Remember when Brandon Jacobs thought it would be wise to take to social media and express his displeasure with the San Francisco 49ers? The running back was unhappy with his role on the team and thought it was a good idea to let the world know. The 49ers responded by suspending him and then not offering him a new contract at the end of the season. LaMichael James could be forcing history to repeat itself.
The former second-round pick is apparently taking a page out of the book of Jacobs and posting his own unhappiness on Twitter. The running back tweeted out, "Some things I just don't understand at all I don't work at State Farm I'm not trying to be insurance." James quickly deleted the tweet but not before a couple news organizations caught wind of it.
The running back spent the first three games of the season inactive before finally seeing action in Week 4 against the St. Louis Rams. In that game he was given 3 carries for zero yards. He also did not record a single receiving stat. This comes as a bit of a surprise. James saw an increased amount of production last season after injuries to Kendall Hunter. In four games as a back, James put up 125 yards on 27 carries. He also had 39 yards on three carries.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has already expressed uncertainty around how committed the team is to James. While the offense was struggling in a three-game stretch, the coach would simply just say the team was "making an evaluation" on James after a knee sprain limited the running back. However, James has insisted he is healthy and yet the 49ers were unwilling to see if he could provide any sort of spark.
If James keeps up with the Twitter posts, he could land on the trading block which may not be a bad thing. ESPN Insider Bill Williamson makes the point that the 49ers should trade the running back to the Philadelphia Eagles. James is bringing zero value to the team at this point. However, the role he played last season shows James has potential to be a quality rotational back. Sending him to the Eagles would reunite James with his college coach and help ignite the Philadelphia offense.
Will this happen? Probably not, but it is certainly food for thought. Harbaugh does not appreciate players talking about their unhappiness. James is already at the bottom of the rotation and certainly not moving up any time soon.
