2015 NFL Free Agency: Five best players still free agents

1. Michael Crabtree

It’s interesting to watch former San Francisco 49er receiver Michael Crabtree collect dust. He’s got talent—it’s there even after the Achilles’ injury in 2013, which has definitely robbed him of some parts of his game.

Crabtree visited the Miami Dolphins, and the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders have also shown interest. And yet, here he sits with guys like Reggie Wayne and Hakeem Nicks, both at the end of their respective careers because of injury, age or both. Crabtree is younger, with a lot more football left. Even struggling last season (given the state of the 49ers, that wasn’t entirely his fault either), he showed flashes of what made him special when he came out in the 2009 NFL Draft.

However, he since that Achilles’ injury, something is off and there has been some speculation that a foot injury which briefly took him out of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in late September might have lingered all season long, which limited his numbers.

That, along with coming back from the Achilles injury could be why his numbers were down and interest from other teams followed.

Another thing which is hurting his stock was mentioned in the middle of March by the NFL Network’s Albert Breer—his poor attitude. It was put more directly—and harshly—by the Dallas Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill who tweeted that ‘(Crabtree’s) attitude is reportedly horrible.’

At this point, you should be able to grab Crabtree cheaply—nobody really gets huge contracts at this point in the offseason, save for contract extensions or re-workings—and he still has a lot of upside. If his attitude is bad or he’s a poor fit, you’re likely not out much money.

And one would think Crabtree would be well motivated to give you a career year as well, so he can cash in on a bigger contract down the road.

Of course, he could still be deluded into thinking he can get that contract now, which might be why he’s still a free agent now.

Next: Stefen Wisniewski