The San Francisco 49ers have to figure out their situation with Michael Crabtree's contract, but in the meantime, another contract might impact things a little bit. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is hitting free agency next spring, and according to an NFL.com report, a deal could happen soon. Dez Bryant said there is a "big chance" a deal will get donebefore the season starts. Additionally, NFL Media's Michael Silver is reporting negotiations have intensified quite a bit.
Recently, we heard that Michael Crabtree wanted a chance to earn serious wide receiver money, but that he was also willing to do a deal that included some measure of incentives as opposed to a lot of guaranteed money. We don't really know where the two sides stand with 12 days until the 49ers kick off the 2014 season. I imagine both sides are discussing things, but there has been a bit of radio silence the last few days.
A Dez Bryant deal impacts a Michael Crabtree deal to some extent, but I don't think all that much. Even during current Crabtree negotiations, we've known Dez will get a ton of money. If it happens soon, I don't see it necessarily decreasing or increasing Crabtree's chances of returning. If Dez gets less than people expect, maybe that makes some difference, but I think any deal Dez gets will be big time bucks with sizable guarantees.
When I last put together a post on this subject, I included a poll asking when Crabtree would sign a contract extension. 64 percent voted that it would get done before the season, 10 percent voted during the season, 11 percent voted after the season, but before free agency, 1 percent voted during free agency, and 13 percent said never. I've posted a new poll just to see what has changed since that poll.