Niners’ Lelie out of sight, out of mind

By Danny Dabiri  |   Monday, June 18, 2007  |  Comments( 16 )

San Francisco 49ers
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The 49ers made several additions in the offseason to improve the team, one of which being the signing of wide receiver Ashley Lelie to a two year, $4.3 million contract. San Francisco made the decision in an effort to add speed and big-play capability on the outside.

Lelie's brief stint in San Francisco has been clouded by injury, however. He strained his right quadriceps muscle on the first day of May minicamp in a non-contact drill. When the 49ers' OTAs began on June 4, the 2002 first-round pick returned to the field only to immediately aggravate the injury.

Lelie's inability to stay on the field without hurting himself has left head coach Mike Nolan skeptical and indifferent about his free-agent acquisition's prospects for the season.

"I really haven't thought about him that much," said Nolan to Dennis Georgatos of InsideTheBayArea.com. "The guys that have been practicing, even the guys that are new and may be a long shot, at least you think about them a little bit. But when the guy hasn't set foot on the field, it's out of sight, out of mind, from my standpoint."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement from your new head coach.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Lelie expects to be ready when the team opens training camp on July 29. He has downplayed his current situation, explaining that he rushed his return to OTAs.

"I think I might have come back a little too early. I don't want to make that same mistake. I want to make sure I can go full speed," said the California native and former University of Hawaii star to Georgatos.

Speed is critical to Lelie's performance. As a member of the Denver Broncos, he led the league in yards per catch in 2004 and 2005. However, the 27-year-old's fragility should be a cause for concern for the both the 49ers' organization and fans alike.

It would not come as a shock if he sustains another injury before the month of August, and one thing is clear: Until Lelie steps on the field and stays there, he is nothing more than an afterthought in the eyes of his head coach.

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CommentsComments: 16  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
mike		03:22 AM
06/18/2007
We appreciate the articles guys..but this one's sort of old news. Don't like the negativity saying it wouldn't be shocking if he...
No.2
lou		08:17 AM
06/18/2007
The wide reciever position might be the most interesting one as far as speculation goes on the offense. We pretty much know how...
No.3
Mad Mardigan		11:35 AM
06/18/2007
It's a little disheartening to see that the position we needed the most help with on the off-season, is still the most...
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