2012 NFL Free Agents: Will Joshua Morgan Be A Prized Possibility?
by David Fucillo on Feb 13, 2012 5:00 PM PST
in 2012 49ers Free Agents
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PrintThe folks at National Football Post put together a post yesterday with a rundown of all sorts of news and rumors through the weekend. One name popped up that will interest 49ers fans (thanks to Young_To_Rice for the FanShot):
An under the radar player who is expected to be a very hot free agent is 49ers receiver Joshua Morgan. Teams are buzzing about the possibility of acquiring Morgan, who is considered a very good talent who should be available at a lesser price than the receivers on the top rung. The 49ers have been enthralled with Morgan for four years, but he never really had a breakout because of health issues and offensive ineptitude in previous seasons. A broken leg limited him to five games in 2011. But front office men see Morgan as someone with decent size, speed, toughness and playmaking ability.
Whatever you think of the 49ers offensive ineptitude (plenty of discussion has been had on that issue for several years now), the most interesting angle on this is the idea that Morgan could come at a decent discount. Of course, given how the market can work, if several teams are thinking he's a very good talent that could be had for cheap, that would seem to push his price up a bit.
It sounds like Morgan will be waiting until free agency opens before coming to terms on any sort of deal. His injury stunted what was developing into a potentially solid 2011 season. It makes sense that he would wait to see what the market dictates before coming to terms on a new deal. I would imagine it can only go up with some added interest, but we'll have to wait and see.
Where do you see Morgan fitting into the 49ers offense if he does return next year? This isn't a general how will the offense do post, but rather, what role do you think he fits in the offense based on his skill set?
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Coming off injury and 5 games of good play, may have had a breakout year but we only have five games to look at
by KGboomer on Feb 13, 2012 5:12 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions
to clarify
I meant he may have had a breakout year IF he didn’t get injured
by KGboomer on Feb 13, 2012 5:13 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
You also have his other 3 years in the league to look at.
He averaged 16 yards per reception his rookie year and 15.9 last year, along with 700 yards.
His numbers were by far the best on the Niners prorated
15 catches on 19 targets for over 14 YPC
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 6:52 PM PST up reply actions
Sign Him
When Harbaugh said that players have equity in this team, he meant our FA’s. I would tell them that they should try to come back, if the team wants them. The 49ers are at the dawn of what could be, at minimum, a number of years of season ending playoffs. Nows the time to reap the rewards of the previous years of drudgery.
Morgan is faster than Crabs, gets open more often, catches passes better on slants and crosses, and can get free and gain yards. To the extent that the cap can handle it, the 49ers would be well advised to sign him. No other receiver except Vernon has the intuitive connection with Alex that Morgan has.
Agreed.
Our redzone issues and WR worries are not completely solved but take a big step in the right direction with the resigning of Morgan. If anybody has had a pair of eyeballs in their head for the past 3 years you already know that Morgan has been Alex’s go-to receiver. Our offence took a huge hit when Morgan lost his season. He is our redzone threat. resign him!
It's about the team, the team, and the TEAM!
I've never been more happy with a #2 WR
The fact that he was drafted so low and has been fairly solid, I would love to have him back and I think he is the one free agent WR that we HAVE to sign. Plus, he’s just a good guy and good teammate. I’d like to have him to push Crab for the #1 spot. I don’t think we have any chance of getting a true #1 this year and so it has to be, across the board, complete competition at WR. Add to that his chemistry with Alex and his knowledge of the playbook, I’ll be pissed if he isn’t a 49er this year!
On a side note, this is my first time posting since the game. I had a really hard time even thinking about football after the game, let alone commenting about it. Feels good to be back though.
by agchee on Feb 13, 2012 5:53 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I think had he not been injured he would have been our #1 3rd down option...
He might have caught less balls than Craptree overall but he would have been our real #1 option all the same
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 6:53 PM PST up reply actions
Next year with luck our roster will have Craptree as our #3
Stevie Johnson, Josh Morgan, MC
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 6:54 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Me Gusta.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us"
Grow up a little bit. Why do you verbally abuse players on the team you root for?
by SanFranciscoKnights on Feb 13, 2012 10:31 PM PST up reply actions
I avoided it till Crabtree threw a tantrum after the playoff game when every other player on the team stuck together.
