Troy

Smith

Williamson points out that Smith played for new Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson in Baltimore. We don’t see Smith as a long-term solution to the Raiders’ quarterback woes, but they have to be open to anything at this point.

Early indications suggest new coach Jim Harbaugh places little value on Smith’s skill-set, coming as it does with subpar accuracy. One possibility for Smith is to head across the Bay to Oakland to reunite with former QBs coach Hue Jackson as Jason Campbell’s backup.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport hears that Young “looked good.” Smith said just last month that he was “ready to move on to the next chapter of my life.” Oakland has reportedly been sniffing around Young for the past month. They have just two quarterbacks under contract at the moment.

They’re also believed to have inked former Lions third-round pick Derrick Williams. The 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Smith spent last season with the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks. We did extensive digging on Smith and could not even find any of his minor-league stats. With Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, and Dennis Dixon all free agents, Smith will have a shot to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster in 2012. Behind Ben Roethlisberger, Smith and Texas A&M product Jerrod Johnson are Pittsburgh’s only quarterbacks under contract at the moment.

Smith’s chances of cracking the Steelers’ 53 took a big hit after Pittsburgh re-signed Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch, but it’s a troubling sign for his NFL future that he couldn’t outlast Jerrod Johnson on the offseason roster. Aside from his six-game cameo at the helm of the 49ers’ directionless 2010 offense, Smith has attempted just 13 passes since 2007. The end is near for the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner.

A few teams reportedly reached out to Smith after he was cut by the Steelers last month, but he admits his future is uncertain. The former Heisman winner may have to look back to the UFL, where he spent the 2011 season. “We’ll just keep plugging and plugging,” Smith said.

Smith says he’s “open to calls” from NFL teams, but they haven’t been coming. The former Heisman Trophy winner is still just 28 years old, but talent limitations and questionable attitude expedited the (likely) end of his pro career. Smith completed 51.7 percent of his passes across four seasons, with an 8:5 TD-to-INT ratio and 7.4 yards per attempt average. He was a solid NFL backup.

Perhaps Smith has finally seen the truth -- he’s not going to garner interest around the league as a starting quarterback. He’ll be best served to play out his one-year tender with a good attitude as Joe Flacco’s backup and then hunt for a team that will give him a chance to compete.

Smith, who finally backed off his trade requests last week, should be able to resume working out in a couple weeks. John Beck moves up to the No. 2 job with Smith enjoying ice cream in bed.

Smith missed five games in 2008 due to tonsillitis and came down with strep throat this offseason. He finally got fed up with the issue last week, had the tonsils surgically removed, and is feeling better now. “Oh my god, it’s tremendous,” Smith said. “It’s like night and day. That was huge.”