WR Michael Floyd was cut by the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday, December 14, after being arrested on DUI charges earlier in the week. The next day, the New England Patriots claimed him off of waivers.
The 49ers are currently down two starting wide receivers. Torrey Smith has been dealing with a concussion that he suffered against the New York Jets and missed Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. Quinton Patton is headed to injured reserve after suffering a foot injury in Atlanta.
Even with Smith and Patton, the 49ers' group of wide receivers is considered to be among the worst in the league. Nobody feels that the team has a legitimate number one guy.
Some fans wondered, with the season long lost and the team sitting at 1-12 at the time, why not take a chance on Floyd? Of course, this was prior to Patton's injury, but Floyd does bring a similar skill set that was lost by the Smith injury. It's even more curious because the team may have gained a compensatory pick had he left to another team during the offseason. There didn't seem to be a negative to signing him for what would have been two or three remaining games.
Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area joined Joe, Lo & Dibs on 95.7 The Game to discuss why the 49ers didn't want to touch Floyd. "Probably two parts to that," explained Maiocco. "One would be that the 49ers' recent history, it has involved a lot of issues with alcohol. There have been some really good players who they've let go because those players got into off the field issues involving alcohol. I'm talking about Ray McDonald, Aldon Smith, Bruce Miller. So that's one.
"And I think the other thing is that the 49ers are at a spot right now where they have a very difficult time completing a forward pass and they have almost an impossible time completing a pass outside the numbers. I can't think of any pass this year that they've completed outside the numbers and that's what Michael Floyd is. Michael Floyd is similar to Torrey Smith and we know how Torrey Smith has struggled. So, you bring him in – and today would basically be the first time he'd be able to practice because he would have been claimed late in the week.
"And are you really getting anything for him? His contract would expire in two weeks. You're probably not going to utilize him anyway because the 49ers don't have the capabilities of throwing outside the numbers and down the field. And then trying to get him up to speed in a new system. I can guarantee you that Michael Floyd is so ecstatic right now that the 49ers did not claim him and the New England Patriots did. And the Patriots have the added bonus of knowing that they're going to the playoffs. Not only that, knowing that they're going to have a first-week bye in the playoffs. So, basically, they have a month, four weeks to get Michael Floyd into a position to see if he can contribute where the 49ers would have only had two weeks – if that."
You can listen to the entire interview on 95.7 The Game with the discussion of Floyd occurring toward at the end.