He will now henceforth, (and likely forever), be known as Craptree to me.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 11:06 PM PST up reply actions
and alex smith will be in miami
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Feb 14, 2012 12:48 AM PST up reply actions
You can always dream right?
But sorry. Harbaugh and the organization are in lockstep. Alex is their guy. They’ve hardly put the same backing behind Craptree
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 12:54 AM PST up reply actions
crabtree; because he does not need the mental support. he just needs a qb.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Feb 14, 2012 12:55 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Not Unless This Average WR Comes Cheap....
You can succeed with an average QB, you can succeed with an average WR, but you CANT succeed with both. At some point, the 49ers must sign a playmaker.
Agent Dunham....Walternate testified that in his universe, AleX Smith is a pro-bowl QB for the Saints, and broke Trent Dilfer's season record of 6000 yards passing. Walter....Thats nice, more LSD please.
Ask Arizona if you can succeed with a top WR and an average QB
by asmithisaverage on Feb 13, 2012 5:56 PM PST up reply actions
Did Fitzgerald Make The Pro-Bowl Catching A Cold?
Agent Dunham....Walternate testified that in his universe, AleX Smith is a pro-bowl QB for the Saints, and broke Trent Dilfer's season record of 6000 yards passing. Walter....Thats nice, more LSD please.
Josh Morgan will prove the cause of our offensive ineptitude if he gets signed to a team like...
Saints, Pats, Chargers, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh… meanwhile we will over pay for a top wr who ends up under producing.
by asmithisaverage on Feb 13, 2012 5:56 PM PST reply actions
He didn't have much problem with Alex
15 catches on 19 targets at over 14 YPC. You adjust for Kenny Britt’s 1 really long TD and they are very similar. Crabtree just sucks yo.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 6:56 PM PST up reply actions
He'll get taken care of by the F.O in due time
it’s all ‘much ado about nothing’ really. When a 14-4, championship game team wants to re-sign you, as has publicly stated as much, the decision becomes easy.
It was a wild ride for us with WRs last season ...
WR Roster for Game One: #1 Edwards, #2 Crabtree, #3 Morgan, #4 Ginn and #5 Williams.
WR Roster for Game Eighteen: #1 Crabtree, #2 Williams, #3 Swain and #4 Ginn (unable to play).
So, what should we do at WR during this off-season? Here are my opinions:
1. Re-sign both Joshua Morgan and Ted Ginn (assuming that they want reasonable money; else, they’re gone).
2. Sign unrestricted free agent WR Dwayne Bowe (Kansas City) … ideally for 3-4 years at reasonable (i.e., NOT VJ-level pay) money.
3. Draft Stephen Hill (Georgia Tech) 6’5" 206# 4.57 in the 2nd round of the April draft.
Thus, my resulting WR Roster for 2012: #1 Bowe, #2 Crabtree, #3 Morgan, #4 Hill, #5 Williams and #6 Ginn (but primarily as a KR/PR). This group would give us one of the strongest WR corps in the NFL and give Harbs/GRo/Alex no excuse for not throwing the ball outside … in ADDITION TO the TEs and power running game.
by 49erFanSince1950 on Feb 13, 2012 6:12 PM PST reply actions
WHY THE F(******* DO YOU PEOPLE KEEP SAYING SIGN BOWE CHEAP1?>@#$#!4!#?4
ITS NOT GOING TO ******* HAPPEN!!!! o HE WANTS 5 YEARS 45 MILLUION MINIMUM REIAIJGLOKADJGKLSDJGOKISDJGLKFDMBGOXDNGION
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 6:57 PM PST up reply actions
lol
because they don’t know how the NFL works.
by asmithisaverage on Feb 13, 2012 8:29 PM PST up reply actions
THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING CONCLUSION ...
We could take the combined business experience of you two know-it-all young guys and it wouldn’t fill a thimble. How is it that you believe that you have any idea how a real business (and pro football is nothing more than a business) operates at the executive level?
by 49erFanSince1950 on Feb 14, 2012 2:07 PM PST up reply actions
Well considering Dwayne Bowe isn't an executive your argument doesn't even make sense.
