After suggesting earlier in the season that he’d likely play out the final year of his rookie contract without a new extension in place, Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins confirmed as much this week, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. As Jenkins explains, once the team’s bye week passed without an agreement, he made the decision to shelve contract discussions.
“They knew what was going on,” Jenkins said. “I told them anything after the bye week, I ain’t listening, I don’t want to hear it. I want to focus on football. The bye week is gone, so I just want to play football.”
As Jenkins continues to improve his free agent stock with an impressive season, let’s check out a few more notes from around the NFL’s West divisions….
- Following up on an earlier report about a heated players-only meeting, Kyle McLorg of BayAreaSportsGuy.com identified 49ers tight end Vernon Davis as the player who called out quarterback Colin Kaepernick during that meeting, while offensive tackle Joe Staley stepped up to defend the QB.
- The 49ers have failed Kaepernick more than he has failed the team, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, who points out that other teams have performed well despite getting subpar quarterback play. Barrows also notes that the Niners haven’t made good on the promise they made to Kaepernick when he signed his deal, about using their cap flexibility to lock up key players to extensions.
- The Chargers took a look at a pair of free agent safeties this week, working out former Giants safety Stevie Brown, along with Brandian Ross, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
- Speaking to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com, NFL executive Eric Grubman confirmed that the league feels the city of San Diego has made some progress on a stadium proposal. Whether or not that progress is enough to save the Chargers remains to be seen — as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets, the league’s Los Angeles committee will meet on November 11-12 in New York to discuss relocation, and we’re moving closer and closer to possible resolution.
In the 49ers’ defense, it’s not like much could have been expected in terms of attempting to match the Harbaugh years with what they lost, much of it unexpectedly, this offseason. But the potentially toxic environment in that locker room could have induced some of the retirees to step out early. Either way, an already-inconsistent quarterback was entering a no-win situation this year, and it’s playing out.