Colin Kaepernick was surprisingly fantastic last Monday in dominating the hapless Bears, and immediately after the game (and really, during Monday’s contest itself), talk turned to the possibility of Kaepernick Wally Pipp’ing Alex Smith.

No matter that Smith has had the two best seasons in his career the past two years, it was clear when coach Jim Harbaugh flirted so shamelessly with Peyton Manning in the offseason that he felt Smith was expendable.

And after he suffered a concussion in Week 10 and had to miss Week 11, Harbaugh might have found his Smith replacement in Kaepernick. As per usual, Harbaugh dismissed any kind of quarterback controversy when meeting with reporters Wednesday. But then Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter tweeted this Wednesday night.





BREAKING: Jim Harbaugh has informed Alex Smith that Colin Kaepernick will start Sunday, per source. Said decision not based on health. — Jim Trotter (@SI_JimTrotter) November 22, 2012



So, um, wow.

To remind you, Smith still hasn’t been cleared to play following his brain injury. But if Trotter is saying that Smith’s health is irrelevant in this discussion, that’s a seismic shift for a team that holds a 7-2-1 record, the second-best mark in the NFC.

Here’s what Harbaugh said earlier Wednesday, via Rapid Reporter Kyle Bonagura.

"The way we view it right now is we have two quarterbacks that we're confident in, have won for us and we believe in," he said. "To me, it's the opposite of a controversy. A controversy is an argument between opposing points of view. This is a decision that will be made from a team aspect, coming from the same direction."

Apparently, Harbaugh has it right. It’s not a controversy at all if he goes with Kaepernick and sticks with him.



Said Smith on Wednesday: "In my opinion, if you can't be happy for your teammate's success, you're playing the wrong sport. Go play tennis or golf or something. That's ridiculous, I think. That doesn't belong in team sports, in my opinion."

Perhaps Smith said that with the thought that the starting quarterback job was still his. Reportedly, that’s not true. But hey, that’s not necessarily a terrible thing, as the always-astute Doug Farrar points out.





The good news for Alex Smith: One-year deal + great season + teams desperate for QBs + iffy 2013 draft class = big-ass 2013 money somewhere. — SC_DougFarrar (@SC_DougFarrar) November 22, 2012





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