But lets call him what he is. An independent contractor that gets whatever the market will pay him. He believes he’s worth a minimum of 5 years 45 million dollars with a discount to not have to leave KC, this is not an uneducated opinion as he has a very . He’s gone on record and said as much. If you were nearly as on top of it as you think you’d have read that in any of the other 10 or 15 posts where it’s been said repeatedly. If he hits the open market and starts a bidding war between teams that need a top 5-10 receiver in the NFL then his money will be closer to 10 million a year.
By the way… Do you think Roger Goodell should be getting 20 million per? I certainly do. Because I understand how executives are paid.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 4:38 PM PST up reply actions
My God man, this response is just absolutely laughable! You have no clue! I'll just leave it at that.
by 49erFanSince1950 on Feb 14, 2012 5:45 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Says the guy that refuses to accept we aren't going to get DB or VJ for pennies on the dollar
Go back to your fantasy land.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
LOL I have the same reaction every time everyone expects big name FA's to come cheap
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us"
The real point here is that you don't KNOW until you try!
Did anyone expect that we could sign Whitner, Rogers, Goldson and Edwards this year?
I am ALWAYS in favor of giving it a try … because you don’t EVER really know what factors are most important to people until you get into discussions. For example, my guess is that Dwayne Bowe would consider taking less money to be the #1 WR with team likely to participate in the playoffs for the rest of his career, having the opportunity to make performance bonuses and playoff pay, than taking more guaranteed money from a team (Kansas City) which won’t see the playoffs for a least five years. These are people, not machines … regardless of what the clowns think.
by 49erFanSince1950 on Feb 14, 2012 2:15 PM PST up reply actions
Whitner, Rogers, Goldson and Edwards were not top free agents like Bowe is
Rogers attracted the most attention of any of them. And he is the CB equivalent of us going after Stevie Johnson. Bowe is equivalent to Johnathan Joseph who signed a 5 year 47.5 Million contract with 23.5 million guaranteed.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 4:49 PM PST up reply actions
But if it will make the team better
they should at least consider trying to make it work. I’ll be scratching my head if they didn’t at least make either VJ or Bowe a reasonable offer.
no to bowe.
having seen the way baalke conducted himself during the FA period before the season started, we may be able to safely assume that top-line free agent ‘media-hype-will-over inflate-my-value’ players are off our radar. And wisely so….
Ok hats off to what Baalke did last offseason
It worked out for the most part and it would’ve been a homerun had Braylon stayed healthy, BUT at some point, you gotta believe the 49ers will and should open up the wallet for a big name guy, especially if they believe he’s the single missing piece to get them the Super Bowl.
why?
Who was the big name free agent the Giants got? The hype guys never come through. The closest example is injured Drew Brees that no one made a serious offer for. build your system build your talent. Chasing big name is what losers do (eagles and Redskins for example)
by mcwagner on Feb 13, 2012 11:04 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
While I hope to god that the 49ers can a find gem like Cruz
but how many guys like him are around. I don’t think the Giants even make the playoffs without Victor Cruz. Hype guys never come through? I don’t know about that. I don’t think we’d have that fifth championship had we not signed Deion.
Yes, we remember
We also remember the free agent signing spree that dropped this team into salary cap hell and resulted in one of the darkest DECADES of 49er football.
Every time Jamie Dukes says something enlightening and informative about football Jerry Rice and I mount up on our flying grizzly bears and claim pirate treasure from the moon. That's how often it happens.
Deion was the last Free Agent to take a massive pay cut to go somewhere to win a title
We got him on a 1 year 1 million dollar deal. Then he signed a big money deal the next year and left.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 4:51 PM PST up reply actions
Considering we had Swain and Hastings suit up for us at the end there
We need all the good WR depth we can handle
extrabaggs
"Just your typical Giants scoring rally: A faceburger on the basepaths, two errors from the second baseman and a bases-loaded balk."
Josh was just hitting his stride before his injury....
I would hate to lose him now.
Josh is just hitting his prime.
Josh compared to Crabtree...
Josh is a more physical blocker than Crabtree
Josh has a 14.7 YPG average / Crabtree 12.1
Josh has better chemistry with Alex than Crabtree
Frankly, one could ask if Josh is more important than Crabtree.
