With the loss of center David Baas to the Giants the San Francisco 49ers are searching for a suitable replacement for the middle of their O-line, and may have found it in free agent Olin Kreutz.
Kreutz has played 13 straight seasons with the Chicago Bears, but the Niners are making a serious push to nab the pro-bowlers from the Windy City. The team has been negotiating with Kreutz, sending him a contract proposal Wednesday evening according to NFL sources. Although he has been in discussions with the Bears as well, Kreutz feels that their offer doesn't reflect a serious commitment to him as a player by their organization, or his importance to the O-line. Kreutz was seen as a mainstay, a person to build around on the O-line, but now maybe putting on the Red & Gold and starting anew in the city by the Bay.
In the past Kreutz has rejected better offers to remain with the Bears, but might not be so generous this time around. Of all the free-agent centers on the market, Kreutz has been to the most Pro Bowls, six in total, not to mention his team-high 134 consecutive games, a streak Kreutz has kept going since 2002. His reliability and durability would of great value to any team, but would be especially important to San Francisco as they try to put the best players in the game to protect Alex Smith, something they haven't done too well in the past.
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