By San Francisco 49ers GM Scot McCloughan Explains Events Leading Up To Signing Michael Crabtree: “It was unique because we didn’t know about it. We had nothing set up, so they were flying in without us really having anything set up.”
October 7, 2009 – 11:03 pm by Bunk
So the saga of Michael Crabtree’s signing process has come to an end. After a holdout that lasted longer than two months, the talented wide receiver out of Texas Tech has inked a 6-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers. There’s plenty of rumor and innuendo flying around already about what led to the holdout finally ending, but regardless of how exactly it all came to fruition, the 49ers and their fans have to be excited that it’s all over with and that the team didn’t compromise any of its future bargaining power by caving in to the demands of Crabtree. Now, will he play right away and will he make an impact this year for the potentially contending 49ers? We’ll see. For now, let’s hear from general manager Scot McCloughan, who joined KNBR in San Francisco to discuss the sequence of events that led to the deal getting done and to share his insights on how special a talent he and others in the organization think Crabtree is.
On how the process played out exactly:
“Well you know, we’ve had contact since we drafted him. Not every day, not every week, but there’s been contact made. You know, the unique thing was, after the game Sunday night, Jed said to me there’s word they’re flying to town. Eugene’s flying in and Michael’s flying in. It was unique because we didn’t know about it. We had nothing set up, so they were flying in without us really having anything set up. So we got to Monday morning and got verification that they were in town, got a couple phone calls, got a meeting set up. At noon yesterday, we sat down. Jed, myself, Raag Marathe (chief negotiator Paraag Marathe), Eugene Parker and Michael Crabtree. And we sat there about an hour and talked as a group, then Michael and I went by ourselves for about an hour. And Raag and Eugene met through the night and into the morning and we got stuff ironed out.”
On what he sees in him as a player and what he thinks he’ll bring to the table as he makes the transition to the NFL in the middle of the season:
“First of all, as a player, I see him as a big-play guy. You can’t go through the Big 12, especially the Big 12 South in two years and have 41 touchdowns and 230 catches. He dominated at a very high level. Now again, he has not caught a ball in the NFL yet, so we’re waiting to see that. But just off of pure physical skills, very impressive. Very competitive. I think I said with you guys after the Draft – the one guy I’ve seen in college that looked like this and played like this was Anquan Boldin. Now I give Michael more play speed than Boldin, but just that physical…where they can step in and dominate. And that’s what you need nowadays in the NFL. You’ve got the big safetys, the big linebackers, and you’ve got to be able to not just hold up, but be able to break arm tackles getting down the field. Which he can do. I think he’s got exceptional hands, strong hands to be able to go high-point the ball and come down with it. And saying all that, with the physical make up and the maturity he has, it will be a quick process with him being able to fit in on an NFL football field. And understand, I can play this game, I have speed, I have the strength, I have the toughness, to make plays and make plays early. And I anticipate him doing that.”
Listen here to McCloughan with Vince and Brooks on KNBR in San Francisco
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