California can be a litigious place.

That being said, the San Francisco 49ers may have a legitimate legal case in the “Bounty-gate” scandal after new audio was released where former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams specifically called for serious injuries and bodily harm to key players on its roster.

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton recently said that the penalties for the former coach should be even harsher than what was handed out as punishment by the league. Aside from mentioning that Williams should go to prison for such egregious acts, he also suggested that the players named in the tapes should consider pursuing legal action.

Kyle Williams, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Frank Gore were each named as targeted players by Williams, who was suspended indefinitely by commissioner Roger Goodell. He clearly called for injuries that would not only end their football careers, but potentially damage their quality of life in the future.

That should be the most concerning issue at hand, especially given the recent string documented medical problems that former players have experienced following their NFL careers. Most recently, San Diego Chargers offensive lineman Kris Dielman was forced to retire in 2012 after experiencing a seizure following a 2011 game.

The NFL preaches safety, player protection, and cleanliness of its sport, so some recourse may be possible. However, the legal process is long and tedious – especially when the evidence is circumstantial. It would be difficult to prove that any player actually acted on a threat from Williams.

Tarkenton does make an interesting point when he recounts the serious nature of Williams’ insensitive rant, however. As much as people may want to believe that bounties are just a part of the game, the league has done the right thing by punishing this act with a heavy hand. Goodell may not be well-liked by a lot of folks around the league, but he has shown integrity and consistency in his dealings with league personnel in disciplinary situations.

More than likely, the players mentioned above feel the same way and will not feel the need to pursue any further action than what’s already been done, especially since they were not hurt in the game.

Michael C. Jones is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor in Sports and a California native and resident, following all developments related to the San Francisco 49ers.

Follow Michael on Twitter: @MikeJonesTweets

The 49ers’ relentless fortification of their roster yielded three more moves Thursday: the signings of quarterback Josh Johnson, return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. and wide receiver Mario Manningham.

While Manningham agreed to his two-year deal Saturday and finally made it official five days later, the acquisitions of Johnson and Ginn came as a bit of a surprise but not a total shock.

Johnson, an Oakland native and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup, signed a two-year deal. Ginn visited three teams before opting to return on a one-year pact.

Johnson told this newspaper Tuesday morning he wanted to join the 49ers, even if Alex Smith returned as the incumbent quarterback. Well, Smith agreed to a three-year

deal later Tuesday, and now he’ll be competing with Johnson and Colin Kaepernick, last year’s second-round draft pick.

“It’s a great organization, and they were a great team last year, so most definitely I would,” Johnson said in Tuesday’s phone interview from his Tampa, Fla., home.

“Josh is a promising young player that has experience in our offensive system,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement. “He is a skilled athlete with a good arm talent. Josh has shown promise in limited action, both as a backup and starter at the NFL level.”

Johnson played at the University of San Diego under current 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and was 0-5 all-time as a starer with the Buccaneers, who picked him in the fifth round

of the 2008 draft. He met with members of the Washington Redskins on Wednesday and is scheduled to talk with Bay Area media Friday. He did not immediately return a call Thursday night seeking comment.

“No matter where you go, there’ll be competition,” Johnson said Tuesday. “You have to hope a team gives you the best opportunity to put your best foot forward. The 49ers, they came within a quarter (or overtime) of the Super Bowl.”

The 49ers’ Super Bowl bid ended with an NFC Championship

game loss to the New York Giants, a 20-17 defeat Ginn missed because of a nagging knee injury. His replacement, Kyle Williams, botched two punt returns for game-changing turnovers.

“Everybody said it’s Kyle fault, but it’s not right. It’s a team game,” Ginn said on a media conference call. “It was very hard (not to play). You work so hard to be there.”

Ginn reunited with his 49ers “family” on a one-year deal. He’s been the 49ers’ primary return specialist since they acquired him in a 2010 trade with the Miami Dolphins. Ginn, a five-year veteran, took free agency visits to the Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings.

He started his 2011 season in record fashion, becoming the first 49er to return a punt and a

kickoff for touchdowns in the same game, clinching a 33-17 win over the visiting Seattle Seahawks.

“He is a versatile player and an excellent teammate that will continue to play an important role for us on both offense and special teams,” Baalke said in a statement.

During Ginn’s visit to the Lions, he told the Free-Press he was looking to emerge more as a receiver than a return specialist. That could be a tough task on the 49ers, who’ve added Randy Moss and Manningham to their receiver stable.

Ginn said he merely wants an opportunity to compete at receiver, having tallied 19 receptions for 220 yards and no touchdowns last season in 14 games and three starts.

