Whither Shawntae Spencer?

by Fooch on Jun 4, 2009 8:00 AM PDT in News Comment 19 comments

One guy who seems to get lost in the shuffle pretty easily is 49ers cornerback Shawntae Spencer. It's easy to see why that's happened: Since playing in 16 games his rookie season, Spencer has seen his games played number drop each season to 15, 13, 11 and finally 2 last season. He blew out his knee early on last season and that was the end of it.

The 49ers cornerback situation currently sits somewhere around questionable. I do like Dre Bly, but he did struggle last season. Our own Nate Clements was eaten alive at times, leaving us to wonder what's up with our corners. And, of course, no matter how talented you might be, if you're forced to run around all day waiting for a sack that will never come....well, that's just not going to end well.

Given the injury to Walt Harris, where will Spencer end up fitting in? I thought that heading into last year, he was destined to a career as a nickel back. Not a bad position to be in certainly. However, it's clear that he's just not #1 material. When we did the roster projections for cornerback, I actually put Spencer on the bubble. Given his salary (a nice little extension through 2012), it's reasonable to think he could have been a cap casualty.

Of course, the Walt Harris injury changed that. Bly and Tarell Brown will be battling for that second starting position. I do like Spencer, but I just don't see him emerging as a starter anymore. Throw in the fact that he probably won't be fully recovered from his ACL injury until training camp, and it makes it that much more difficult.

So, given that, what does his future look like in San Francisco? Consider both this season and long term. He's 27 years old. It's questionable where he's at on the odomoter given how often he gets nicked up. However, his salary is rather cap friendly. His base salaries are in the $3 million range each season. On the one hand, you get some solid talent cheap. On the other hand, if you decide to cut him, it really won't hurt you cap-wise.

So what do you do with Shawntae Spencer?

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Cut him i was never to impressed with him. Id rather sign Chris McCallister to a 1 year deal then keep Spencer on with that contract

by Mathews on Jun 4, 2009 8:39 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

BROWN N E ONE??

How about a trade for Eagles corner back Sheldon Brown, wut do you think his value is as far as a trade? I wouldnt mind adding a veteran, healthy corner like Brown……….

by iwillnotlose97 on Jun 4, 2009 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I will plus one that all day.

I say cut him too, with thise injuries there’s no mroe questions to ask. Go sign McCallister and Greg Ellis to 1 year deals

by 49ers4lyfe on Jun 4, 2009 8:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Reply button

use it.

Rafael Rodriguez: #8 on our list, n/a on a stat sheet.
BBk supports Sleepy's Law: "As a hoops discussion grows longer, the probability of an absurd trade proposal involving LeBron James approaches 1."

by BrianBokake on Jun 4, 2009 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's a solid nickelback when healthy. Keep him.

With all the uncertainty in the defensive secondary, why would the team jettison a good player? He hasn’t turned out to be the player we hoped for, but he’s definitely serviceable. And until we draft some replacements, we should keep him if he’s healthy. But if he misses a lot of time due to injury again this year, it should be his last – we can’t afford another JJ taking up a DB spot. I hope McCloughan is watching the waiver wire closely this year, because next year’s draft appears to be short on top CB talent. Should we have drafted Malcolm Jenkins instead of Crabtree? He appears to be impressing everyone down in NO.

by MontanaPass on Jun 4, 2009 9:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

we’ve got Clement, Brown, and Bly. why would we pay spencer that much on a multi year deal to be at best our 4th CB. Signing someone like McCallister he could at best our #2. Hes big and has experience and those r things we need to take on Fitz and Boldin. even if we dont sign him i think we could find someone to be our #4 and pay him alot less money

by Mathews on Jun 4, 2009 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

dont want to raid on the parade

mcallister has only played 14 games the last 2 years. 8 in ’07 and 6 last year. he has lost alot of his speed.

if we are going to gamble on a vet coming off an injuy id get mike mckenzie. he too has been injured but played in 15 games in ’07 and 7 last year before tearing his knee.

im gonna be all up on you like a spider monkey!

by remembering9ergods on Jun 4, 2009 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

In a word, injuries.

