There’s a reason — one that should be quite familiar to 49ers fans — Michael Crabtree still is looking for a new home. According to the Miami Herald, the Dolphins offered the 49ers free agent receiver a contract “close to $3 million” but that Crabtree is holding out for “at least $4.5 million.”
A subsequent report in the rival Palm Beach Post cites a Dolphins source who says no offer ever was made to Crabtree.
Crabtree visited the Dolphins on March 18. He reportedly will meet with the Raiders this week. However, those are the only two known visits for the one-time first-round pick.
Crabtree, of course, has a history of inflating his value. When the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Crabtree took an unexpected tumble to pick No. 10, where the 49ers took him. Crabtree, however, insisted that he be paid as if he had been drafted much higher, which sparked a 71-day contract impasse, the longest rookie stalemate in 49ers history.
Bizarrely (and memorably), a deal eventually was worked out with the help of one-time rap star M.C. Hammer.
Crabtree’s best season came in 2012 when, as the team’s No. 1 receiver, he caught 85 passes for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. He tore his Achilles’ tendon — one of three lower-leg injuries he’s suffered in San Francisco — the following offseason and hasn’t had nearly the production since.
He appeared in all 16 games in 2014, finishing with 68 catches, 698 yards and four touchdowns. He caught nine passes for 56 yards in a Dec. 9 loss to the Raiders.
The 49ers signed receiver Torrey Smith to a five-year, $40 million deal last month. He and Anquan Boldin are slated to start this season, and the team could add at least one other receiver in the draft.
If Crabtree signs a free-agent deal with another team before May 12, the 49ers likely will pick up another compensatory pick in the 2016 draft.
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