Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports took a look at the top offseason priorities for the 30 NFL teams that are not playing in Super Bowl LI on Sunday. One familiar name came up for the Philadelphia Eagles – San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith.
"It's all about receivers for the Eagles as well," wrote La Canfora. "Yeah, the offensive line needs retooling, too, but getting Carson Wentz someone who can line up outside the hash marks and make a play is a required starting point for the 2017 offseason. They might land Torrey Smith in a trade, but they need to draft a receiver high as well."
Smith was reportedly a candidate to be traded to the Eagles in October. Philadelphia offered a fifth-round selection for the 49ers receiver, but that was not enough for then-general manager Trent Baalke. Since then, Baalke has been fired and replaced by the first-time general manager and former NFL All-Pro safety John Lynch.
During the initial trade reports, Smith said he was not too worried about the 49ers sending him to another team. "I'm not worried at all," Smith said. "I think you see these conversations pop up during the bye week every year. Trades don't happen that often in the NFL in the middle of the season anyways."
In 2016, Smith had the worst statistical season of his career. He only caught 20 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Each of the three statistics were career lows. Of course, Smith finished the season on the Injured Reserve list after suffering a concussion on December 11 against the New York Jets.
Over the next three seasons, Smith will carry a $9.6 million cap hit for the 49ers. It's a number that San Francisco, which has one of the largest amounts of cap space available, can easily absorb. Cutting Smith would save the 49ers $4.8 million in cap space in 2017.
Prior to his time in San Francisco, Smith was a productive receiver for the Baltimore Ravens and was part of the Super Bowl XLVII team that beat the 49ers. Through six seasons in the NFL, Smith averaged 17 yards per reception and got into the end zone 37 times.
As for the 49ers' offseason needs, La Canfora identified establishing an infrastructure. "This is a total and complete rebuild, outside of perhaps the defensive line," wrote La Canfora. "They need to hire the best scouts and execs possible to put around rookie GM John Lynch, because this is nothing like John Elway in Denver. Elway inherited some stud players, had a nice front office in place around him and Peyton Manning fell in his lap. Lynch has none of that. The 49ers had better establish a legit infrastructure above all else so they start to make shrewd decisions, because this is going to take time. College scouting director. Player personnel director. Pro personnel director. Get those right, or else."