49ers Links

Golden Nuggets: How many reclamation projects? All of them

Thursday, March 13, 2014 edition of the Golden Nuggets, a daily compilation of 49ers links from around the web.

By VoxMediaUser1371959 Mar 13, 2014, 2:00am PDT

A backup job where I make more than the starter? Turtlay..

I love this time of year, free agency, then a few terribly long months until the draft, once again, thanks for that NFL... The 49ers were shockingly active two days ago at the start of the new league year. I was convinced that we would see a few Demarcus Dobbs and Michael Wilhoite type signings, but nothing major. Instead, the 49ers signed Antoine Bethea to replace Donte Whitner, traded for Blaine Gabbert to back up Kaepernick, and traded for former Harbaugh player and bullying victim Jonathan Martin.

I expected that Donte Whitner would walk away from the team and I'd like to take a short moment to congratulate him on his new contract. Good for you Donte, I encourage any player to take full advantage of their world class skill in the short amount of time they have to cash in. Its a bittersweet win for the 49ers, Donte was a great guy and deserved to be paid, just not by the 49ers (to the extent that he was paid.) That contract was ridiculous, I'm really happy he was able to make that type of money somewhere else.

I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing a trend with this front office and the types of players they like to bring in. In short, they seem to love buying low on potential. It's a good strategy that only teams with no desperate needs can afford to make. European Olympians that have never played football before, check. Injured college stars that need a full season of rehab before they can contribute, check. Disgraced former first round picks, check. And that doesn't include players like Eric Wright, who for one reason or another haven't been able to consistently produce up to the talent that they have flashed. This 49ers team has no desperate needs, and I look forward to seeing BPA being drafted every round, just bring in the talent. To the links!

Martin and the 49ers step into a great situation (Gin)

Questions linger on how Martin will fit in locker room and depth chart (Inman)

Scout applauds Jonathan Martin addition (ESPN)

The day after: Can Jonathan Martin play? (Branch)

Harbaugh on Martin: ‘Everybody deserves an Etch-A-Sketch opportunity … to start a new chapter’ (Inman)

Bethea views 49ers as an opportunity to get another ring (Gin)

Bethea provides 'smart, steady' leadership in 49ers secondary (Maiocco)

Antoine Bethea Comfortable at Both Safety Spots (49ers)

Bethea’s pursuit of another Super Bowl ring brings him to 49ers (Inman)

Clean hitter: Antoine Bethea adjusted to new rules (Barrows)

Penalty watch: Bethea vs. Whitner (Banch)

Tall order: 49ers interested in Vikings FA cornerback Chris Cook (Barrows)