SANTA CLARA – Quarterback David Carr met Saturday morning with 49ers coaches and officials, but by the afternoon he was heading home to Bakersfield without a contract. The two sides were negotiating a deal as of Saturday night.
The 49ers are still the leading contender to land Carr, the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft, but they are not the only contender.
Carr has been Eli Manning's primary backup in New York the last two seasons, and the Giants would like to retain him, according to a league source.
That source also said Carr has drawn interest from the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns, two teams with tenuous quarterback situations.
Kurt Warner's retirement in January left Matt Leinart as the top quarterback in Arizona. Leinart has a 70.8 passer rating in four seasons and is 7-10 as a starter. The only other quarterback on Arizona's roster is Brian St. Pierre.
The situation is worse in Cleveland, where Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson have dueled for the top spot in recent years.
Anderson, however, is due to earn a $2 million roster bonus on March 19 and probably will be released before that date.
Carr likely sees vulnerability atop the 49ers' depth chart as well.
The team is hoping that Alex Smith blossoms after being able to run the same offense for two consecutive seasons, which will be the first time that has happened in his career.
But he certainly isn't cemented in that position like Manning is with the Giants. And while Mike Singletary has given him endorsements, they have mostly been lukewarm endorsements.
The strongest came last month at the scouting combine.
"I'm always going to use words like 'probably' because I like competition. I like guys knowing that they're always going to compete," Singletary said. "But I feel very comfortable in saying Alex Smith is our starting quarterback going forward."
Carr hasn't started a game since 2007 and has mostly been relegated to cleanup duty playing behind Manning.
Last year, he saw most of his action in a blowout win over the Raiders and a lopsided loss to the Saints. He finished the season 21 of 33 for 225 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
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