Smith entered the game in fourth quarter to fill in for injured teammates Frank Gore (concussion) and Carlos Hyde (back). He finished with just six yards on four carries in the loss to the Seahawks on Sunday. Smith, who was a depth signing back in November, got to see his first taste of a regular season game Sunday. Gore (concussion) will have to undergo concussion protocols and Hyde (back) will have to see how his back holds up during practice this week, but if both were to miss Sunday's game against San Diego, then Smith would see the lion's share of carries. Even with a significant increase in touches, it would be hard to recommend Smith outside of deeper leagues.

Smith signed with the 49ers on Monday, CSN Bay Area reports. Smith will return to the team he spent most of training camp with. He will slot in as the 49ers' third running back behind Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde.

49ers signed RB Alfonso Smith. With Kendall Hunter (torn ACL) and LaMichael James (dislocated elbow) going down over the weekend, the 49ers needed some depth at running back. Smith, 27, has 48 career carries for 156 yards (3.2 YPC) and two touchdowns across 43 games for the Cardinals. He faces long odds at making the roster.

49ers signed RB Alfonso Smith. With Kendall Hunter (torn ACL) and LaMichael James (dislocated elbow) going down over the weekend, the 49ers needed some depth at running back. Smith, 27, has 48 career carried for 156 yards (3.2 YPC) and two touchdowns across 43 games for the Cardinals. He faces long odds at making the roster.

The Cardinals are not expected to tender restricted free agent Alfonso Smith. Smith opened the season as the Cardinals' No. 3 running back, but was eventually reduced to a special teams role and will likely become a free agent. Andre Ellington, Stepfan Taylor, and Ryan Williams are all set to return in 2014.

Alfonso Smith caught four passes for 30 yards in Arizona's Week 7 loss to the Seahawks. He didn't notch a carry in the running game. Third on the depth chart, Smith has just 17 total touches since Week 1. He remains off the fantasy radar.

Cardinals RB Alfonso Smith rushed three times for one yard and caught a five-yard pass in Sunday's Week 2 win over Detroit. Straight-line grinder Smith took a backseat to Andre Ellington a week after rushing ten times against the Rams, but managing only 26 yards. He's a non-factor in both real life and fantasy. Smith's strength is special teams.

Alfonso Smith played on 27 offensive snaps in Sunday's Week 1 loss to the Rams. In an effort to keep Rashard Mendenhall healthy (35 snaps), the Cardinals featured Smith as part of a committee. He played well ahead of rookies Andre Ellington (8) and Stepfan Taylor (0). A 2010 undrafted free agent out of Kentucky, Smith now has totaled 40 NFL carries for just 128 yards (3.20 YPC). He's a very weak standalone play and wouldn't carry a full workload if Mendy went down.

Backing up Rashard Mendenhall, Alfonso Smith carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards in Arizona's Week 1 loss to the Rams.

Coach Bruce Arians said Friday that Alfonso Smith would be the Cardinals' No. 2 tailback in Week 1 at St. Louis. Arians considers his backfield "rotational" and "situational," with Rashard Mendenhall as the lead back. There has been speculation Stepfan Taylor will vulture goal-line and short-yardage carries, and Ryan Williams is also in the mix. This is going to be a major headache situation for Mendenhall's fantasy owners.