NFL San Francisco

We noted this morning that longtime NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer had an Achilles injury that would likely end his playing career, and this afternoon Dilfer made it official.

Trent Dilfer, the quarterback who was a first-round bust for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1994 but has carved out a respectable journeyman career, is apparently done in the NFL after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.

Dilfer might have been done in the NFL anyway -- although he said the Raiders were interested in his services, he wasn't under contract to any NFL team -- but this injury would almost certainly make the end of his career official. The injury was first reported by the Tahoe Daily Tribune, which noted that Dilfer was pulling out of a golf tournament because of the injury, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the injury happened during a basketball game.

If Dilfer is done, his career deserves to be celebrated. He was never a great player, but he did carve out a niche for himself, start games for five different teams, amass more than 20,000 passing yards, and earn a Super Bowl ring. And while he wasn't a good draft pick for the Bucs, he was a class act. The NFL is saying goodbye to one of its good guys.

UPDATE: Trent Dilfer Makes It Official: He's Done

I think Steve Mariucci is a very good coach, one who deserves another chance at running an NFL team. He was successful with the 49ers, and although he was unsuccessful with the Lions, let's face it: Vince Lombardi couldn't win with the collection of stiffs Matt Millen has assembled in Detroit.

So I was glad to see that Mariucci hasn't shut the door on returning to coaching, even though the possibility may be remote:

"The right situation may never present itself again," Mariucci said, "because we've decided as a family not to move anymore. We are back in northern California in our home and we settled back in. I've moved my wife 18 times, and I don't want to move again, nor does she. Our home base is going to be in the Bay Area. It's that simple.

"For me to coach again, it either has to be on the West Coast or I would have to commute."

I'm not even sure what "commute" would mean for an NFL coach. Coaches hardly see their families even when they live in the same city. So if Mariucci is serious about not uprooting his family and doesn't want to be apart from them, his options are basically a return to Cal or the 49ers, or the Raiders, or Stanford. I hope one of those options presents itself.

When word came down that the 49ers had re-signed tight end Delanie Walker to a three-year, $6 million deal, ripples were felt all across the NFL landscape. Mostly because everybody outside of San Francisco (and some inside) asked themselves, "Who the hell is Delanie Walker?"

He's a guy Mike Martz has raved about thus far in the offseason, going so far as to create a package of plays designed specifically to get the ball in Walker's hands (interesting, given that he's got only 23 receptions in two seasons). The extension is obviously another vote of confidence and perhaps the 49ers trying to lock Walker up a year early, before he might command much more after a big statistical jump in '08. That's smart future planning.

What makes it all the smarter is that it might provide for a cheaper, better, quieter life after Vernon Davis. Davis' deal is up before the 2011 season (if there is one). It's safe to assume Davis is going to benefit from Martz's system as well. If he has one or two very good seasons, what would prevent the overconfident, overrated Davis from commanding a huge deal before his contract runs out (especially with the misleading but sexy dangling carrot of an uncapped year in 2010)?

If that's the case, the 49ers would be wise to let another team deal with his attitude. And they'd be even wiser to have Walker ready to take his place.

This is how you know it's the dregs of the NFL offseason. Teams still have glaring needs to fill, and as the demand for talent far outweighs the supply, inevitably people look at the best of what's left and allow themselves to get overly zealous about a mediocre player. "Savior" talk ensues.

Ex-Raider tackle Barry Sims isn't a bad player. And with offensive line depth at a premium, it makes sense that multiple teams would be interested. But good enough to call his own shots? With the choice of going to the 49ers, Rams, Ravens, or Patriots, Sims has agreed to a two-year deal with San Francisco.

The decision came down to playing time, and he concluded that the 49ers' offensive line situation is more unsettled than St. Louis' (a damning statement, to say the least). He's currently be backing up Jonas Jennings at right tackle, but Jennings has missed 27 games in the last three seasons and is recovering from ankle surgery. Besides, Sims has faced challenges before, besting three top prospects (Mo Collins, Matt Stinchcomb, and Robert Gallery) for the starting job at left tackle in Oakland after going undrafted. There's a very real chance he'll start.

Which most likely means the team is giving up on Chico Rachal as a bookend. It also means that Sims, a casualty of a 4-12 team and a member of some of the worst offensive lines in recent history, will bear the brunt of expectation in San Francisco. Gotta love the offseason.

