Facing a weak market for receivers, the 49ers plan to hold on to restricted free agent Brandon Lloyd by offering him a first-round tender later this week. If Lloyd, the team's leading receiver last season, signs the offer, he will get a one-year contract worth about $1.6 million. The move allows the 49ers to match any offer given to Lloyd by another team once free agency begins, and more importantly, would require any team that signs Lloyd to hand over a first-round draft pick as compensation. Lloyd's value likely is higher this season because there will be few quality wide receivers on the free-agent market and few available in the draft. At the scouting combine last week, coach Mike Nolan said there was a possibility the 49ers could start the season with virtually the same receiving corps they had last season.

Coach Mike Nolan indicated Tuesday that the 49ers won't use the franchise tag on linebacker Julian Peterson or any of their other pending free agents. Meanwhile, a second candidate has withdrawn from consideration for the 49ers' newly created front-office position, a team spokesman said. Ray Anderson, an executive vice president with the Atlanta Falcons, pulled out a week after Seattle Seahawks vice president Mike Reinfeldt. The two were the only ones formally interviewed for the job. The 49ers have 13 unrestricted free agents, including Peterson, and Nolan said he wants to keep as many as he can. But, he added, there are salary-cap and team-building considerations. ``Our philosophy is no one player is bigger than the team,'' Nolan said. ``That's not just from a disciplinarian standpoint but from a cap standpoint as well.''

One day after published reports suggested Hall-of-Famers Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw declined to participate in a Super Bowl pregame ceremony for financial reasons, both players refuted the charge. According to a report in Monday's San Francisco Chronicle, Montana wanted at least $100,000 in order to appear during the ceremony, which featured all but three of the living Super Bowl MVPs. The NFL had offered two tickets to the game, hotel accommodations, the use of a car, tickets to three Super Bowl parties, $1,000 in spending money and first-class airfare to Detroit. The office of Peter Johnson, Montana's agent at IMG, released a statement in response to the report. "Joe Montana was in Detroit for Super Bowl activities on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday prior to the game, but always had planned to return home before the weekend to be with his family," the statement read. "He fulfilled his promise to attend son Nathaniel's basketball game on Friday night and son Nicholas' game on Sunday, and then be home with his family to watch the Super Bowl."

Quarterbacks Joe Montana, Jake Scott and Terry Bradshaw were conspicuously absent when the NFL showcased the Most Valuable Players from the first 39 Super Bowls during pre-game ceremonies in Detroit on Sunday. Montana, the former signal caller for the San Francisco 49ers and the only three-time Super Bowl MVP, apparently turned down the invitation because he wanted $100,000, not the $1,000 the NFL was offering, according to reports from Newsday and the San Francisco Chronicle. Bradshaw decided to stay home, while former Dolphins MVP Jake Scott was traveling in Australia. Although Bradshaw told league officials that he wanted to be with his family, The Chronicle reported the former Steelers quarterback also took issue with the amount the NFL was willing to pay for an appearance in the pre-game ceremonies. Bradshaw, through a representative, denied the Chronicle's report that there was a dispute over money.