Report: 49ers Shopping RB LaMichael James

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, citing a league source, reports that the 49ers are in the process of shopping RB LaMichael James.

49ers GM Trent Baalke told reporters back in February that they’ve “no discussions” about trading James.

“LaMichael is a 49er,” Baalke said at the time. “He’ll continue to be a 49er.”

• Barrows notes that San Francisco has taken a look at a number of players during free agency who could contribute on special teams.
• Barrows mentions that Eagles would have made sense as a trade partner for James given that he played for Chip Kelly while at Oregon, but they have already traded for Darren Sproles.

James, 24, was taken in the second-round of the 2012 draft, but has yet to carve out a role with the 49ers.

As things stand right now, James is buried on the team’s depth behind Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and Marcus Lattimore.

Last yeary, the 49ers had James active for just 10 games, which had a lot to do with him being slotted as the No. 4 running back on the team’s depth chart. To make matters worse, James played just 28 snaps this season and totaled 59 yards on 12 carries.

He still has two years remaining on his rookie contract with base salaries of $641,718 and $792,577 coming his way.