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2013 Super Bowl: 49ers will have cap room for Alex Smith in 2013

It's unclear as to whether or not quarterback Alex Smith will be playing for the 49ers or another team in 2013. If he does move on, though, it won't be because of a lack of cap space.

By Jason Garrison
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

While it's unclear as to whether or not Alex Smith will be playing for San Francisco in 2013, the 49ers will have enough salary cap space to keep both Smith and Colin Kaepernick on the roster for the upcoming season, according to the San Jose Mercury's Cam Inman.

For more on the story, visit Baltimore Beatdown and Niners Nation

Team CEO Jed York stated on Thursday that fitting Smith's $8.5 million salary into the projected $121 million cap wouldn't be a problem.

"Is there a spot on the team for him from a cap standpoint? Yeah, absolutely, there's a spot for him on the team," York said.

The question, though, is whether or not Smith will want to stay in San Francisco. Smith was replaced in Week 10 by Kaepernick after he suffered a concussion. Head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to stick with Kaepernick due to the second-year quarterback's ability to throw the ball and run. Now that the Niners have made it into the Super Bowl, and especially if they win, Smith, who led the 2011 Niners to the NFC Championship Game, has been effectively squeezed out.

Nothing has been made public yet, but many believe that Smith will request a trade before the 2013 season so he can start somewhere else. There are plenty of quarterback-needy teams that could make a push for him.

York said that once the season comes to a close, the 49ers will meet with Smith to make a plan for the future.

"We'll sit down after the Super Bowl and see what's best for everybody," York said.

As for Smith, if he has a part to play in Sunday's Super Bowl, it won't be a large one at all. Still, he's focused on the game and said on Thursday that he's not thinking about the what could happen to him once the season comes to a close.

"I've heard all the speculations of the teams and this and that, but I can do that next week," Smith said. "We're preparing to play and win a game, so I'm not thinking about it."

The 49ers will face the Ravens on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVII at New Orleans' Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.