Depth could soon make 49ers’ Smiley expendable

By Danny Dabiri  |   Thursday, June 28, 2007  |  Comments( 18 )

 San Francisco 49ers
Heading into the final season of a four-year contract, San Francisco 49ers right guard Justin Smiley, a second-round pick in the 2004 draft, will likely be playing his final campaign by the Bay. The 6-foot-3, 301-pound lineman from the University of Alabama is due $510,000 this year. That's quite a bargain for a player who has started all 16...
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CommentsComments: 18
 No.1
Ryan		 10:33 AM
06/28/2007
Trade options: I say trade Smiley and our second 2008 draft pick for either Tampa Bay, Miami, or Tennessee's top pick next year. They're not giving up too much to get Smiley and we're betting that they suck enough to give us a top 10 pick when the year is said and done. We need to bet against some of these crappy teams. Unless something happens to Manning early on, the pick we got from the Colts ain't gonna be that good...
 No.2
VaNiner		 11:06 AM
06/28/2007
I think that both sides can be reasonable in resigning Justin Smiley. First, the smoke about him not fitting into the Warhop system is "smoke". Second, pay Smiley what he's worth. It may not be the guarenteed money that Dockery, Davis, and Stienbach received. Those guys are over paid. But, McCloughan and company should and can devise a creative contract structure with some up-front money that should make it worthwhile for Smiley to sign. A combination of signing and roster bonus could work and performance bonus could work for both sides. Third, do not over estimate our line depth. You cannot have enough quality o-line men. So, while Bass and Snyder look good, look also to losing Larry Allen and Kwame Harris in the near future. That affects depth and continuity.
Seems to me Smiley is worth keeping.
 No.3
ShadyRaider		 11:48 AM
06/28/2007
Pay him with what??? The whiners are f'ed for years with the clements deal, back-end or not it is a huge chunk of their "retaining" funds for players they have now. Not that there is very many worth keeping, but....
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