Tag: 49ers rumors (Page 2 of 2)

      Crabtree might not sign until September

      August 12, 2009 /

      According to a report by the San Jose Mercury News, 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree might not sign a contract until September at the earliest.

      The key: (Eugene) Parker doesn’t want to budge, well, at least until September, on his demands for a slot-busting deal that would get Crabtree something close to one of the biggest guarantees among the rookie deals of ‘09, despite his being drafted 10th.

      Parker’s reputation, for now and in recruiting for future No. 1 picks, is at stake.

      The bigger key: The 49ers aren’t budging either, well, at least until September, on their insistence that Crabtree’s deal remain generally in line with his No. 10 slot and beneath the guarantees of the deals for the players selected ahead of him.

      The 49ers’ desire to be an unbully-able team is at stake.

      The largest key: Crabtree’s absence might be jeopardizing his ability to produce right away, but he’s not jeopardizing any serious money until the week of Sept. 13–that first game check.

      This is ridiculous on the part of Crabtree’s agent, who is trying to get his client a better deal than what his draft slot would garner. It doesn’t matter that the consensus was that Crabtree should have been taken in the top 5 because he wasn’t – he was taken with the 10th overall pick and thus should be paid like a 10th overall pick.

      I side with the 49ers in this situation. They shouldn’t have to pay a player based on what draft slot his agent felt his client should have been taken in. While it would be incredibly frustrating not to have their first round pick contribute for an entire season, the Niners can’t give into Parker’s demands because then every agent will try to get his client a more lucrative contract than what the player’s draft slot is worth.

      The NFL rookie salary structure is already messed up as it is. If Crabtree (again, the No. 10 pick) gets paid like a 2nd or 3rd overall pick, then the situation will provide further proof that the league has to change how its rookie salary structure is set up.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Niners’ Gore calls out teammate Davis

      August 10, 2009 /

      49ers running back Frank Gore is getting a little tired of tight end Vernon Davis’ immaturity.

      From the San Jose Mercury News:

      “It’s his fourth year now. Now it’s time,” Gore said.

      The 49ers running back spoke to reporters a day after Davis said some teammates were upset by his latest training-camp fight. Coach Mike Singletary punished the entire team after Davis’ scuffle by making players run sideline-to-sideline sprints. Gore was among those unamused.

      “I wasn’t mad about having to run gassers,” he said. “I just feel it’s his fourth year now, and I told him it shouldn’t be him now. Everybody makes mistakes but it shouldn’t be him. OK, a rookie? I accept that.”

      In three years, Davis has recorded 103 receptions for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns. Those numbers might be suitable for a tight end that is the third passing option in an offense, but not one that was supposed to emerge as the next great tight end after being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft.

      Davis is only 25, so there’s still time for him to turn his career around. But as Gore indicated in his comments, Davis needs to show more maturity as he enters his fourth season. He seems to be at a crossroads in his career, where he either starts living up to some of the hype that surrounded him when he was drafted, or head down bustville like so many top 10 picks that came before him.

      NFL

      Michael Crabtree to re-enter draft?

      August 6, 2009 /

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the cousin and adviser (whatever that entails) of Michael Crabtree states that the rookie wideout is prepared to sit out the entire 2009 season and re-enter the NFL draft in 2010 if he doesn’t get fair market value in terms of his contract.

      “We are prepared to do it,” Wells said. “Michael just wants fair-market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey [the seventh overall pick by the Oakland Raiders] getting $38 million? This week is crucial. Michael was one of the best players in the draft and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players. This week is very crucial.”

      Crabtree’s agent, Eugene Parker, says that no such threat has been made, although he also says that the 49ers’ initial contract offer is not acceptable. Profootballtalk.com suggests that Parker had promised Crabtree that he would be drafted in the top three and now is trying to get the rookie top three money, although that hasn’t been proven.

      I highly doubt that Crabtree will sit the entire 2009 season if he doesn’t receive the contract that he and his agent wants. Besides, it wouldn’t be in his best interest to do that, seeing as how teams picking at the top of the draft next year would likely stay away from him knowing that he was out of football for a year and would be a hassle to sign.

      I’m assuming that San Fran will have to get close to the number that the Raiders gave Heyward-Bey, although I don’t blame the Niners if they feel that they don’t have to match that number considering Heyward-Bey was taken three spots ahead of Crabtree in the draft. Considering the rookie salary structure is already screwed up, teams shouldn’t have to pay players for the draft slot that their agents felt they should have been taken in.

      NFL

      Should 49ers be worried about Crabtree holding out?

      July 26, 2009 /

      According to 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco, the 49ers could have trouble signing first round pick Michael Crabtree in time for the start of training camp.

      If history tells us anything it’s that Crabtree’s agent, Eugene Parker, does not mind engaging in holdout tactics. (Technically, an unsigned rookie is not a “holdout” because no contract has been agreed upon. I’ll try my best to refrain from calling it a holdout. Rather, it’s a contract stalemate.)

      At least four of Parker’s clients had contract issues last season. Bills tackle Jason Peters skipped 43 days and missed the season opener. Rams running back Steven Jackson held out for 27 days before signing a new contract. Bears return man Devin Hester did not report for the first two days of camp before signing a new deal. And Cardinals rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie missed two practices before signing his contract.

      Yes, the 49ers have been successful in getting their draft picks signed on time in recent years. But the agents deserve some credit, too.

      The 49ers – and every team in the NFL – believe that a player’s rookie contract is essentially predetermined by where he was selected in the draft. As the No. 10 overall pick, Crabtree should receive less than the No. 9 pick and a little more than No. 11.

      I don’t believe the 49ers would buy the suggestion that Crabtree deserves more money because a lot of outsiders thought he should have been selected sooner in the draft and he was generally regarded as a better prospect than receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, whom the Raiders selected with the seventh pick.

      As Maiocco indicates in the article, there’s still a ton of time and more importantly, only four first round picks have signed (Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez, Alex Mack and “Ziggy” Hood) up to this point, which indicates that it isn’t out of the norm that the Niners haven’t signed Crabtree yet. It might take the Packers signing B.J. Raji (who was selected a pick ahead of Crabtree) or the Bills signing Aaron Maybin (who was selected a pick behind Crabtree) before the 49ers are able to work out a deal with Crabtree.

      Either way, panic shouldn’t be setting in San Fran just yet.

      NFL

      Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