EDITOR'S NOTE 11:23AM: It's official, Alex Smith is headed to the IR and Jamie Martin is a 49er.
Matt Maiocco is reporting that the 49ers have agreed to sign QB Jamie Martin. Mike Nolan is expected to make an announcement on Alex Smith's condition in about an hour, but I'd imagine this is a strong indication of the direction of that announcement.
If there was an in-season disabled list like in baseball, the Jamie Martin signing could be just a short-term thing while Smith got healthy. People have suggested going after a guy who could be a potential long-term guy, but Maiocco makes a good point about Martin:
He has knowledge of Mike Martz's offense. If he were needed to play, it would allow the team's offense to function. Really, Martin is one of the few free-agent QBs available that would allow the team's other offensive players to go ahead with everything they've learned about this offense without skipping a beat.
Obviously it'd be nice to get a guy like Andre Woodson or John Beck, or really any young QB that could maybe become a franchise quarterback. However, for the purposes of the hear and now, we need a guy who could step in if everything went to hell with JTO and Hill. There is zero upside with Martin, but as a third QB I really don't see any need for now to have upside.