Well I know a healthy contingent of this website will be quite pleased with this news. And while some of us are still hoping Alex Smith turns out to be the guy, I think we can all agree it's a good thing the 49ers have resigned Shaun Hill to a 3-year deal. I found out from Matt Barrows Sac Bee blog, and he was confirming Matt Maiocco's report through Hill's agent.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to play for coach Martz," Hill said. "He's done some neat things with quarterbacks in the past. And I'm similar to the guys he's had in the past."
Hill said his style is a lot like that of Marc Bulger.
"I play the same kind of game he does," Hill said. "He has a quick release. He doesn't have the strongest arm in the world, but he gets the ball out on time and in rhythm."
For those who picked at or around $2 million in our prediction thread, MM is reporting the deal should be around $2 million per year with playing-time bonuses if Hill can win the starting job.
According to Matt Barrows, the candidate for the third QB position is likely to come through free agency. I'm guessing this means we won't be taking a QB in the draft, but maybe we will and go 4 deep.
Obviously there will be a healthy competition this summer, so the question becomes who wins the job and even before that, how will Alex Smith handle this? No contract in the NFL is guaranteed but this is certainly a showing of confidence towards Shaun Hill. I think Alex Smith is mature enough to handle some competition (and if he isn't we don't want him anyways)). So thankfully this has been wrapped up and we can start looking towards free agency, the draft and the 2008 season!