For the first six weeks of the regular season, Tony McDaniel was an unemployed professional football player and amateur hiker.
McDaniel, 32, spent many afternoons exploring the picturesque Rattlesnake Mountain Trail near North Bend, Wash., about 30 miles outside Seattle. The defensive lineman snapped pictures of the scenery and contemplated his murky football future during his three-hour solo journeys.
“I know that sounds kind of weird, but I find it relaxing,” McDaniel said. “You can get a lot of thinking done.”
McDaniel isn’t alone. He’s one of three 30-something defensive players the 49ers signed in October who wondered if they’d played their last snap before the phone rang them out of unemployment.