Adam Snyder has said that the Arizona Cardinals should try to sign Alex Smith in the offseason.
The quarterback could leave the San Francisco 49ers after losing his starting place to Colin Kaepernick.
The Cardinals guard told reporters: "If someone asked me about him, I would tell them exactly what I thought. I think the guy's got unbelievable character, and I think he's a leader.
"He was 19-5 [in the past two seasons] and had the best QB rating in the league and was doing his job to win games, you know?
"I don't know. It was surprising to me. But, hey, they get paid to make those decisions, and that's the decision they went with."
Under Smith's current contract, he will be due $7.5m (£4.6m) if he is still on the 49ers roster in April.
The Cardinals have used four quarterbacks this season, struggling for consistency at the position.