As for Moss’ addition, Ginn said: “He’s an icon. To have

that player on your team and all the accolades he has, and to come to a great team we have, and to put all that together — it should be something to see.”

Manningham, an Ohio native like Ginn, agreed to a two-year contract Saturday that finally became official earlier Thursday. Manningham picked the 49ers over the St. Louis Rams, but not because of the possibility that his quarterback might be Peyton Manning.

“I thought (Manning) was going to the 49ers, but he didn’t and went to Denver,” said Manningham, who caught clutch passes from Eli Manning in the Giants’ Super Bowl run. “We’ve got Alex Smith, and he’s a great player. He played good last year.”

A third-round pick in the 2008 draft by the Giants, Manningham acknowledged

that he was disappointed to leave his original team, noting: “Who wouldn’t want to come back to the team that drafted them? But that’s in the past, and I won a Super Bowl with them. I give them credit for teaching me things. But this is my new team.”

Also part of that wide receiving corps is Williams, who received a pep talk from Ginn after last season’s tough finale.

“I talked to him that day and tried to tell him to keep his head up, stay positive and he’s got long time to regroup from this,” Ginn said.

The 49ers’ busy offseason also includes the re-signings of Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers, linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Tavares Gooden, defensive backs C.J. Spillman and Tramaine Brock, and defensive tackle Will Tukuafu. Safety Dashon Goldson has drawn the 49ers’ franchise tender of $6.2 million this season but has yet to sign it.

For more on the 49ers, see Cam Inman’s Hot Read blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, shown during a game in January, has agreed to a new three-year contract with the 49ers, the team said Wednesday. UPI/Terry Schmitt 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 21 (UPI) — Alex Smith has agreed to a three-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL team said Wednesday.

Smith led the team to a 13-3 record last season, but his contract status was held up when the 49ers entered the competition for former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

San Francisco was seen as one of the finalists but Manning signed a long-term contract with the Denver Broncos Tuesday. One day later, the 49ers came to terms with Smith.

The San Francisco Chronicle said Smith’s contract is worth $24 million over three years.

Smith started all 16 games for the 49ers last season, throwing for 3,144 yards and 17 touchdowns. The 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship game where they lost to the New York Giants.

In six NFL seasons, all with San Francisco, Smith has thrown for 12,543 yards and 69 touchdowns. He’s started 66 of the 70 games he’s played in. The team is 32-34 in his starts.

SAN FRANCISCO — Jim Harbaugh coaching Peyton Manning. In the Bay Area, they’re beginning to think about the possibility and believe it truly might happen.

A former NFL quarterback, Harbaugh worked wonders with Alex Smith in a matter of months for the NFC West champions, and now all signs point to the 49ers being a serious player in the Manning sweepstakes. Smith, who had a three-year offer on the table to return, traveled to Miami on Sunday to meet with the Dolphins.

“It’s crazy,” said 49ers running back Frank Gore, who has long been a big supporter of Smith. “I’m going to sit back and let them do their job. I’m sitting back and waiting for it to happen.”

Everybody is eagerly anticipating decision day, likely this week.

If San Francisco doesn’t sign Manning, the 49ers will have some serious relationship-building to do with Smith even after he developed a close relationship with Harbaugh. The Niners might even need to bump him up from the $24 million he has reportedly been offered.

And there could be similar fallout in Tennessee and Denver if those teams don’t land Manning, who turns 36 on Saturday. The four-time NFL MVP sat out the 2011 season and is trying to come back after he was released by Indianapolis following a string of neck surgeries.

For Smith, his visit to South Florida also could be a move by the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick to protect himself with a possible backup plan. He and Manning are both represented by agent Tom Condon of CAA Sports.

“This is the NFL. I guess nothing surprises me anymore,” Smith told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel upon arriving at the airport Sunday. “I never thought a year ago [Peyton] Manning would be a free agent either. I’m never surprised by anything.”

Harbaugh watched Manning work out last Tuesday at Duke, and now the former Colts star has held sessions for all three of the franchises believed to be the finalists to sign the biggest free agent of 2012. Only the 49ers are yet to publicly acknowledge their interest.

Manning worked out for Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville, one day after he showed his skills to Hall of Famer John Elway and the Broncos at Duke.

While Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman saw Manning last week and San Francisco emerged as a surprise contender to sign the 2007 Super Bowl-winning quarterback, it seems 49ers CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke certainly would want to make their pitch to Manning in person, too.

Pulling off this one would be the second major splash by the 49ers’ brass in as many offseasons.

