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The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders square off on December 7 at O.Co Coliseum, and one player might have just a little more fire for this matchup. Former Stanford inside linebacker Shayne Skov announced on Twitter that he was headed to Santa Clara to sign with the San Francisco 49ers. He will compete with Michael Wilhoite, Nick Moody, Darius Fleming and Chris Borland for inside linebacker work.
This news came after Twitter rumors had him choosing the Oakland Raiders. It turns out there might be a little more to this story:
Clarifying Skov/Raiders: Was set to go there, Raiders changed their initial offer to less money, which led to Skov going to SF.
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) May 11, 2014
This isn't quite like the 49ers pulling one over on the Raiders, but it does show how crazy undrafted free agency can be. There are all sorts of crazy stories of players signing with multiple teams, teams withdrawing offers, and an assortment of other issues. One agent, David Canter, went on a rant about this earlier this evening:
Undrafted free agency is the single worst part of my profession. It's a completely broken & terrible process. Feel awful for the kids.
— David Canter (@davidcanter) May 11, 2014
Teams give players no time to decide. They lie throughout the process. Bolster hopes then move on to next kid. Total lack of info for kids
— David Canter (@davidcanter) May 11, 2014
No freedom to wait it out or see who else team is signing. No idea what other players got at same position from other teams til after fact
— David Canter (@davidcanter) May 11, 2014
Given how chaotic undrafted free agency appears to us on Twitter, I'm sure it's even crazier for the teams and players involved in it. I'm finding myself confused to some extent as well. The 49ers finished the draft with 86 players on their roster, and are now rumored to be signing seven UDFAs. Given that the UDFAs still have to put pen to paper, technically the 49ers are not at 90. Trent Baalke offered some clarification:
@NinersNation Baalke said the picks count and there's a possibility some guys get released to make room for UDFAs.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) May 11, 2014
The 49ers will make all UDFA signings official in the coming days, so for now, we wait.