ESPN-Our speculation from the past few days that the Niners might show some interest in in Leon Washington seems to be gaining some steam, according to the Twitter feed of ESPN 1320 Radio in Sacramento. As for any real evidence of interest, Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat indicates that he hasn’t heard anything yet from the team’s side.
Had Washington stayed healthy and productive all season, we wouldn’t be talking about him at all, since the Jets would have placed the high first and third tender on him or negotiated a long-term extension. But since Washington suffered a gruesome leg injury, no one knows what he’ll look like when he returns, ergo the move to place just a second-round tender on him.
Will another team take a flier on Washington, giving up a second-rounder with the hopes that he can be back to his old, dynamic self? It’s possible, especially from an RB-needy division rival that just so happens to have three second-rounders to play with this offseason. We also speculated on the Niners possibly making a play, and Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News confirmed on Tuesday that Washington has talked to a member of the 49ers’ coaching staff. Could’ve been about fishing, or the post-Bobby Bowden goings-on at FSU, could’ve been about playing in San Francisco. At this point anything’s possible. But Cimini also weighed some other possibilities for teams that make throw an offer at him, including the Vikings, Packers and Eagles.
As each day passes the chances of Leon Washington remaining a Jet look more and more bleak. But as we said a few days ago the Jets are not stupid, they’re not going to cut loose a guy like Leon Washington for no reason. So you have to assume that Leon’s leg is so fucked right now that the Jets trainers and coaching staff feel confident that he will never be the same player again. The sad thing about this is that everyone in NY liked Leon Washington. He was an exciting player that added another element to the Jets offense that I think we can all agree would be a tremendous asset to young QB Mark Sanchez. I’m with the Jets brass on this one though, if you can get a draft pick for him do it. It’s just a shame this kid couldn’t stay on the field for longer……..
