The San Francisco wrapped up the first day of free agency with a much busier 24 hours than we saw in 2011. The 49ers preached patience in 2011 because of a saturated market and it paid off for them. This year, the 49ers were quite active on day one and the day before as they signed Randy Moss and Perrish Cox and re-signed Carlos Rogers and Tavares Gooden. It wasn't exactly adding a host of wide receivers like the Washington Redskins, but it was a strong first day.
The Carlos Rogers signing came about as far out of nowhere as a re-signing could come. He had indicated he would take a bit of a discount to re-sign, and the 49ers had indicated they wanted to re-sign a lot of their guys. And yet, until the reports came that he had a done deal, there had not been a peep about negotiations.
Most people assumed the 49ers were moving on as reports came out that the team was making a push for guys like Brandon Carr and Eric Wright. Couple that with the signing of Perrish Cox and people were giving up hope of Rogers returning. And just as quickly, Rogers signed.
Given how the Rogers info came out, is it possible the team fed bogus reports to Adam Schefter and company to boost their negotiating position? We will never know for certain, but it is at least interesting to ponder. Paraag Marathe and the 49ers brain trust have shown the can handle their own in contract negotiations. Jim Harbaugh referred to Trent Baalke as a steely-eyed missile man, but that might be equally apt for Marathe who has acquitted himself quite well in recent years.
The 49ers continue to impress and handle their business quite well when it comes to getting the kind of deals they want. That is no small feat in the NFL these days.