Morgan is hands down our best current WR
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us"
at the beginning of the season...
he was playing as our best WR. The chemistry that alex and morgan have CANNOT be underestimated. morgan is talented and will only get better. If we lose morgan our depth takes a very hard hit, which would make drafting a WR more of a priority (which i think it should be anyway).
I honestly still think we take a long hard look at desean jackson, what he could give the niners outweighs any character issues he may have, especially with the strong locker room.
It cant be overestimated.
An offseason with a general mutual understanding of the offense is all it takes. Kaepernick made a wicked throw on the play Morgan was hurt on. This offense is based on precision, more than timing, its not a complex passing offense, with built in hot routes.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
it would seem that the built-in hot routes
were put in place to speed up the installation for the offense and reduce some of the possible
turnover problems that could occur when a new offense isn’t allowed the time to implement itself the way it’d like to.Reducing the guessing game for alex while he learnt yet another offense is tremendous recognition of where the team was at along the installation timeline. It seems only a seasonal approach to me, specific for the one now behind now us. Time will tell.
I am positive that is why they were installed, but, id the offense is to bwvome more complex, why trust this tandem with the execution?
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
Yes, I hope the built-ins go away
Because quite frankly it’s not that hard to use a sight read and you don’t risk your “hot” being covered and your QB having nowhere to go with the ball. The inside receivers make the blitz read and break their route to the void left behind and look to the QB. If you see the backers dropping, you run your route. If you see open space where a linebacker should be, you sit down in it.
Every time Jamie Dukes says something enlightening and informative about football Jerry Rice and I mount up on our flying grizzly bears and claim pirate treasure from the moon. That's how often it happens.
You need to have WRs that care enough about their craft to learn that. Our #1 apparently doesn't have that in him.
Morgan on the other hand seemed pretty good at it. Hope we get him back.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 4:52 PM PST up reply actions
would he be willing to come back?
Players who are around his age are probably reaching their peak soon and I’m sure he would want to play elsewhere that would give him more playing time.
"Winning means being unafraid to lose." – Fran Tarkenton
Morgan's playstyle isn't based around athleticism
He will continue to get better for a couple more years.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 7:26 PM PST up reply actions
Yeh but he is deceptively fast too
I remember that play against the Eagles he outran 3 defenders that seemed to have pretty good angles on him
For the record, Morgan is not better than Crabtree. However, Morgan has never taken a shot at Alex and Crabtree has, so if you ask me, if we go forward with alex, which the team is, move Craptree!!
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
that's a pretty weak shot
if Alex is seriously offended by that then he needs to go and toughen up. Crabtree just wants to get opportunities and make a play. You know, live up to that contract. If Crabtree is better than Morgan, and has shown to be a team guy, why would you move him?
Thats not the only shot, but he is the only one taking any.
I mean if Craptree is not getting open why keep him and pay him more than Justin Smith? So its either Smith is hesitant to make a mistake throwing to him, or Smith is not wrsng him open. Either way, that connection should not fold in big games, especially since Davis gets more attention. Something has to give.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
Weren't you on the Crabtree train last week?
by SanFranciscoKnights on Feb 13, 2012 10:33 PM PST up reply actions
On it or not. Lott is a realist. I disagree with him about how good Alex is but he is realistic in most things
And Alex is coming back that is obvious. Nobody is changing it. Crabtree has been a friggin child since coming here and is the only one that has had the slightest me first attitude and wanted to throw a tantrum when he didn’t get the ball. (Because he drops it and he was tightly covered.)
Unless he changes he has to go.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 11:17 PM PST up reply actions
He didn't show up in the playoffs but
he was producing well at the end of the regular season. And as far as I’ve seen and heard, he’s been a good teammate all year.
I think Craps is obviously more athletically gifted.
