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49ers Interest in DeSean Jackson Is Real, But Will It Yield Them The WR?

If you have followed along with the whole DeSean Jackson saga, you know very well nothing is set in stone. Amid reports last night that the Washington Redskins were nearing a deal with the ultra-talented and enigmatic wide receiver, other things were going on behind the scene…even as Jackson was wined and dined in D.C. 

As you will see below, 49ers Interest in DeSean Jackson is real.

Adam Schefter over at ESPN is indicating that San Francisco has “guarded” interest in Jackson. 

This is an indication that the 49ers would like to add Jackson to the mix, but at the right price. They are currently $4.4 million under the cap and will likely have a rookie salary pool of between $3 and $4 million. On the surface, this minimal amount of cap room might indicate that San Francisco isn’t in the running for Jackson.

That’s just on the surface.

 

As we have indicated multiple times throughout this process, San Francisco has the flexibility to be able to gain more room under the cap. In addition to possessing the ability to restructure multiple veteran contracts, including Vernon Davis and Frank Gore, veteran cornerback Carlos Rogers was released with a post-June 1st designation. While the near $6.5 million that will come off the books can’t be used until then, the 49ers aren’t going to be signing any of their rookies until June at the earliest. They can use the cap room that they currently have as part of the money they throw Jackson’s way.

Then you have this report from Sportsnaut’ darling Mike Florio, San Francisco and Cleveland are “aggressively pursuing Jackson…

Let’s forget for a second that Florio links back to an NBC Washington report that doesn’t use the terminology “aggressively,” it has been known for some time that the 49ers are interested in Jackson.

We previously reported that a source within San Francisco’s front office indicated money will not be an issue. If the two sides can come to an agreement, San Francisco will make it work under the cap, at least according to the source we cited last month.

This very same source now indicates to us that San Francisco’s interest in Jackson is real and that the team has been doing its background on the enigmatic wide receiver. When asked if that background included an investigation on the report that Jackson was associated with known gang members in California, he refused to expand or provide a quote.

Needless to say, each team that is going after Jackson is going to be looking into that report. As we indicated before, there doesn’t seem to be any concrete evidence that Jackson himself has gang ties. 

On the field, Jackson would be a difference maker for the 49ers, who already boast a solid starting duo in Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree. The issue here is that San Francisco doesn’t run many three-wide sets, which could cause issues for Jackson and others on the sideline and in the locker room. On that note, head coach Jim Harbaugh recently indicated that San Francisco may be willing to change up its offensive scheme to fit its personnel, H/T to Niners Nation for the information. 

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The 49ers don’t seem hesitant to change their offensive scheme. The issue last year, much like Harbaugh’s first three seasons with the team, has been a lack of receiving weapons. Add Jackson to the mix with Boldin, Crabtree and Davis and you have one of the best, if not the best, group of receiving targets in the NFL.

Is it likely that Jackson ends up in San Francisco? No. It has been adverse to adding high-priced free agents under this now veteran regime. Outside of Jackson’s market thinning out or him willing to take less to play close to home for a winning franchise, a deal is still somewhat unlikely.

With that said, don’t be terribly surprised if San Francisco shocks the skeptics and lands the dynamic receiver. After all, it has both the ability and the interest to do just that.

 

Photo: Brian Spurlock, USA Today

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