The San Francisco 49ers decided to part ways with wide receiver Torrey Smith. Before his departure from the organization, he was happy to have a new coach and see how the team will fit under Kyle Shanahan. “It’s the way they scheme it up and put it together. “The way I watch it from afar, (Shanahan) tailors it to people’s strengths, which is always a plus. So I’m excited to see what his plan is for us,” said Smith.
Smith played with the Baltimore Ravens and was traded to the 49ers in 2015.
Smith was offered a five year $40 million contract, with $22 million guaranteed, but he did not live up to expectations. In the last two years, Smith struggled getting separation from opponents, catching the ball, and being the game changer that the 49ers thought he could potentially be. He had 930 yards and seven touchdowns in 28 games.
Shanahan spoke about the changes he will make in the next few weeks with restoring the organization. “Rarely do I know people’s numbers, at all,” Shanahan said about player evaluations last Wednesday in Indianapolis. “You hear it after you watch it or sometimes you can’t help but people will tell you before but it has to do with how they play. You can’t do that by looking at numbers or records. You have to watch each play. Just because they make a mistake on a play doesn’t mean it’s their fault. You have to watch their protection. You have to see what the receivers are doing, what the coverage is doing. You have to know the situation in a game and it takes everything into account.”
“I feel we’ve got a bunch of good players we feel we can compete with, and we know we need to add some, too. We’re going to add as many as we can to help our roster. We also want to have competition, because the more competition we have in OTAs, the more competition you have in training camp …. If you cut some people at the end of training camp who you feel can play in the NFL, then that shows your organization is going in the right direction, and that’s really our goal.”
The 49ers were second to last in the league with passes over 40 yards. It is speculated that the 49ers will invest in some time and effort to get Pierre Garcon. They have a lot of cap room to get somebody from the free agency list or try to get a young receiver in the draft.
Smith is looking for a team, but he is optimistic that he will be playing for someone soon.
“Loved the locker room, loved my teammates and I loved both coaching staffs I was involved with as well so it just was I came in at the wrong time but I’m still thankful for the opportunity that they gave me,” Smith said.
The teams that are looking for a wide receiver are the Browns, Jets, 49ers, Ravens, and Texans, but none of them have reached out to Smith yet.
Smith has to remain healthy in order to grab a team’s eye. He has not produce great numbers, like he had done when he was with the Ravens. It will be interesting to see what team could take a chance on him.
