While there haven't been any signings yet, there has been a major swirl of busy noise in the football world. I'll post updates as I have the opportunity, but I think today will be mostly a day of talk, as opposed to action. If you were to sign someone a minute after free agency begins it might look a little fishy. And for a guy like Adalius Thomas, he wants to make sure he's going to get the best possible deal. So while the 49ers have to do their due diligence in terms of risk assessment, the various free agents have to do the same.
In looking around the Internet today, some signings are supposedly imminent, while there is also a lot of conflicting information. Adalius Thomas could be in town for a physical or he could be close to signing with the Patriots. SI.com is reporting he's going visit both teams beginning Saturday. Leonard Davis was supposedly in our targets and now he's visiting three NFC East teams. There is so much misinformation floating out there that will only make the next month more of a roller coaster. I'd certainly prefer we get our business done as soon as possible, I realize this might not be entirely realistic.
Another issue I'd like to address is one of the factors that many say favors the Patriots. In Don Banks Inside the NFL column , he reported that Thomas might consider signing for less in New England because of the opportunity to win a Super Bowl ring and their use of the 3-4. Well, obviously the 3-4 reasoning doesn't hold water because the 49ers are making the switch to the 3-4. As far as the Super Bowl ring issue? While the Patriots might be closer to a Super Bowl ring right now, I think the 49ers are clearly on the march back to excellence. If the next two months goes like many of us hope, this is a team that should be disappointed if they DON'T make the playoffs next year. And if the 49ers make the playoffs, we all know how wide open that can be.
The point of all this is to hopefully call people off the ledge if we don't sign Adalius Thomas in the next day or two. Patience is the order of the day right now and I mean that in more than just the immediate sense. 49ers fans have dealt with salary cap hell for this entire decade, so a few more days should not kill us. This team WILL improve this off-season and WILL compete for a playoff spot in 2007. Mike Nolan has given plenty of reason to have faith in his off-field decisions (we won't discuss his time management right now), so to quote many a government official, we simply need to "stay the course." And if everything blows up in our face? Well I'll be the first one on the ledge.
[EDITOR'S NOTE] - Of course, feel free to consider this an open thread for every rumor you hear. That certainly is part of the fun of free agency.
[EDITOR'S UPDATE 2:00PM] - Just to show you how crazy this initial frenzy is, ESPNRadio reported the Broncos had signed Daniel Graham, but then Pro Football Talk denied it. For all the latest, check out Mile High Report
[EDITOR'S UPDATE 4:25PM] - Don Banks just posted an update dealing with Joey Porter that says the 49ers are one of seven teams to contact Porter. He's certainly a quality linebacker, getting shot in the butt aside.