The 49ers are just a year removed from going to three straight conference championship games and a Super Bowl, but the present and future are looking awfully unclear right now. It started with Jim Harbaugh's departure, and it continued with a weekend of comings, goings, and rumors.
What seems to be official is that Frank Gore will be signing with Philadelphia. This might seem like no big deal with San Francisco having last year's second-rounder Carlos Hyde ready to take over. Hyde is a big, bruising back, and suddenly becomes very intriguing in the early rounds of fantasy drafts next year.
But Hyde was only good (4.0 yards per carry), not great in his limited action last year. It's far from certain he'll be a franchise back. What's interesting is that San Francisco seemingly wanted very much to bring Gore back; just a few days ago the team sounded confident it would be re-signing him. With Gore gone, it's possible the team will look to bring in another back, either via free agency or the draft.
The receiving corps is also changing. Sounds like Michael Crabtree is gone and Torrey Smith will be signing with the team tomorrow. They're different kinds of players and will change the passing offense. That would seem to be a good thing -- San Francisco ranked 30th in passing offense a year ago -- but tough to be sure Smith will be a good fit.
Overnight there was a rumor that the 49ers had put Colin Kaepernick on the trade block. That gained enough steam that Baalke had to issue a strong denial. Gotta take him at his word, but these rumors come from somewhere. Kaepernick didn't play well enough last year to be free of speculation that the Niners have lost confidence in him, and the Niners have a new coaching staff.
The 49ers are also expected to lose guard Mike Iupati, hurting their offensive line. The defense has a lot of older players, some of whom are coming off significant injuries. And some of whom are retiring, notably Justin Smith and Patrick Willis.
None of this is necessarily going to turn out badly. Smith could well be an upgrade over Crabtree; probably will be. Hyde might be reminiscent of a young Frank Gore. Kaepernick isn't likely to be going anywhere and could benefit from a new voice in his ear.
But in a tough NFC West, it's a lot of change for a team that was clearly one of the top two teams in recent years. San Francisco might be headed for a decline before it finds its way back into the championship hunt.
--Andy Richardson