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The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their Friday practice earlier this morning, and while it was going on, general manager Trent Baalke sat down with 49ers beat writers on hand. They discussed a variety of topics, and while we do not have a transcript of the discussion, the media have some posts on Baalke's various topics:
- Inman: Baalke's discussion
- Branch: Baalke on Aldon Smith
- Branch: Baalke on LMJ, trading for a receiver
- Barrows: Baalke on LMJ, trade deadline, Aldon Smith
- Barrows: Baalke on Anquan Boldin
- Maiocco: Baalke on Aldon Smith
- Maiocco: Baalke on LMJ, trade deadline
I recommend reading them all because they don't all have the same quotations from Baalke. You can sort of piece things together based on each of the articles.
Baalke spoke on LaMichael James, who has been the subject of much discussion. The NFL trade deadline is this Tuesday, and Baalke stated the team is not interested in dealing James.
"We're not interested in trading LaMichael," Baalke said. "LaMichael's a key player and there will be a time -- whether that's sooner or later, that's yet to be determined - just as it was last year."
..."And, then, all of a sudden, there was a need and he stepped in and did a tremendous job," Baalke said. "We would expect nothing different. That's really what we expect of all of our players."
He also spoke to James' apparently visible frustrations with his role:
"You respect and understand the frustration," Baalke said. "You'd be disappointed if a player wasn't playing and wasn't frustrated because of it."
None of this means James won't get traded. The odds seem long at this point, but Baalke wouldn't rule out anything.
"You never know what tomorrow brings with respect to personnel and your roster," Baalke said. "You're always looking."
I believe the 49ers will get back to San Francisco sometime on Monday, and that gives them a little under 24 hours if they elect to make any moves before the deadline (1 p.m. PT on Tuesday).
Baalke spoke about the returns of Mario Manningham and Michael Crabtree when discussing the trade rumors surrounding the 49ers and wide receivers. We cannot project exactly what to expect from either receiver when they return, but if we don't see a deal between now and Tuesday, that would seem to indicate the 49ers have a certain measure of confidence in one or both receivers. Of course, given how little we've seen from the receiving corps outside of Anquan Boldin, this is not exactly a high bar right now.
We'll be keeping a close eye on things, with an open thread on deadline day, but at this point, I would be surprised if the 49ers made a deal. As Baalke said, you never know what tomorrow brings, but with Manningham close to returning, and Michael Crabtree a month or so away, now just doesn't seem like the time to expect a move.