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The Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to upgrade the wide receiver position in the 2012 NFL offseason in either free agency or the NFL draft. One wide receiver that I've mentioned before as a name to look out for has now been linked to the Jaguars in some regard, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Josh Morgan. Jaguars wide receiver coach Jerry Sullivan is very familiar with Morgan, having been on the 49ers staff when Morgan was drafted out of Virginia Tech. Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area notes that Jacksonville has come up when talking about Morgan's free agency interest.
Joshua Morgan, 49ers: There was some buzz about Morgan at the combine. If the 49ers do not sign him before March 13, several teams are expected to be interested. Jacksonville could be one of those teams. A source close to Morgan told CSNBayArea.com that "nothing is cooking" right now toward a new deal with the 49ers, but that can change in a hurry. He continues to show up nearly every day at the 49ers' practice facility to work out and rehab from his season-ending leg injury. He is on pace to take part in offseason practices without any restrictions.
Morgan has been the guy the 49ers were hoping would take that next step, but went down with an injury after just five games in 2011. Because of that, he's seen as kind of the "under the radar" receiver in free agency that could draw a ton of interest. I asked SB Nation's 49ers blog Niners Nation for a scouting report on Morgan.
Josh Morgan is a guy I really hope the 49ers re-sign. At the same time, the rumor mill is heating up that people view Morgan as a solid option behind the big names on the market. He's not a huge guy or a big deep threat, but he is a very solid complementary receiver. He has solid hands, runs solid routes, and does some great work after the catch. He is a great locker room guy and is quite popular with the rest of the team.
Alfie talks a little Josh MorganHis numbers are not particularly great in part because he has been in some fairly anemic offenses to date. He actually was ready to take a starting job alongside Isaac Bruce right out of the gates in his rookie season back in 2008. However, he suffered a staph infection and then dealt with some other injuries during the season.
Injuries have been an issue at times for Morgan, although I would not necessarily call him injury-prone. This past year he got off to a strong start and was the team's leading receiver before he broke his leg week five against the Bucs. Even though he is heading into free agency, he has remained with the 49ers throughout the season and into the offseason. Part of that is having access to the team's medical staff, but most 49ers fans hope it also is a sign he wants to return to San Francisco. If his value is more than the 49ers are looking to pay, they will let him walk.
Jaguars coach Jerry Sullivan is apparently a big fan of Morgan, so it's possible that he could be in Gene Smith's ear about picking up this young talented receiver who's been expected to break out.