Players get nicked up all the time, and that’s why good backups are necessary. Besides that, though, there is a requirement for more DBs to play the dime, and even quarter, defenses. As a general rule, teams rarely have enough serviceable DBs to meet their needs over a season, so if a player like Spencer is on your team, it’s a good idea to keep him around until a replacement is signed. Nobody knows how Bly or Brown is going to perform this year, either – Brown is unproven and Bly may be a little short and slow for this division. Another good reason to keep Spencer around.

by MontanaPass on Jun 5, 2009 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"why would we pay spencer that much..."

because we can afford to.

I take full responsibility for my irresponsibility.

by these3words on Jun 5, 2009 7:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Contract

I think it’s still early enough in the contract where cutting him won’t really help the team at all, especially considering the lack of depth as it is. I don’t know about Marcus Hudson just being handed the 4th CB job.

If the only reason for cutting Spencer is that he isn’t playing up to his salary, he has probably one more year of wiggle room. If he flat out sucks and Hudson beats him out, then maybe he gets cut. I don’t see that happening, though.

by sfgfan on Jun 4, 2009 9:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You have to see how he plays. It’s necessary to have quality backups in football, especially guys who know your system, and is familiar with the players…. especially since we are already down Walt Harris.

What is the Niners cap at? Don’t they still have room under the cap to sign a guy? If they do, then the money essentially goes into the owners pockets if we were to just cut Spencer, and we are left down a serviceable corner that we can use in case of injury. You can always cut him next off-season.

That being said, it’s REALLY hard for a guy to come back and play well after an ACL issue like this. Maybe a QB like Tom Brady can do it, but guys that need the speed at Receiver and Cornerback, it’s awefully hard to come back…. especially the season right after the surgery… so if they cut him, you’re not losing much… just make sure you have guys that are already here to replace him.

by aBulldog on Jun 4, 2009 10:12 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

If they do, then the money essentially goes into the owners pockets if we were to just cut Spencer

That’s not necessarily true. There’s a loophole in the CBA where a team can allot performance incentives to a player and the money for those incentives count on this year’s cap. However, if the player doesn’t reach those performance milestones, the money gets returned to the team in the form of salary cap space for the next year. The 49ers have done this in at least each of the last two years (maybe even before that).

Of course, with the CBA about to expire and a potentially uncapped year coming, who knows if the 49ers will feel they even need to beef up their cap space.

by sfgfan on Jun 4, 2009 10:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

good points

by aBulldog on Jun 4, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tough road for Spencer

I am going to guess that the Fans, Saying to “Cut Him” are looking into their crystal balls and tring to predict how Training / Preseason, will go. Do you really think they should cut loose Spencer now? Considering the teams present depth at the position, We can’t afford to let any DB’s go. CB’s and Safeties are the most valuable players for Punt and Kickoff coverage teams. They can fly fly the field and most important MAKE TACKLES. Keep as many who can contribute. If the preseason games shows he can’t cover. Then maybe it’s time cut him loose , or let him sit out the year and get healthy for next season. I thought the team had plenty of cap room. We still have to Crabs and Coffee right ?

by hc on Jun 4, 2009 11:06 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

depth

keep him

Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis

by wjackalope on Jun 4, 2009 12:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Brown N e One?

How about a trade for Eagles corner back Sheldon Brown, wut do you think his value is as far as a trade? I wouldnt mind adding a veteran, healthy corner like Brown……….

by iwillnotlose97 on Jun 4, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

keep him for the year, then trade hime for a 6th round draft pick

by dalien82 on Jun 4, 2009 2:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

the secocndary

Our secondary is weak along with a suspect pass rush at best. that’s why the niners will probably end up missing the playoffs. They should probably keep spencer for now for if nothing else for depth, unless one of the college free agents shows major potential and I don’t think that’s too likely.

by bmcrae83@yahoo.com on Jun 4, 2009 6:15 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs