But it is nice for a change to see something positive about the contract situation coming from the 29ers camp. You know Michael Crabtree just has to be dying watching his team and all his friends playing on Sundays while he’s sitting at home.

The 49ers have until November 17th to sign Crabtree for him to remain eligible for the season. At this point, I’m not sure how optimistic I am that they will get something done. For Crabtree’s sake, he better take the money before the deadline or he will lose millions of dollars.

The first-place 49ers are off to a 3-1 start without Crabtree, but their offense ranks 28th in the NFL. San Francisco’s passing game also ranks 28th and none of the team’s wide receivers rank among the league’s top 50 in receptions. Now part of that may be because Frank Gore is injured and their quarterback in Shaun Hill. Hill isn’t exactly going to light it up… but with Crabtree out there it at least puts fear in the defense.

One thing we recently learned though is that Michael Crabtree doesn’t need the NFL’s money (at least for this year). His agent Mike Ornstein came out and said Crabtree has made over $750,000 from marketing/sponsorship deals. Crabtree has deals with Subway, Jordan Brand, Upper Deck, Topps, etc.

“It is not that he doesn’t want to play, but he is not under the gun to,” Ornstein said.

This actually explains a lot. I’ve always wondered how unsigned rookies and holdouts who make no money can still live the lavish lifestyle of an NFL player.

Rex Ryan, head coach of the New York Jets, on the other hand said this whole thing is “ridiculous”.

It’s possible the Jets could have reached out to Crabtree’s agent and said something like ‘hey if your client reenters the NFL Draft we’ll give him consideration with our first round pick’. This is all speculation though as we don’t know anything.

What we do know is that the 49ers are 2-0 without Crabtree and they have until early November to get him inked if he wants to play for this team in 2009.

We are now approaching Week 2 and Crabtree still is sitting at home watching all the games on TV. I hope to God he’s been working out and catching balls at some private camp or something to stay in shape. Even if he does get signed tomorrow, it would be weeks before he can suit up and play.

The 49ers gained some leverage last week though by beating the Arizona Cardinals. If they can prove they can win without him, then the value of that contract is going to keep going down.

Great… so is he saying they’ll reach a deal come December? I’ve been saying on this blog that I thought Crabtree would sign before the final preseason game. That would be Friday, September 4. After reading the comments above I’m not sure that will happen. If Crabtree is getting financial backing then he may not feel the pressure to sign and not miss those fat game checks.

There are only two first round picks left unsigned, Michael Crabtree and Cincinnati’s Andre Smith. At this point, we’ll assume that Smith will be in camp next week leaving Crabtree the lone holdout heading into the final preseason games and ultimately the regular season.

I still think that Crabtree is bluffing when he says that he’ll sit out the entire 2009 season. He is just waiting till the last possible moment to sign. He wants to scare the 49ers into giving in.

Crabtree might be coming down a bit on his demands after feeling the heat from fans and teammates. He was recently called out by TE Vernon Davis. “He needs to get his butt in here,” Davis said. “He should take what he can get and get here.”

I expect to see Crabtree sign a deal following the San Francisco 49ers first preseason game on Friday.

“We are prepared to do it,” David Wells, a cousin of Crabtree, told ESPN. “Michael just wants fair market value. Michael is one of the best players in the draft, and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players.”

As much as I love Crabtree and think he will be a Pro Bowl wide receiver… this is just a terrible strategy. Crabtree may end up being a better pro than Heyward-Bey, but the fact is he was selected 10th overall and should accept a salary for the slot. If Crabtree were to sit out an entire season he will make significantly less. There is no way he would be a top 10 pick in the 2010 draft after missing his entire rookie year. In fact, he may not be a first round pick at all. It’s a move that would cost him $15+ million.

The 49ers know this and they’ll stand their ground. The pick is the pick.

What’s your take on the situation. Should the 49ers cave and pay him more than the 7th pick?

After looking through Twitter, I found a couple of 49ers fans who are not too happy. Check out what they had to say.

@timbe2: michael crabtree–get off ur butt and get to … missing training camp as a rookie is not acceptable! You sound surprised

@sstrella: I was hoping Michael Crabtree would not be a bitch. Looks like I may be wrong. He should follow Jerry Rice’s example

@JniceLOVE: RT @KILA22: OMG I WANT A DIVORCE MICHAEL CRABTREE! Wtf? Sign the damn contract and stop bitching. <- he’s not with u and I’m mad at him too.