Crabtree Will Start in First Game With 49ers Week 7

Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that recently signed Niners WR Michael Crabtree will apparently start for the Niners in his first game this weekend.

Crabtree has reportedly been practicing with WR Josh Morgan, whose starting spot Crabtree is taking, to catchup on the Niners’ playbook. The Niners take on the Texans and their high-flying aerial attack this weekend.

This from the San Francisco Chronicle:

Top return man Allen Rossum was released by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, creating roster room for newly signed rookie receiver Michael Crabtree.

Rossum was surprised by the move when summoned to a meeting with coach Mike Singletary. He also spoke with general manager Scot McCloughan.

The 33-year-old player ranks second in league history with 14,987 return yards. He hadn’t been active the past two games after playing in the first three to start his second season with the 49ers.

As expected, Michael Crabtree will spend his first two weeks with the 49ers practicing and learning the plays before seeing game action against Houston in Week 7.

More from SFGate.com:

Until Crabtree gets in some semblance of football shape and learns enough of the offense to appear in a limited role once he’s activated, he’ll be putting in time on the scout team, catching passes from Alex Smith.

The challenge for offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye will be to limit the scope of Crabtree’s responsibilities so he can contribute once he’s on the field. His two-week roster exemption ends Oct. 19 and he will be activated for the 49ers’ Oct. 25 game in Houston.

For Sunday’s game at Candlestick Park against Atlanta, the inactive Crabtree will be on the sideline in NFL-sponsored leisure apparel.

“We don’t have space to use him in the offense” in practice, Raye said. “We’ve got to get the people ready who are going to play in the game. So, to get him snaps in the offense at this point would be detrimental to what we’re trying to do.”

Crabtree is expected to be used primarily as a slot receiver on WR-heavy formations once he finally plays.

Earlier today ProFootballTalk.com reported that "a league source" had leaked the details of Michael Crabtree's contract, and ESPN's Adam Schefter has confirmed it: six years, $32 million, and $17 million guaranteed.

Niners Nation takes a look at some of the bonus stipulations and says, "...score one for the 49ers."

... in terms of saving face, the 49ers end up somewhat winners out of this.  In the end, it's all over and done with and simply time to look to the future.  Neither side can recover the lost time, but at least the 49ers have been playing well without Crabtree.  We'll see how the season treats him going forward.

Just to confirm what we already knew: The 49ers’ official website now says the team has come to terms with Michael Crabtree on a six-year deal.

He is scheduled to meet with the media at 2:45 ET today.

Matt Maiocco, who we don’t believe has slept in about 36 hours while tracking this story, reports that it is a done deal: Michael Crabtree is a member of the 49ers after the two sides agreed on a six-year contract early this morning.

Crabtree is expected to join the team at practice later today.

This whole hotel meeting thing has just gotten a whole lot weirder, thanks to Matt Maiocco and the power of Twitter:

At 9:30 p.m. EST:
“Final twist: The guy with York and Crabtree, whom I thought looked a lot like M.C. Hammer . . . might actually have been M.C. Hammer.”

At 9:35 p.m. EST:
“And that explains why he seemed offended when I introduced myself and asked him for his name. Sorry, Hammer. My bad.”

No word yet on how the meeting went, but Maiocco reports that everyone associated with the meeting has left the hotel.

The Press Democrat’s Matt Maiocco has a bird’s eye view of the negotiations between Michael Crabtree, his agent and the 49ers — sort of. With that bird’s eye view, he’s seeing some impressive sights, too:

Michael Crabtree erased any doubts I have about his speed, as he made an impressive exit from the hotel where negotiations are taking place today.

This presumable leaves 49ers chief negotiator Paraag Marathe and Crabtree’s agent, Eugene Parker, alone to hammer out the deal that could deliver him to Mike Singletary’s team.

Crabtree saw me and CSN’s Mindi Bach in the hotel where the meeting is taking place. He made a nice move to cut through a restaurant, and then sprinted — sprinted, I tell ya — out the back door and around the front of the hotel to an awaiting black SUV for the getaway.

Let the record show . . . his foot is just fine. (His hearing might not be so good though, as my shouts went unanswered.)

Stay close to SBNation as we will follow any news that results from the meeting. Also, check out Niners Nation for all your 49ers coverage.

Controversy resolved? Fox Sports' Jay Glazer tweets that Michael Crabtree’s agent Eugene Parker is currently in a meeting with Niners VP of Football Operations Paraag Marathe.

No word yet on whether the two sides are close to reaching an agreement. We’ll keep you updated.

Contrary to what the Press-Democrat reported last night, Adam Schefter tweets that the two sides are meeting today and he expects a deal to get done.

WHO TO BELIEVE?

As reported by Matt Maiocco of the Press-Democrat's 49ers blog:

The 49ers do not have a meeting set up with agent Eugene Parker [Crabtree's agent], who is coming into town tonight. Furthermore, the sides did not speak today, 49ers GM Scot McCloughan said as he left the 49ers' offices this evening.

"It's all speculation," McCloughan of the ESPN report that the sides are scheduled to talk about a contract for Michael Crabtree, the No. 10 overall pick.

McCloughan said the club has learned that Parker is coming to the Bay Area through other parties, but nobody with the 49ers has spoken with Parker or Crabtree.

McCloughan did not rule out the possibility of meeting with Parker, but made it clear there are no plans to do so at this time.

So, I don't know -- maybe Crabtree and his agent just find the Bay Area beautiful this time of year and it's all a big coincidence.

While the whole situation has been bothersome, I’ve tried to avoid lambasting Michael Crabtree too much. At some point, there’s a good chance he’ll be a 49er. If/when that happens, I’d like to be able to let bygones be bygones. If he blows it as a player, so be it. But it’d be nice to get past this situation and at least see what he truly can bring to a 49ers offense that could use a little something extra. Vernon Davis has certainly stepped up, but if the 49ers could add a threat like Crabtree, the offense could add an extra gear.

Maybe Crabtree will be useless this year and do nothing for his career. For now though, I am content sitting back and hoping for great things. It’s too soon to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but at least we know we’re in the right tunnel now (that’s not exactly the best phrasing, but you get the point).

If the Niners can sign Crabtree, they’ll suddenly have the makings of a very, very interesting offense. The line is solid, Gore and Coffee are a strong 1-2 at running back, and the frighteningly talented Vernon Davis finally seems to be figuring out what it takes to win . Add to this the fact that the Niners are positioned with two first-rounders to make a play for any of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft thanks to the Everette Brown trade with the Panthers last year, and the Niners could easily boast a bevy of young, talented playmakers at the skill positions. For the first time in awhile, there’s reason for real optimism in the Bay Area (now let’s just forget about the Raiders…).