In January 2011, York and Baalke wooed Harbaugh away from nearby Stanford on a $25 million, five-year deal. And what a job Harbaugh did: San Francisco went 13-3 and ended an eight-year stretch without a playoff berth or winning record, losing 20-17 in overtime of the NFC title game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

If Smith leaves and Manning doesn’t sign or were to get hurt, the 49ers would be left with unproven second-year pro Colin Kaepernick, but this is a team that isn’t afraid to take chances when the reward could be huge. Just look at a two-day span for San Francisco last week. The 49ers signed Randy Moss on Monday and a day later cornerback Perrish Cox, who was acquitted earlier this month on sexual assault charges in Colorado.

Harbaugh has a knack for coaching anybody into a winner with his “Who’s got it better than us? Nobody!” chants and other unorthodox motivational tactics — some of which he learned from his coaching father, Jack, and big brother and Baltimore Ravens coach John.

The NFL coach of the year last season, Harbaugh has to believe he’ll have no problem coaching a veteran quarterback like Manning. The former Colt is among the greatest ever to play with 54,828 yards passing, 4,682 completions and 399 touchdown passes.

“He’s a Hall of Famer, first ballot, that’s all I got to say,” Gore said of Manning. “He’s one of the best ever to play the game. I’m going to sit back and let them do what they think is best.”

If winning is more of a priority for Manning than a big payday, the 49ers have put things in place over the past week. They signed Moss to a one-year deal, then brought back Pro Bowl cornerback Carlos Rogers on a $31.3 million, four-year contract to give San Francisco 11 returning starters on Vic Fangio’s talented defense. The 49ers then agreed to terms on a two-year contract with former Giants wideout Mario Manningham late Saturday.

“I know coach Harbaugh and Trent Baalke feel good about what they’re doing,” Gore said. “They know what they’re doing.”

Perhaps all of that is enough to attract Manning, despite the thought he would prefer to stay in the AFC and not have to regularly face off with his younger brother, Eli.

This year marks Manning’s 15th in the NFL — the same number of seasons Harbaugh spent in the league with the Bears, Colts, Ravens, Chargers and Panthers. A first-round draft pick taken 26th overall by Chicago in 1987, Harbaugh completed 2,305 of 3,918 passes for 26,288 career yards and 129 touchdowns in the NFL. He also ran for 18 TDs.

Elway, of course, also has quite the pedigree.

Perhaps Elway’s pursuit of Manning might mean he doesn’t have faith in Tim Tebow as the Broncos’ QB for the future. Denver squeaked into the playoffs as AFC West champions on the final day of the regular season last year.

Titans owner Bud Adams declared earlier this month he wanted Manning and considers him the missing piece to a championship team. That might not sit too well with Matt Hasselbeck, who signed to a three-year contract last July with Tennessee.

The pursuit of Manning has kept the Titans from addressing their defensive line early in free agency, one of their top needs. Mario Williams signed with Buffalo, John Abraham re-signed with Atlanta and Jason Jones left Tennessee for Seattle.

Other teams also might be behind in building their rosters because of the chase for No. 18.

The Dolphins and Arizona fell out of the running, and the Cardinals are moving ahead with quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Gore, who spends his offseason in Miami each year, isn’t going to begin to guess what might happen next in the Manning story — and what it might mean for him next season.

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “I don’t know.”

MIAMI (AP) — San Francisco 49ers free agent quarterback Alex Smith is meeting with the Miami Dolphins, which could affect the Peyton Manning sweepstakes.

The 49ers are among three finalists for Manning, along with the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans.

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed to The Associated Press that Smith was meeting with the Dolphins. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not publicly discussed Sunday’s meeting.

The 49ers had been working to re-sign Smith, the No. 1 overall 2005 draft pick who enjoyed his best season in 2011 under first-year 49ers coach Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback. Smith and Manning have the same agent, Tom Condon.

The Dolphins‘ unexpected courtship of Smith came after they were spurned by Manning and then hosted former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn for a weekend Saturday.

It was unclear whether the Dolphins expanded their quarterback search in a bid to pressure Flynn to sign soon. He visited the Seattle Seahawks earlier in the week.

Flynn left South Florida on Sunday morning, but a deal with the Dolphins remained a possibility, said his father, Alvin.

A second person told the AP the Dolphins were to host quarterback David Garrard on Monday.

Garrard, a starter for Jacksonville from 2005 to 2010, didn’t play last year. He was released five days before last year’s opener by the Jaguars, then underwent back surgery in October.

