Brian McIntyre, who runs Mac's Football Blog and writes for a variety of outlets, is reporting that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. has restructured his contract in a move that lowers his 2011 base salary and voids the final year of his contract. I had been under the impression Ginn was a free agent after this season, but apparently he had a voidable 2012 year. I learn something new every day.
The move is an intriguing one depending on how the 49ers plan on handling Ginn this season. There could be a host of reasons for this restructuring. Maybe the 49ers think they can deal Ginn with a lower base salary? The team brought in Donnie Avery for a workout, so some might speculate the team could try and move Ginn and add Avery. There's nothing to indicate that is the case, but this is a peculiar move given the timing and the 49ers existing cap space. After all, this wasn't a move to simply spare essential cap space.
Ginn is in an interesting situation in 2011. He has struggled with drops in previous seasons but word out of camp has been nothing but positive thus far with Greg Roman and Michael Crabtree both heaping praise on Ginn. Throw in his impressive punt return numbers last season (he was third in the NFL in average yards) and I think there is still a decent amount of value in Ginn.