2011 NFL free agency officially begins

Javon Hargrave was nervous heading into free agency. He knew he would get paid but was concerned that he might have to sacrifice success in the process. The defensive tackle had just been to a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. Often, the teams with the most money to spend are the ones that are rebuilding. Things appear to have worked out beautifully for Hargrave. "Sometimes when you're trying to go get the money, you have to go to a team that's in a rebuild mode," Hargrave said. "But if you've got a chance to go to a team that was just in the NFC Championship, that's kind of an easy choice for me. So I was real happy about it. "It really made me happy because I was real nervous about free agency, on where I was going to have to go. But I feel

(Episode 222) - Al Sacco and Zain Naqvi discuss Sam Darnold's best case scenario, some of the smaller names that joined the 49ers defense, how important bolstering the offensive line is, grading the current free agent class and more! The audio for the show is embedded above. Don't forget to subscribe! You can listen to the latest "No Huddle Podcast" episode above, from our dedicated podcast page, on

The first wave of free agency has come and gone, and the 49ers have had to say goodbye to a number of familiar faces while welcoming a few new ones. There's been a good amount of shuffling over the past week, but one thing remains clear -- the 49ers still have one of the best rosters in the NFL. There's still more players to be added in the weeks ahead, both in the draft and in free agency. The 49ers still need depth and competition in a few areas, and maybe a new starter in a key spot on special teams. But with the way things look now, the 49ers could be looking at a fairly complete roster with very few weaknesses once they're done with their offseason moves. Here's a look at where things stand by position as of March 17, along with some thoughts on where the

As usual, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch was on hand for Stanford's annual pro day, when the Bay Area school touted its latest crop of aspiring NFL players. Before heading off to San Jose State's pro day, Lynch spoke with the few 49ers reporters attending the event, discussing the team's free-agency moves thus far. Courting Hargrave The most significant free-agent addition was former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, bolstering the interior of new coordinator Steve Wilks' defensive front. Lynch and the 49ers set their sights on Hargrave, eventually signing him to a four-year, $84 million deal. Not only does the