Here's an odd signing, one that could just as easily be overlooked, but one that says something about the way the San Francisco 49ers are trying to build as a franchise.

The 49ers have signed tight end Delanie Walker to a three-year contract extension worth $6 million, with a $1.8 million signing bonus. Although that's not a huge contract by NFL standards, it seems like a lot to give a guy who, according to Football Outsiders, ranked dead last among NFL tight ends in effectiveness per play -- especially when the 49ers already have one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league in Vernon Davis.

But the 49ers apparently think the 23-year-old Walker is eventually going to be a good player in new coordinator Mike Martz's offense, and they now have him locked up through the 2012 season. If Walker becomes even a moderately effective receiving threat, this signing will be an absolute bargain.

Ultimately, these are the moves that either turn a bad team into a good one, or keep a bad team near the bottom of the league. I like Walker's potential, and I like this signing.

The National Football League Players Association has been led for a quarter century by Gene Upshaw, whose often brusque demeanor, combined with his stances on issues like guaranteed contracts and pension plans, has made him a controversial figure.

Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover and New York Giants center Shaun O'Hara are among the players who have publicly criticized Upshaw's leadership and questioned whether it's time for someone else to come along. But Upshaw still has the support of the majority of players' union leaders, including 49ers cornerback Walt Harris.

Good news, 49ers fans: It's only taken Alex Smith three years to do something impressive in practice.

Head coach Mike Nolan tells the San Francisco Chronicle that in recent practices, he has seen Smith "do things that I haven't seen him do before, in practice or in games."

Example? Actually recognizing when a blitz is coming and getting rid of the ball in a hurry. Great to know that Smith had already made $30 million or so from the 49ers before he learned that skill.

I point this out not to criticize Smith so much as to point out that the 49ers' three-way tie at quarterback among Smith, Shaun Hill andJ.T. O'Sullivan is a big mess. Nolan says he won't pick a leader right now, but it seems clear that he wants Smith to win the competition, even though Hill has been much more impressive on the field and O'Sullivan has a better grasp of coordinator Mike Martz's offense.

My money is on Smith winning the competition, playing badly in September, and being benched for Hill. And then the 49ers will start all over again by drafting a quarterback in 2009.

Larry David's right -- you can get out of just about any question as long as you say "it's personal," unless, of course, you're being questioned by Roger Goodell, who will have a league of upstanding citizens even if it requires surveillance in the homes of every single player. Luckily for Arnaz Battle, the questions he's facing aren't regarding legal matters, so no one will press any further on why the receiver missed team activities last week now that he's back.

"It's just a lack of communication," Battle said. "This is not a mandatory camp and I felt there were some personal things I needed to take care of. I put it on my shoulders. I didn't communicate it, and that's that."

Apparently everything's been cleared up and the team is satisfied. It's obviously best for everyone involved if Battle is present, especially now that he's missed a week of lessons on Mike Martz's new offense. But Battle isn't concerned about that.

"I played quarterback," he said. "I feel I have the intelligence to (be able to) come in and learn the position and get out there and make plays and make things happen"

Quarterback? Battle should switch positions, he might have a better chance of starting if he's under center.

I don't know Chilo Rachal. He might be a very nice man. Everything I've heard about him as a football player has been positive. But through no fault of his own, he represents everything that's gone wrong with the 49ers over the last few years.

Rachal was a guard in college, and the 49ers made him their second pick despite having a more urgent need at tackle. The thinking was that Rachal would be converted there, but there's one problem -- the 49ers' various decision-makers are at odds over the switch.

Now, this is a pretty big decision for the current state of the team -- a lot of jobs are riding on this season, and as last year proved a lot of the team's success will be riding on the offensive line. You'd have thought that the position would have been a priority this offseason. You'd have also thought that with the ramifications involved in getting this ship righted, the people responsible would at least be able to agree on a course of action. But no. Communication (or mis-, as the case may be), poor planning, and a lack of competent leadership have been the team's downfall since Steve Mariucci left.

And though, yes, Jonas Jennings is penciled in as the starter on the right line (making this all seemingly moot), there's no doubt that the guy who has missed 27 games in the last three seasons will need to be replaced at some point this season, if not from Week 1. The team's interest in Barry Sims indicates that the Rachal experiment isn't going well, making the dissension even more ludicrous and leaving the 49ers yet again holding their ... you know.