In an Instagram post earlier this week, Frank Gore publicly expressed some doubt about how invested the 49ers are in re-signing him this winter. According to Niners GM Trent Baalke, that prompted him to reach out to the veteran running back to reiterate the team’s position, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes.
“That’s why we talked. That’s the exact (reason),” Baalke said. “We reached out. He reached out back. He wasn’t expecting it to take legs like it did. Nor were we. He didn’t have any intentions by it and he made that very clear in our conversations. … It’s at the same place it was the last time we talked. We’re still working on it. It’s not something that’s going to get done yesterday. It’ll take some time to resolve. It’s our intention to have Frank back.”
While we wait to see what Gore’s future holds, here’s more from around the NFC West:
- Baalke also said today that he plans to meet with Michael Crabtree‘s agent this week in Indianapolis, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). The 49ers wideout is eligible for free agency next month.
- Speaking today to reporters in Indy, including Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link), Cardinals GM Steve Keim said he doesn’t want to get into specifics, but the team intends to talk to Darnell Dockett about his contract. Dockett, who missed the entire 2014 campaign with a knee injury, is on the books for a 2015 cap hit of $9.8MM, a figure the club may want to reduce.
- Keim also today that he expects some of the Cardinals‘ free agents, such as Antonio Cromartie, to test the open market, though that doesn’t rule out the possibility of them re-signing with Arizona (Twitter link via Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com).
- While a full breakdown of Larry Fitzgerald‘s new contract with the Cardinals isn’t out there yet, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap takes a stab at determining what it will look like.
- A Seahawks player tells Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that he thinks it’s 50/50 as to whether Marshawn Lynch continues his career or decides to retire. “Marshawn is a different kind of guy,” the player said. “He could retire tomorrow, walk away and not think twice about it.”
- With Lynch’s future up in the air, Terry Blount of ESPN.com identifies three running backs that may be on the Seahawks‘ radar during this week’s combine and during the draft this spring.