The 49ers have been shopping a trade for LaMichael James ahead of the NFL draft in 2014 and while no deal is imminent, teams like the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Saints, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles could be in the mix for a deal with the 49ers before the May event.
James has signaled that he was displeased with his role with the team and now according to ESPN.com, he is staying away from offseason workouts and that could mean a trade is coming. CBS Sports reports he is working out in Texas and while his contract has a $50,000 workout bonus, he is staying away from the team for now. The Niners have Frank Gore as their starter and Kendall Hunter as the main backup and while Jim Harbaugh likes the skill set James has, he was never able to craze the rotation for the team.
James has barely played in his two years with the team after being a second round pick and now the Niners are looking to deal him. The team has double digit draft picks again this season so getting another one might give them the ammo they need to trade up or down in the draft in May. The Niners love to trade up for players, which they did for Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick and now that could play out again with James.
James has rushed for just 184 yards with the team in two seasons and he was also used on special teams and he could be valuable in that regard for a new team. James has blazing speed and many thought the Eagles could be a fit, but that was before the team traded for Darren Sproles, so they likely will not do that, even though he previously played for Chip Kelly art Oregon.
The teams listed all were in the bottom half of the league in trashing apart from the Washington Redskins, but they need depth as well, as they have pushed Alfred Morris hard over the past two seasons and they could use another element in the offense along with Roy Helu. Jay Gruden is an offensive minded head coach and after working with the Bengals, he really could get creative with a player like James. Cincinnati drafted Giovani Bernard last season and he had a very solid rookie year and one reason they picked him was his skills out of the backfield catching the ball and adding James to the Redskins could open that up for RG3 in the offense.
The Dolphins signed Knowshon Moreno, but they ranked 26th in the league in rushing last year with Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas and adding James to the mix could be great for Ryan Tannehill. James can catch the ball out of the backfield and the team greatly needs more depth at the position. Another team that could fit into things is the Cleveland Browns, as they have 10 draft picks coming into the event in May and they are lacking a bit behind Ben Tate. Adding James could bring another speedy player along with Josh Gordon to the offense for Cleveland.