Yesterday afternoon, Vernon Davis posted a picture on Instagram of him with Jaguars free agent running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Included with the picture was this comment:
Me and Maurice Jones Drew discussing the FUTURE a few nights ago. #sanfrancisco
Naturally, this got people chattering on Twitter. I love social media, but it is incredibly easy to misinterpret what a person is saying. In reality, all it takes is a little logic to shoot down the notion that Maurice Jones-Drew is joining the 49ers.
The 49ers have Frank Gore coming due for $6.45 million salary and bonuses. It's a sizable chunk for a guy who is potentially approaching the end of his career. I suppose the 49ers could decide to part ways, but I have a hunch that is not happening. I think the 49ers are more likely to let him play out this season on his current contract, and likely let him walk in 2015.
They could sign him to a modest extension to turn some of the base salary and roster bonus money into signing bonus money that gets pro-rated out. But then you set yourself up to potentially release him and deal with dead money in the future. While free agents could benefit from the added cap space this year, the 49ers can also benefit in a situation like that of Gore. They can afford to take the hit and not push things to 2015 or 2016. Sometimes it makes sense to push money back, but I don't think this is that kind of situation.
Davis and MJD could have been talking about a whole host of topics related to the future. MJD could be looking at opening up a Jamba Juice. Maybe he's curious about the Vernon Davis IPO. Or maybe he wants to open up a fitness training center similar to what Davis is doing in the DC metro region. There are a whole host of possibilities that make more sense than signing with the 49ers. I suppose I could be wrong, but I'm pretty comfortable with this opinion.