Were you wearing a helmet whilst browsing Twitter or reading up on your San Francisco 49ers news at your favorite sites (like SB Nation Bay Area, yeah?)? If you weren't, it's likely that you're still cleaning up the mess from when the Peyton Manning news blew your mind. It's understandable, that kind of thing happens from time to time. But seriously, it was extremely surprising to see the 49ers linked in such a way.
Which is admittedly kind of odd, given the fact that the 49ers have been touted as a possibility since Manning was released by the Indianapolis Colts. San Francisco boasts what might be the best defense in the NFL, one of the top special teams units in the NFL, and has guys like Frank Gore and Vernon Davis (and now Randy Moss, which means whatever you want it to mean at this point) on offense to work with.
So of course they were noted to be a solid landing spot for Manning. More than that, they're an infinitely better fit for Manning than the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans. It's just so surprising because the 49ers seemed totally ready to march onward with Alex Smith at the helm. Heck, they still probably are, providing the contract talks get settled.
It's unclear if the 49ers and Smith would agree to terms right now if Smith accepted everything they were offering him. It's actually unclear if the 49ers are even offering him anything at this point in the proceedings, given their interest in Manning. To the rest of the NFL, this all makes sense, but to people very close to the 49ers, this all seems like the world has been flip-turned upside down, as Will Smith might say.
This is both a crazy, crazy situation and one that is totally expected and actually quite normal. Manning makes so much sense for the 49ers, while they make so much sense for him in all but one area. That one area? Money.
The 49ers just aren't going to offer as much money as Denver or Tennessee, not by any stretch of the imagination. But Manning is one of the best ever, and his forehead moisturizer is already paid for through his final days. He doesn't need to make another $90 million before he's done with it all. In reality, he probably doesn't really feel that he needs to, either. But if he can, then why the hell not?
While this writer still considers it unlikely that Manning sign with San Francisco, it will certainly be interesting to follow things, to say the least.