The San Francisco 49ers pursued trading up to draft Odell Beckham Jr. but the price tag was too high.

The 49ers would have had to surrender their first-round pick, second-round pick a third-rounder and, possibly, another selection to move from the No. 30 spot to grab Beckham, who was selected by the New York Giants at No. 12.

In 12 games, he had 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

“He’s a heck of talent,” Trent Baalke said. “He was graded as a heck of a talent by our scouts, by our coaches, by all parties. But what it would have taken to make that move would have cost us our first-, our second- and one of our third-round picks and maybe something on top of that.

“So, in essence, you would have been giving up (cornerback) Jimmie Ward, you would have been giving up (center) Marcus Martin or (linebacker) Chris Borland and you would have given up (running back) Carlos Hyde, plus somebody else. So you would have given up three young quality players to get one. And that was decision that collectively we weren’t willing to make.”

Jay Cutler was as surprised as the general public by Marc Trestman's decision to bench him in favor of Jimmy Clausen.

"Shocked I think at first, I didn't see it coming," Cutler said Thursday of his initial reaction.

Cutler would like to remain with the Chicago Bears despite the sensitive end of the season.

"I would like to stay here," Cutler said. "I really like it here. I love the guys in the locker room. This is where I'd like to be."

The 31-year-old quarterback is in his sixth season in Chicago and signed a seven-year, $127 million contract in the offseason, with $54 million guaranteed.

The Arizona Cardinals tried to trade for Alex Smith in 2013, but the San Francisco 49ers "quickly" rejected their efforts.

While Bruce Arians wanted to work with Smith, the Cardinals traded for Carson Palmer.

The 49ers ultimately traded Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs, who will play the Cardinals this week.