The 49ers have signed 30-year old QB David Carr to a 2-year deal.  Carr played in 6 games for the Giants last season in which he completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6%) for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (93.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 27 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Carr has now played in 91 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,346 of 2,251 passes (59.8%) for 14,366 yards with 65 TD passes and 70 INTs (75.2 QB Rating).  Carr has also carried the ball 302 times for 1,331 yards (4.4 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  Carr might get the chance to challenge Alex Smith for the starting job in 2010 as he has a very strong arm and a lot of experience.  If nothing else Carr will likely bump Shaun Hill out of a job.

The 49ers have slapped the franchise tag on 29-year old NT Aubrayo Franklin guaranteeing him a $7.003 million dollar salary for 2010.  Franklin played in all 16 games for the 49ers last season and he finished up with 36 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Franklin has now played in 46 games in his three years with the Niners and he has made 108 tackles, defensed 5 passes, has 3 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and he has 1 interception.  Franklin is one of Patrick Willis’ buddies as he keeps blockers away from him so it was smart for the Niners to keep and pay the man in 2010.

The San Francisco 49ers have signed 26-year old TE Tony Curtis to a reserve/future contract.  He last played in the NFL in 2008 with the Cowboys.  Curtis has played in 32 games in his major league career and he has caught 11 passes for 50 yards (4.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also made 5 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  Curtis will get a chance next training camp to earn a job as Vernon Davis’ back-up in 2010.

Last April the 49ers thought they picked a great set of players but it didn’t show in 2009.  WR Michael Crabtree out of Texas Tech was the Niners’ first round pick (#10 overall).  He held out the first five games before quickly moving into the starting line-up with mixed results.  He played in 11 games for the Niners and he caught 48 passes for 625 yards (13.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  His toughness was questioned on more that one occasion as he sometimes had a case of alligator arms.  If he can just man up he will be a good WR in the NFL.  Glen Coffee was selected in the third round (#74 overall) by the Niners out of Alabama.  He served as Frank Gore’s back-up in 2009 but he didn’t look too good.  He played in 14 games for the Niners last season and he carried the ball 83 times for 226 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Coffee also caught 11 passes for 76 yards (6.9 avg) and he returned 3 kickoffs for 42 yards (14.0 avg) last year.  He will likely have to show a lot of improvement just to make the Niners next season.  5th rounder (#146 overall) Scott McKillop was a solid special teams player for the Niners last season.  The inside linebacker played in all 16 games for the 49ers last season making 19 tackles.  QB Nate Davis out of Ball State was selected in the 5th round (#171) by the 49ers.  He was a longshot to make the team but he made enough progress during the pre-season and training camp to stick all year with them.  He will be the #3 QB for the Niners again next season.  TE Bear Pascoe was picked in the 6th round (#184 overall) out of Fresno State.  He didn’t play a down with the 49ers but he did played in 4 games with the New York Giants catching 1 pass for 9 yards.  Free safety Curtis Taylor was selected in the 7th round (#219 overall) out of LSU and he played in 7 games making 4 tackles for the 49ers.  DT Ricky Jean-Francois was the Niners’ final pick last April (7th round, #244).  He played in 2 games without making any tackles.

GRADE FOR 2009:  D+

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The 49ers really like their QB situation right now.  25-year old Alex Smith finally stepped up and showed what he could do in 2009.  He played in 11 games for the Niners this season and he completed 225 of 372 passes (60.5%) for 2,350 yards with 18 TD passes and 12 INTs (81.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 24 times for 51 yards (2.1 ypc) this year.  Smith has now played in 43 games in his career with the 49ers and he has completed 660 of 1,172 passes (56.3%) for 7,029 yards with 37 TD passes and 43 INTs (69.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 111 times for 390 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career so far.  The 49ers hope that Smith will keep up the good work in 2010.

29-year old Shaun Hill started 2009 as the starting QB for the Niners before getting benched for Smith.  Hill played in 6 games for the Niners this season and he completed 87 of 155 passes (56.1%) for 943 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 70 yards (8.8 ypc) this year.  Hill has now played in 19 games in his NFL career and he has completed 322 of 522 passes (61.7%) for 3,490 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 INTs (87.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 46 times for 197 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  The Niners like having Hill around as the back-up because of his experience.