Daily Madden: Remembering Fabulous Freddie Solomon
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - John Madden remembers the great 49ers wide receiver Freddie Solomon as a happy guy who always had a bounce in his step. The beloved teammate who became known as "Fabulous Freddie" and committed himself to community service died this week at the age of 59.
Solomon lived in Florida and had battled cancer over the past year. The 49ers announced his death on Monday.
"You know, he could do anything," said Madden. "He was a college quarterback before he changed to wide receiver, and every once in awhile I remember Bill would put him in, as some teams do. I remember Pittsburgh did it with Slash, Bill Walsh was doing that with Freddie Solomon."
Madden said that Solomon would be on the field as a receiver when Joe Montana was the quarterback, then Montana would run out and come back as the receiver while Solomon played quarterback.
KCBS' John Madden:
Another wide receiver on Madden's mind was former Cal receiver and kick returner DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles, who is eligible for free agency - as are several other top NFL receivers - all of whom may be of considerable interest to the 49ers, who need help at the position.
"You have to have a budget, and then you have to go out and recruit these guys like you do college players. And then the big thing is that they have to fit in under your salary cap," said Madden. "You have to budget how many players you can get, and then you have to put your own in there too."
Madden said that that's one of the first things teams try to do is keep their core group of players by signing their own men first.
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