General Manager Scot McCloughan confirmed that the NFL salary cap will make it impossible for the Niners to keep Alex Smith next season if he doesn't win back his starting job. When asked if the 49ers could keep Smith as anything less than the clear-cut starter next year, McCloughan said, "You can't." "The amount of money we're going to invest in him, he'd have to be proven that he's the guy," McCloughan added. "When we get to the offseason, he'd have to be the guy for next year."