Golden Nuggets: Life without Frank Gore, Justin Smith after 2013?

Good morning everyone. Seems we're lacking in news again, but there's a few things that are worth checking out today. For one, there was the piece from Matt Barrows regarding Justin Smith and Frank Gore, and whether or not this could be the final season of these two players wearing a San Francisco 49ers uniform.

To me, that's almost absurd -- or at least, reading it is absurd. The thought that either Smith or Gore could be gone due to age and decline or, more likely, salary cap issues is not something that's hard to believe. It's just hard to stomach the thought of either of these guys being let go because they mean so much to this fanbase.

Of course, at the end of the day, teams rarely make roster moves for anything other than what makes sense for the business. It would just suck to see them go. Here's your links.

Aside from the impossible-to-understand title, there's some good explanation of the piece mentioned above from Barrows. Rationalizing the departure of these two guys isn't difficult -- but accepting it as a fan is. | Report: Is (this) the final year as 49ers for Frank Gore, Justin Smith? (Barrows)

Here's the piece Barrows was talking about, which we linked yesterday. I personally think that Smith will be back and that it's more likely Gore is gone, but who knows? Either way, it's clear the 49ers are built for long-term success and that there are many things important this season outside of winning a Super Bowl | Agent's Take: Analyzing the 49ers' blueprint for long-term success (CBS Sports)

It would be great to see some of the rookies who are dealing with injuries sooner rather than later, and it would be nice to see Kyle Williams what with the injury to Michael Crabtree but as Maiocco notes ... there is absolutely no reason to rush back an injured player. I'd take it a step further and suggest that there is never a situation where this is OK to do. | No reason to rush back injured players (Maiocco)

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