The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks figure to battle tooth and nail for the NFC West division crown this season, so when the 49ers' No. 1 wide receiver, Michael Crabtree, went down with a torn Achilles tendon, it was a major blow to San Fran.
The Niners are acknowledging Crabtree is still early in the rehabilitation process, but are not ruling out a return to the field before season's end.
"I wouldn't categorize it as 'ahead of schedule' because he is just starting to move on it," head coach Jim Harbaugh said on Monday. "It's just been healing but it looks great. That's from the words of the doctors, so, again, optimistic there."
This offseason the 49ers traded for Anquan Boldin of the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens to pair with Crabtree, but now Boldin will be relied on as the top wide receiver, if not top target overall in the passing game. A bevy of lesser known commodities are battling for the spot opposite Boldin; that group includes A.J. Jenkins, Ricardo Lockette, Quinton Patton, and Marlon Moore.
San Francisco has two other veteran receivers, Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams on the roster, but both are recovering from torn ACLs and will start the 2013 season on the physically unable to perform list, which keeps them out of action until at least Week 7.
Crabtree was the 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Texas Tech, and had the best season of his career by far last season. He reeled in 85 passes, and broke the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time ever, piling up 1,105 yards through the air. He scored nine touchdowns and proved reliable week in and week out, averaging 5.3 catches a week.
Until Crabtree can return, Harbaugh has faith in the young crop of pass-catchers vying to replace him. "I really feel like they're making a lot of progress. I feel good about where that stands right now."
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