Kevin,

I was a bit annoyed by the Baltimore angle, yes, but when I saw the headline for this trade I was more impressed by the fact they got Boldin than that they did yet more business with the Ravens.

A 6th round pick makes this sound like a steal, and it's certainly a relative bargain, but I'm slightly surprised they decided basically to use most of the cap space they created by trading Alex Smith to bring in a #2/3 WR. Though I gather there may be efforts to negotiate a more friendly contract with Boldin.

As for the impact on the team, and concerns that Boldin is getting older and isn't a "deep threat" receiver, I suspect Harbaugh and Baalke may be thinking that he will make his biggest contributions as a blocker. Boldin has always been a cage fighter-type player and I'm looking forward to seeing him and Crabtree shoving Browner and Sherman aside to create lanes for a speedier WR like Jenkins or Williams, or to make room for Kaepernick taking off on an option.

As to Ed Reed and the reemed-out Baltimore pipeline, my feeling is that Boldin is an exeception worth making but enough is enough. If my memory serves me, this Baltimore cast-off fixation started after Baltimore won its first Super Bowl and decided to jettison Trent Dilfer. I'm hoping it ends with Boldin after this current post-Super Bowl clearance sale.

I don't believe the Reed-to-SF rumors in any case, but if they were foolish enough to sign that old man, I'd be truly pissed.

Hey, forgive me if I missed it, but has anyone mentioned the new contract for Ian Williams? I think that is almost as significant a deal as the one for Boldin. He's an up-and-comer who might become a major contributor if Soaps leaves town.

bp,

Nice to see you feel the same way about Avril...and about John Abraham! You made all the arguments for signing Avril that I would have made if I were as smart about football as you are. I remember when Abraham and Shaun Ellis first came together as defensive ends for the Jets and thinking they would dominate for a decade. Unfortunately, you could already see Abraham start to decline by the end of his third season, and although Ellis hit his prime over the next couple of seasons, they never really fulfilled their potential as a tandem. As you said, after 2002 Abraham went through a long stretch of losing significant playing time to injury. Although he has stayed relatively healthier recent years, we're talking about a player whose prime production happened over 10 years ago.

We know that the 49ers have had some luck over the years in bringing in veteran - very veteran - players to add pass pressure to the front seven - the likes of Reynolds, Jackson and Doleman come to mind. But Abrahams doesn't strike me as one of those guys and I really, really hope Baalke and the 49ers are smart enough to look elsewhere.

Last Edited By: Win80 03/11/13 09:09 PM. Edited 1 times.