But he doesn’t have the selfless attitude to focus on the betterment of the team like Morgan does. Morgan earned his place by being a great blocker and has slowly through hard work developed into a good receiver. He puts in the time. Something Mike isn’t interested in doing. Mike just wants to cry when he can’t get open and Alex doesn’t trust him to catch the ball with a man draped on him.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 11:14 PM PST up reply actions
great blocker
Well, the coaching staff has specifically pointed to Crabtree’s blocking. What basis is there that he isn’t looking for the betterment of the team?
by David Fucillo on Feb 14, 2012 6:21 PM PST up reply actions
Milking injury instead of practicing. Quitting on routes when he's not initially open. Being the only guy that decides to take a mememe attitude after the Giants game
And his hold out (even if it was originally Mean Eugene’s idea)
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 14, 2012 7:52 PM PST up reply actions
injuries
Aside from the shoving with Vernon Davis two years ago, what makes you think he’s “milking” injuries? His foot issues are not something new after all.
by David Fucillo on Feb 14, 2012 8:00 PM PST up reply actions
The foot issues I believe entirely.
The dispute with VD I think its pretty clear he was faking. VD has never called anyone out before or after. Sing took VD’s side also.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 15, 2012 2:12 AM PST up reply actions
Moss can run a sub 4.40 says himself
Anyone think moss is worth rolling the dice on?
No what would happen is we will pass on moss n he will go 2 arizona n beat us for
a touchdown twice a year kind of like he does dallas 4 passing on him in the draft.Idk know if we will kick the tires on randy we need a young WR.But lets say in his work-out he runs a 4.45 then it will be to late you would have 7 or 8 teams falling over each other 2 get him n if any of those teams are NE then game-over he’s taking less n bouncing back 2 boston period!!!!
by Jayubb415rebirth on Feb 13, 2012 10:28 PM PST up reply actions
If he runs a 4.45 he is far slower than he used to be and not worth a pick even for his physical upside
He was a 4.25-4.28 kinda guy
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 11:21 PM PST up reply actions
I think the time is now
if he can produce for 2 or even just 1 year then yeah. This team is not in rebuilding mode. This team was 2 fielded punts from the Super Bowl. So if he’s willing to come cheap then I’d roll the dice on him. The decision gets a little harder if we have to give up Morgan but I still would.
Dear god no.
04, 05, 06 and 2010 is who Randy Moss is.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Feb 13, 2012 11:19 PM PST up reply actions
Resign Joshua, sign Manningham if the SB didn’t make his price go up & then draft a WR in the 2nd-4th rd & we’re good…
by HAZAD365 on Feb 13, 2012 9:24 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I've always like Morgan
I recall a time playing madden with my friend and striking fear fear into his eyes using morgan starting off with a kick off return for a td with morgan. We used to call him the infamous jashua morgan… And ever since he started tearing it up with splash plays for us. Believe me I was extremly disappointed when he went out. And I too feel that we were a joshua morgan away from the super bowl. Btw I felt williams as a liability entering the game without ginn. But that was then this is now and I say keep the guy.
by Zintzun22niner on Feb 13, 2012 10:40 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Swain is best reciever in the NFL on my Madden
Does that mean he should be the #1? lol jk
Just heard on SportsCentre
The Eagles are planning on franchising D.Jackson. I didn’t want him in San Fran anyways, so that’ll take a name off the list of FA options at least.
Re-sign Morgan for sure....
We have not been an incredibly pass heavy offense and he can still turn out 700 yard seasons as the #2? Seems like a no brainer to me. People seem to forget that we are not the Packers or Saints or Patriots; having that big time receiver might seem nice, but I’ll take one who can catch the ball reliably and methodically move the chains all day. That is Joshua Morgan.
After that we can draft a guy with measurables to be a #1 but needs some polish. Give him some time and hopefully he steps into the #1 role.
what's the fa field @ wr looking like for 2013?
because if we re-sign Morgan…along with every1 else we want back, I’d rather we wait for when we have monster cap room to go after a top-tier receiver then…
Here is bottom line... is team better off with Morgan here, or Crabtree?
say if you could only pick one, Morgan or Crabtree, and why?
Morgan, but only if Crabtree is moved, although it may cost too much to dump his ass.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
Sign Stevie Johnson, Reggie Wayne, re-sign Morgan
Imagine a line up with those 3 plus Crabtree, Vernon creating havoc and mismatches all over the field. Not saying they’d all be in at the same time but that would solidify the WR position. Quality, quantity and affordable.
Morgan will be a solid number 2 / 3 wide receiver in that line up.
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