When the Kansas City Chiefs came to Alex Smith about A.J. Jenkins, the quarterback didn't hesitate to vouch for his former 49ers teammate.
True, Jenkins was buried on Jim Harbaugh's wide receiver depth chart in San Francisco, and Jenkins never managed a single catch during his deeply disappointing rookie season.
But Smith saw Jenkins as a hard worker who never got his chance. That could change after the Chiefs traded for the wide receiver Monday.
"I thought A.J. did a great job when he came in," Smith said Tuesday, according to quotes distributed by the team. "He was a great kid, came in hungry. It was a different situation there last year when he came in.
"That's a veteran team with a lot of pieces in place. So it wasn't his job from the jump. He came in and had to battle for it. I could say, I think it was a deeper roster there. For whatever reason, it didn't work out. He's got a ton of talent, a lot of speed, so I think the change is doing some good."
The 49ers' fast decision to cut the cord counts as a significant red flag, but Jenkins deserves a real opportunity to prove he's not a bust. We're not so sure he got that in San Francisco.
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