Justin Smith, one of the all-time best 49er defensive linemen appreciation thread.

Originally posted by mojave45:

If he wants to come back and play somewhere else...sure. But there would need to be compensation for giving another team a jewel like that even if it was only for a year. No reason to let him go for free. He signed a contract. And got paid. He will have to honor his commitment if he comes back to the NFL. As to not wanting to play for a rebuilding team, or whatever the reason is, presuming any of this is true, tough s&$t. It is a business. And he has made good money at it. If he retired rather than ply for a team he thought was going down the tubes, he certainly showed no loyalty so why should the team? That stuff runs both ways, doesn't it?

Funny, if the FO chases a player off, or screws one in the minds of the webzoners it is an awful thing. If a player tries to pull a fast one on the team, then hey, bend over backwards and let him go, eat the contract, he gave us some good years, blah, blah, blah. It is a freaking business, and if he didn't want to play here, ok. He retires and he is done. He wants to come back? Deal with the consequences.

Yeah and when a pursuing contending team is put off by what the 49ers are wanting for compensation and retracts their offer and with it Justin's chance at a ring? Some players are worth the exception. It's a business, yes but decisions like the one you just suggested are the reason nobody wants to play here. Do you work in the front office? Nice work Jed. Sometimes a team's integrity is worth more than draft picks. Justin is that exception.

Originally posted by CityKing415:

Fans see it as. We sucked before Harbs. We won with Harbs. We suck again without Harbs. Pretty simple. I'd be mad if I were one of those many players who stuck it out through mediocrity then got a taste of greatness only to be ruined because our organization couldn't suck it up and let Harbs do his thing

Im not a harbs guy. Not a long term pro coach. Problem was the transition was incompetent and cheap. So here we are.

Some amazing fantasy stories being constructed in this thread. Here is what started it:

Now, a year after Smith retired, there's a rumor that perhaps he'd be interested in playing again.

A league source shared with PFT at the Scouting Combine the intriguing rumor of talk that Smith would like to play again, but that he doesn't want to play for the 49ers."

Written by Florio, a generally unreliable source, some 50 words include the word rumour twice, not to mention the word perhaps.

The sort of guy Smith was, I would be surprised if he didn't come right out and say what he was thinking. Rather than whisper vague rumours to be repeated at third hand to dubious sources on the perimeter. And he is 37.

Just another player that didnt want to play for Trent/Jed.

Not surprising at all.

Originally posted by English:

Some amazing fantasy stories being constructed in this thread. Here is what started it:

Now, a year after Smith retired, there's a rumor that perhaps he'd be interested in playing again.

A league source shared with PFT at the Scouting Combine the intriguing rumor of talk that Smith would like to play again, but that he doesn't want to play for the 49ers."

Written by Florio, a generally unreliable source, some 50 words include the word rumour twice, not to mention the word perhaps.

The sort of guy Smith was, I would be surprised if he didn't come right out and say what he was thinking. Rather than whisper vague rumours to be repeated at third hand to dubious sources on the perimeter. And he is 37.

This makes sense. But you have to consider the contract situation too. This could be how parties communicate due to legal relationships. Was the source smiths agent?

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:
This makes sense. But you have to consider the contract situation too. This could be how parties communicate due to legal relationships. Was the source smiths agent?

Smith negotiated his own contract.

Didn't he retire for health reasons? Something about not having power in his left side? I don't quite remember, but I think this report is total BS, and another attempt to sh!t on the 49ers

Originally posted by Overkill:

Smith negotiated his own contract.

This. These rumors seem pretty weak. Kind of like the Patrick Willis is going to unretire rumors which Willis shot down like three days later.


Smith has always been a straight shooter and the type of guy to just pick up a phone and call the team directly if he wanted to play again, even if it was elsewhere.



If he does want to come back, maybe he saw a guy like Jared Allen getting a crack at the SB and he'd like to get a shot at winning one with a contender. I doubt that the 49ers would have a problem trading him if that is what he wanted. They could turn a retired player into an asset, even if it was a late round draft pick.



But until there is something substantial, I'll go by what the man said when he retired, that his injuries were preventing him from playing at the level he wants to perform at. Unless something has changed dramatically healthwise, I dont see him returning at the age of 37.

Originally posted by saniner:

Didn't he retire for health reasons? Something about not having power in his left side? I don't quite remember, but I think this report is total BS, and another attempt to sh!t on the 49ers

Judging by our own fanbase just in here, you can see there will always be a market for the Kawakami's, Cohn's, Killion's, Gutierrez's, and Florio's of the world. They just eat it right up...link and quote these guys and their garbage.

If he didn't want to play for he 49ers why did it take him so long to make his mind up? He could have dropped a rant about Jed or Trent or the waterboy and walked away. But he didn't. He agonised about it for an age, before announcing his retirement. I don't recall any comment about a lack of love for the team at the time. I think this is another invention. But if it isn't I believe he will come out in the open and say it.

Originally posted by English:

Some amazing fantasy stories being constructed in this thread. Here is what started it:

Now, a year after Smith retired, there's a rumor that perhaps he'd be interested in playing again.

A league source shared with PFT at the Scouting Combine the intriguing rumor of talk that Smith would like to play again, but that he doesn't want to play for the 49ers."

Written by Florio, a generally unreliable source, some 50 words include the word rumour twice, not to mention the word perhaps.

The sort of guy Smith was, I would be surprised if he didn't come right out and say what he was thinking. Rather than whisper vague rumours to be repeated at third hand to dubious sources on the perimeter. And he is 37.

Exactly people giving this article traction are just looking for reasons to trash the ownership. There is literally nothing but speculation based on nothing factual. Sloppy journalism to the max.

Originally posted by saniner:

Didn't he retire for health reasons? Something about not having power in his left side? I don't quite remember, but I think this report is total BS, and another attempt to sh!t on the 49ers

Smith hasn't been the same since 2012...sucks because that injury cost us the SB.

We all knew he was going to retire sooner rather than later. The new coach was his old position coach whom he was very fond off. People pretending he retired because he didn't want to play for Tomsula have an agenda. Much like Florio who on numerous occasions out our articles based on nothing but rumors...rumors which probably started in his head.

Too many unknowns. I bet Smith will make a statement soon.

This is laughable...why would a 37 year old want to play on a rebuliding SF team? This is a non-story

Originally posted by English:
If he didn't want to play for he 49ers why did it take him so long to make his mind up? He could have dropped a rant about Jed or Trent or the waterboy and walked away. But he didn't. He agonised about it for an age, before announcing his retirement. I don't recall any comment about a lack of love for the team at the time. I think this is another invention. But if it isn't I believe he will come out in the open and say it.

The irony. Not talking about you but talking about the board and how people like to fill in the blanks with their own slanted thoughts to fit their narratives.