Expect Alex Smith’s name to come up quite a bit in the coming weeks.

The story is pretty well-known at this point: The former No. 1 overall pick, in the midst of his best season as a pro, lost his job to Colin Kaepernick after suffering a concussion against the Rams back in November. Kaepernick pounced on the opportunity and has the Niners one win away from a Lombardi. Smith is now the odd-man out in San Francisco.

“It sucks, to put it frankly,” Smith told Peter King. “Tough pill to swallow.”

Smith has handled the situation well by all accounts, but the circumstances are such where it makes sense for both parties to move on.