NFL Rumors: Trent Dilfer Leaving ESPN For San Francisco 49ers

NFL rumors are swirling around Trent Dilfer. According to the Bleacher Report, the former Baltimore Ravens quarterback is set to leave ESPN soon. There are reports that Dilfer is set to sign with the San Francisco 49ers in some sort of capacity. It will be quite interesting to see what exactly that role is going to be. Since he is still under contract to the sports network and has not officially joined the team, Trent is denying the rumors.

Over the past year, ESPN has seen several of their more well known personalities walk out the door to go elsewhere. Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock are now with Fox Sports. Skip Bayless is joining them soon. Mike Tirico went to NBC, while Bill Simmons has joined the team at HBO. In the majority of these cases, the biggest reason for the departure is the fact that other networks are simply willing to pay more money.

While we probably don’t know the reason why Trent Dilfer is parting ways with ESPN, the belief is that money is the biggest problem between the two sides. Having grown to become one of the more known personalities on the network, Dilfer is probably asking for more money on his next contract. ESPN has seen their number of subscribers drop tremendously, which has led to many speculating about their financial well being.

The chances of being an executive for the San Francisco 49ers seem very unlikely for Trent Dilfer. The franchise already has Trent Baalke as the general manager. The Niners also brought in Tom Gamble to be his right hand man. Gamble is a good liaison between Baalke and new head coach Chip Kelly because he worked with Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles. Dilfer doesn’t seem like he’s necessary, unless it might be a low level executive role to get him used to that side of the business.

An official spot on the coaching staff seems unlikely as well because the San Francisco 49ers already have their assistants in place. Curtis Modkins is the offensive coordinator, and Ryan Day is the quarterbacks coach. If anything, Trent Dilfer might be utilized more as a personal coach for one of the quarterbacks on the roster. He might make a good consultant because he actually played in the NFL.

Trent Dilfer might be utilized as a much needed mentor for Colin Kaepernick. The former Nevada Wolf Pack star has regressed on the field since Jim Harbaugh departed to become the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. Kaepernick did not seem to have the same bond with Jim Tomsula. The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to restore his faith in the franchise. Dilfer might be able to help Chip Kelly pull that off.

Another person that Trent Dilfer might be able to tutor is Jeff Driskel. The San Francisco 49ers selected the former Louisiana Tech Bulldogs star in the sixth round of the NFL Draft last week. Driskel has drawn comparisons to Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick because he is athletic and can make plays with his feet. Dilfer knows what it takes to be a pocket quarterback, so Chip Kelly might task him with converting Driskel into a more traditional passer.

There’s also a chance that Trent Dilfer decides to stay in broadcasting, so the San Francisco 49ers are simply going to have to find help elsewhere. It’s a pretty lucrative career, especially if Dilfer can finally get that Monday Night Football gig currently held by Jon Gruden. There are still those in the NFL that believe Gruden is going back to the sidelines some day. Dilfer is probably hoping that he does.