Atlanta Falcons should welcome Alex Smith with open arms

The Atlanta Falcons should take a serious look at bringing in Alex Smith as a backup quarterback.

Regardless of what the Atlanta Falcons do in the draft, a veteran presence behind Matt Ryan would be a wise move.

Enter Alex Smith.

He may be one of the unluckiest quarterbacks in NFL history. Usually, after his best years, he gets released, injured, or pushed out due to some up-and-coming young talent. He was 19-5-1 in his last two seasons in San Francisco and found himself out of a job for Colin Kaepernick.

Smith goes to Kansas City where he wins double-digit games three out of five seasons, yet the Chiefs move on to some guy named Patrick Mahomes. Then, after a miraculous comeback season where he goes 5-1 as a starter, Washington releases him. Great news if you’re Atlanta.

Smith can still play.

There’s no doubt about it. On a Washington team that was in a putrid NFC East, he’s the main reason they ended up in the playoffs. He’s also 37 years old. If Smith and his camp are honest, his days as a full-time starter are gone.

The Atlanta Falcons also just lost Matt Schaub – a veteran guy in the locker room, who when called on, didn’t fall flat on his face.

Even if the Atlanta Falcons take a quarterback in this year’s draft, they would be fools to leave it up to him to be the sole backup. Look at the Miami Dolphins. Ryan Fitzpatrick saved them in a number of games when their prized rookie pick just wasn’t getting it done.

There have been times in the past two seasons when you wondered if the Falcons had a better option than Matt Schaub, would they have benched Ryan.

Again, let’s present to you Alex Smith.

He has proven he can still compete in this league. With Ryan’s durability, don’t expect for him to get called on often but if he did, the Falcons would be in good hands for a QB2. Smith’s price should be relatively cheap.

How much money can a 36-year-old coming off one of the most gruesome injuries in NFL history really ask for? The Falcons could also go the incentive-laden route.

Even if Atlanta does draft a quarterback, having Smith around in the room so Ryan doesn’t have to train his successor might be a smart move.

If the Atlanta Falcons are serious about success, Smith would be in a Falcons uniform next season.