The Facts:
As his 13-minute group session with reporters was winding down, HC Jim Harbaugh -- out of the blue -- said he wanted to clarify a misperception that he's been seeing since March: That the 49ers were pursuing then Manning, who narrowed his options to the 49ers, the Titans and his ultimate choice, the Broncos. "It's an erroneous perception that we were flirting with Peyton Manning. I keep hearing that over and over again," Harbaugh said. "It's silly, and it's untrue. It's phony."
Reported by the Sacramento Bee
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
Harbaugh further clarified: "Even the perception that we were pursuing [Manning]. ... We were evaluating him. I've said all along, Alex Smith has been our quarterback. There's been no scenario, other than Alex choosing to sign with another team, that we would have considered him not as our QB." Meanwhile, Smith an unrestricted free agent who ultimately settled for a three-year deal worth $24 million, said that Harbaugh kept him informed of the team's thought process throughout and that he knew about the trip Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman made to Duke University to watch Manning throw the ball. ... So why would Harbaugh resurrect this story two and a half months later and do so unprompted? That's anyone's guess. Bee staffer Matt Barrows suggested it might be as simple as gearing up for the season by getting into "we-are-family" mode. "Alex Smith is our quarterback, was our quarterback and we had every intention of bringing him back," Harbaugh said. "There would be no circumstance that we would have let Alex Smith go." Yeah. Sure. Not even for Peyton Manning.
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