During the long NFL lockout, fans desperate for news have turned to the 49ers talented beat writers for any news they can find.
Two of the more commonly asked questions of the writers -- and two they are probably sick of answering -- center around the return of Alex Smith and the mythical pursuit of Raiders' All-Pro cornernback Nnamdi Asomugha.
The Sacramento Bee's Matt Barrows has taken to answering the question about whether the 49ers would be interested in the former Cal Bear by saying yes, but so would 31 other teams.
Well 49ers' General Manager Trent Baalke may have crossed his team off of that list. In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami, Baalke said he does not expect the 49ers to be major players in free agency, once it opens up.
"From a philosophical standpoint, we’re not going to be major players in free agency," Baalke said.
He said the team will prioritize its own free agents and building through the draft over making big splaches in free agency.
But Baalke said when the opportunity arises to get a game-changing player who can push the 49ers to the next level, he wouldn't hesitate to make that move.
The question then becomes, is Asomugha one of those players, at an expected asking price between $15 and $18 million a season.
