The depleted wide receiving corps for the San Francisco 49ers has been an issue all season. After losing both Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham, quarterback Colin Kaepernick has not had much to work with. While that will all change as players start to come back from the physically unable to perform list, could the 49ers be looking into a trade to get by until then?
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports the 49ers have contacted the Cleveland Browns about a potential trade for wide receiver Josh Gordon. Head coach Rob Chudzinski made a promise to Gordon that he would not be traded, but would the Browns go back on their word for the right deal? Just ask Trent Richardson about promises and team investments.
Sources report the asking price for Gordon is a second-round draft pick. That is actually pretty reasonable for a player that has proven to be the best player on the Cleveland roster. While Mike Lombardi is not actively shopping Gordon, he is listening to team offers and San Francisco is calling.
Through three games, Gordon has 303 yards receiving off 18 catches and two touchdowns. He is averaging 16.8 yards per catch. That is a great amount of production for just a second-round draft pick. His off-the-field issues could certainly be holding back trade value as Gordon was suspended for the first part of the season. The 49ers could make the move.
However, the deal seems highly unlikely as the 49ers are set to get back Crabtree and Manningham sooner rather than later. Head coach Jim Harbaugh told media that Crabtree is on track to return in mid-November after suffering a torn Achilles back at the start of organized team activities. Crabtree can officially begin returning to practice next week, giving the 49ers five weeks to have him practicing and three weeks to activate him. With that, Grodon feels like the better option.
News with Manningham is more positive. The wide receiver can be activated this week and is expected to return to practice next week. Harbaugh told media he was excited at the idea of getting Manningham back with the offense. If the receiver can get back into game shape quickly, the 49ers will not hesitate to put him in.
The Gordon trade rumor is likely just a rumor. While the 49ers may have expressed interest, they have plenty of options returning in the next few weeks that would make any deal worthless.
