On the heels of Wednesday's news that Michael Crabtree had surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon, NFL.com's Ian Rapoport noted that Randy Moss parted with the San Francisco 49ers on good terms and was staying in shape this offseason.
If the 49ers are willing to consider bringing Moss back, it won't happen anytime soon.
"We're excited for the young receivers that we have," coach Jim Harbaugh said when asked about a Moss reunion. "Really feel that somebody's going to emerge there because they have to. And competition will create that. And we'll look forward to watching that."
Harbaugh might not have explicitly ruled out Moss, but it still was a straightforward way of saying the 49ers are moving in a different direction.
The top candidate to ascend to a major role is 2012 first-round draft pick A.J. Jenkins, who has spent the offseason adding muscle and working on his rapport with quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Rapoport tweeted Wednesday that the 49ers "expect big things" from Jenkins this year.
It's quite the leap of faith for a player who was redshirted last season, failing to pass Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams on the 49ers' depth chart.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
