What to do with Michael Crabtree?

With the 2009 regular season already underway, 49er fans have to wonder why their top draft pick, Michael Crabtree, is still unsigned. When Andre Smith inked his deal with the Bengals about two weeks before the season started, many posited that Smith (the only other unsigned draft pick) would provide the impetus for Crabtree and the Niner brain trust to come back to the table. While Mike Singletary says the organization may up their offer to Crabtree, other reports say that the dollar offer may actually be decreasing, as Crabtree misses more and more time. Either way, there has been one severe monkey wrench thrown into everything: Al Davis.
I feel most NFL fans would agree that wherever there is strife, the Raiders cannot be far behind. And currently, San Francisco can thank their neighbors across the Bridge for gumming up the works with Crabtree. When the Autumn wind blew down and took Darrius Heyward-Bey instead of Crabtree with the seventh overall pick back in August, perhaps they were not so inept as everyone thought at the time. Granted, Heyward-Bay has not exactly lit the world afire thus far (Louis Murphy definitely has had a bigger impact there). The point, however, is that DHB is on the field, while Crabtree is not.
The Red Raider's reluctance to agree to terms stems largely from Heyward-Bey's contract. The Maryland product agreed to a 5 year deal with the Silver and Black which included 23 million bucks guaranteed. Crabtree has been insulted with a mere pittance of 16 million guaranteed, according to unconfirmed reports.
If you go by draft position, Crabtree's deal (including incentives), could be within an Anchor Steam or two of the exact amount given to the pick in front of Crabtree, Packers defensive lineman BJ Raji. Crabtree, though, insists he was the best wide receiver in the draft, and should not have to take less money than any other receiver selected in front or behind him.
In this game of chicken, neither side can afford to blink. From Crabtree's perspective, his only other option is to pull a JD Drew, and go back into next year's draft. However, the odds of him being taken that high a year out of the game, with character issues to boot, do not bode well. There are two examples that come to mind, specifically Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams. While Williams was still a top ten pick in the 2005 draft, not only has he been a bust (out of the league within three years, 2 career touchdowns), but he also did not have the cloud of sign-ability hanging over him. Maybe Crabtree won't spiral down into sticking up bar patrons in back alleys, but still-- the situation is not a winner.
While the stakes are not quite as high for the 49ers, they also have a lot riding on these negotiations. After watching their offense throughout the preseason and this past Sunday, their passing attack has the teeth of a gummy worm. None of San Francisco's receivers are more than an afterthought by scouts. The team is in a similar spot to where they were coming off a promising 2006 season. That 7-9 teaser was followed up with a 5-11 clunker, with no cash rebate in sight. SF cannot afford another step backwards, and passing on Crabtree over money will not help their cause.
So where do we go from here? It really is up to Crabtree--he has tried his best to hold out for a better deal, but given all of the time he has missed thus far, he should think long and hard about signing. Even if he thinks he can get more money next year (which is far from a lock, even if 2010 might be uncapped), he is giving away one year of earning potential. And in a league that stands for Not For Long, that is a risky proposition-- unless your name is Al Davis.