But it was Smith’s turn on Sunday

He landed at the Fort Lauderdale airport Sunday morning and arrived at the Dolphins complex at 11 a.m. EDT in a car driven by trainer Kevin O’Neill. New coach Joe Philbin, new offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and general manager Jeff Ireland arrived earlier.

Smith struggled early in his career but threw for 3,150 yards and 17 touchdowns with only five interceptions last season as San Francisco went 13-3 and made the NFC title game after an eight-year playoff drought. He orchestrated six comeback wins, four on the road.

Smith has been weighing a three-year offer from the 49ers. If he instead joins the Dolphins, he would be reunited with running back Reggie Bush. They were teammates at Helix Charter High School in La Mesa, Calif.

All were also on hand for Flynn’s 5 1/2-hour meeting Saturday.

Flynn was a backup the past four years for Green Bay, where his offensive coordinator was Joe Philbin, the Dolphins’ new head coach. Flynn has only two career NFL starts, but in last year’s regular-season finale he set franchise records with 480 yards passing and six touchdowns to help the Packers beat Detroit 45-41.

The Dolphins have started 16 quarterbacks since Dan Marino retired and are looking to make another change. While incumbent Matt Moore played well last year, there are doubts he’s a franchise quarterback. Chad Henne, who started 31 games for Miami over the past three seasons, signed Wednesday with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a backup.

The 49ers emerged as a contender for Manning when the news surfaced that he worked out Tuesday for Harbaugh at Duke. The four-time NFL MVP also worked out for the Broncos on Friday at Duke, and for the Titans on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.

Manning has been rehabbing in North Carolina following a string of neck surgeries, which led Indianapolis to release him.

San Francisco running back Frank Gore, who works out each offseason in Miami, said Sunday he hadn’t spoken to Smith. Gore has long supported Smith through the quarterback’s up-and-down seven NFL seasons.

Now, Gore and the 49ers are sitting tight to see what happens next.

“It’s crazy,” Gore said. “I’m waiting for whatever happens. I know coach Harbaugh and (general manager) Trent Baalke feel good about what they’re doing.”

Manning’s whirlwind free agency tour officially kicked off soon after he bid farewell to the Colts in an emotional press conference.

___

AP Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn., Joedy McCreary in Durham, N.C., Pat Graham in Denver and Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco 49ers landed another wide receiver in a headline-making week for the NFC West champions, agreeing to terms Saturday with free agent Mario Manningham on a two-year contract.

Randy Moss joined the roster last Monday.

Now, the big question is who will be throwing them the ball: Peyton Manning or Alex Smith?

Manningham met Thursday with the 49ers, who still appear to have interest in Manning after coach Jim Harbaugh worked him out Tuesday at Duke University. Manning worked out for the Tennessee Titans on Saturday and it appears he will now choose between them, San Francisco and the Denver Broncos.

Have the 49ers done enough already to entice him, and show they’re aiming for another shot at the Super Bowl this season?

Agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed Saturday night that Manningham, the former New York Giants wideout, had reached a deal with the 49ers, who lost in overtime of the NFC championship game to Manningham and the eventual Super Bowl champions at Candlestick Park on Jan. 22.

Manningham caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning with 8:34 remaining in regulation of the NFC title game to help New York reach the Super Bowl.

He had five more receptions for 73 yards in the Giants’ 21-17 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots, including an over-the-shoulder 38-yard catch between two defenders on which he managed to stay inbounds to start the game-winning, 88-yard touchdown drive.

The 25-year-old Manningham had 39 catches for 523 yards and four touchdowns total last year in his fourth NFL season.

Manningham will join an upgraded receiving corps that also includes Moss, who signed a one-year contract Monday, and Michael Crabtree, the team’s 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Texas Tech who had 72 receptions for 874 yards and four touchdowns in 2011.

“It’s going down. Mario Manningham signs with 49ers. This is a sick WR squad. It’s going to be crazy on the Offensive side of the ball,” tweeted defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois.

The 49ers, who ended an eight-year playoff drought in Harbaugh’s first season of 2011, also will return their entire starting defensive 11 after bringing back cornerback Carlos Rogers on a $31.3 million, four-year deal this week. So, that too could be attractive to Peyton Manning, even though there’s speculation he would prefer to stay in the AFC and not have to regularly face off with his younger brother.

Smith had been expected to re-sign with the 49ers and acknowledged he was weighing a three-year contract offer — but that all might have changed in a matter of a few days once Manning entered the 49ers’ picture. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on its Web site Saturday, citing a league source, that Smith was considering changing agents from Tom Condon, who also represents Manning.

An email to 49ers CEO Jed York, Smith and agents at CAA Sports went unreturned Saturday.