San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith will miss the next two-to-three weeks with a separated left shoulder. Smith's short-term replacement won't be the player who replaced him when he suffered the injury in week seven. Head coach Mike Singletary has promoted Troy Smith over David Carr and said Wednesday he will be the starter for Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos in London. "Troy Smith gives us a good opportunity to win this game," Singletary said. "I talked to David Carr about it. He understands. We had a couple of conversations about it. That's a personal thing between he and I, and I'm going to leave it there. Troy Smith is our starting quarterback." Carr played most of the second half in San Fran's loss to Carolina. He completed just 5 of 13 passes for 67 yards and an interception, which directly led to the game-winning field goal for the Panthers. Troy Smith hasn't played this year and has thrown just 13 passes in the past three years. His two career starts came during his 2007 rookie season.

Fantasy Analysis:

The 2006 Heisman Trophy winner jumps over the 2002 No. 1 pick to fill in for the injured 2005 No. 1 pick. That's a lot of top pedigree, but you probably don't want any part of this QB situation. Alex Smith has been terrible for most of the year and Carr was somehow worse Sunday. Troy Smith was serviceable in his two starts but again, that was three years ago. I have no expectations for him in what seems destined to be an ugly game in London. The best news for Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis and the Niners' other receivers may be that the team has a bye in week nine, so Alex Smith could return to action by Nov. 14 versus St. Louis.