agents for 2010 included one column showing agents and another showing starts.

This made it easy to see which agents had the most projected UFA clients, and how many starts those clients averaged in 2009.

The result is the chart below. Drew Rosenhaus has more than 100 clients across the league, more than any agent. The NFL lists 15 of them on its projected UFA list, including Terrell Owens and three NFC West players (Randy McMicahel, Anthony Becht and Olindo Mare).

Agents Peter Schaffer and Brian Mackler are next on the list with seven projected UFA clients apiece, but no agent with at least four players listed can match Tony Agnone for players with lots of 2009 starts. Agnone's list features 16-game starters Casey Rabach, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Bobbie Williams, plus seven-game starter Michael Gaines.

The NFL has no agents listed for Phillip Daniels, Tully Banta-Cain, Leigh Bodden, Mike Furrey, Damion Cook, Tank Johnson and Matt Ware.

Jeff Feagles, Jeff Zgonina, Daunte Culpepper, Paul Spicer, Clinton Hart and Vernon Fox are listed as representing themselves.

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

I understand why, coming out of Texas, Vince Young was compelled to hire an inexperienced agent. Major Adams was a family friend, and it's hard to sort through outsiders and find someone you can trust at the most important time in your life.

Young

But the time has come for Young to make the sort of in-career adjustment he's not been able to make in-game. Adams did well getting Young a great rookie contract, but is largely inexperienced in the ways of the NFL. The current list on the NFL Players Association's Web site indicates Young is his lone current NFL client.

My sense has long been that the Titans' No. 2 quarterback is surrounded by too many people who tell him what he wants to hear, who don't want to ruffle his feathers or who add fuel to the idea he may have that the team/the public/the media is against him, and that's the source of his problems.

On April 20, Young told Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean:

"I am just going to keep my mouth closed, man. All I am doing this year is shutting up, just shutting up and working. I am going to smile and shut up and continue being Vince Young, a happy smiling guy. I am not going to get into the hoopla anymore because of the fact I can't win any more, I see.

"I am just going to shut my mouth and play my role and if they need me then I will be available as a weapon."

In the past couple of days, less than two months since he pledged to "smile and shut up," he told Baltimore's WMAR-TV:

"I definitely want to get back out there playing ball and picking up where I left off, winning games and having a good time with my teammates and with the fans. At the same time, if them guys don't want me to be in there, it's time for me to make a career change for myself. Because the fact is I'm ready to play ball. If they're not ready for me to play ball, then somebody is."

He's confused, don't you think?

Young needs someone to aggressively tell him the truth, spell things out and offer wise, but firm, counsel.

I'm not part of the inner circle and I don't talk to anyone who is. Maybe someone in there is trying to get through to him and can't do it.

I would bet Tom Condon -- who represents Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford, among others -- has a better chance. Or David Dunn, who's got Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Cassel.

It doesn't have to be a big quarterback agent, just an agent who's represented a big quarterback before. Other candidates: Mark Bartlestein (Kurt Warner), Don Yee (Tom Brady), Jimmy Sexton (Philip Rivers) and Bruce Tollner (Ben Roethlisberger). We'll resist Bus Cook, who's stirred things up too much for Brett Favre and Jay Cutler recently.

Young said if the Titans aren't ready to play him it's time for a career change.

I believe he meant he needs to move on to another team, not to another walk of life.

If he truly wants to position himself for geographic locker room and practice field change, not a true career change, the best thing he can do might be to give serious consideration to enlisting a new agent.

Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth and Trent Dilfer in this video discuss Young's latest comments.

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

Smith	Rodgers

For those interested in such things: The Green Bay official who negotiated quarterback Aaron Rodgers' rookie contract offers an interesting take on how much money Rodgers lost when San Francisco bypassed him and selected Alex Smith with the No. 1 overall choice in the 2005 draft.

In short, here is what Andrew Brandt wrote over at The National Football Post: Smith received more guaranteed money in his first (and perhaps only) contract than Rodgers likely will receive in his first two.

Smith's $49 million deal included $24 million guaranteed. Rodgers, selected 24 spots behind Smith, received a $7.7 million deal with $4.13 million guaranteed.

Rodgers' contract expires after the 2009 season, meaning it's likely the Packers will approach him sometime this winter to discuss an extension -- provided, of course, he establishes himself as their long-term starter. According to Brandt's analysis, Rodgers would be in line for a deal similar to the one Jacksonville gave quarterback David Garrard in the offseason. They key number: $18 million guaranteed.

This is all very preliminary for a quarterback with one NFL start. But let's say Rodgers and his new agent, David Dunn, extract a decent bump from Garrard's numbers and sign a deal with $19 million guaranteed. Rodgers' first two NFL contracts, then, would have combined for $23.13 million in guarantees -- a total just short of Smith's rookie contract.

Comparing Rodgers and Smith is an extreme case, but it illustrates the disparity in the NFL current rules for determining rookie pay scale.