Sixty-two days and counting.

That's how long WR Michael Crabtree, who turned 22 exactly one week ago, and the San Francisco 49ers have been involved in a catch-22 of major proportions, each holding firm in a contentious contract stalemate that league insiders don't see coming to an end any time soon.

If at all.

The numbers have been well-documented.

The Niners are sticking to their guns with a five-year, $20 million offer, including $16 million guaranteed, to Crabtree, their first-round draft pick (10th overall) in the 2009 draft.

Crabtree and his agent, Eugene Parker, meanwhile, refuse to budge from a demand for at least as much as the $38.3 million ($23.5 million guaranteed) WR Darrius Heyward-Bey received from the Raiders as the draft's seventh overall selection.

Niners team president Jed York tried to set up a face-to-face meeting of the minds a few weeks back — to no avail.

At this writing, any sort of compromise solution, it would appear, seems extremely unlikely, with Parker, who has gone deep underground, staunchly committed to a holdout that would lead to either an eventual trade of his client or Crabtree's re-entry into the draft in 2010.

Calendar watching has become a key subplot in the multilayered Crabtree saga. The deadline for the Niners to sign Crabtree to a contract that would allow him to play this season is Nov. 17. Beyond that, with the deadline for a potential trade of Crabtree this season having expired Aug. 14, the door to a possible trade that would allow him to play elsewhere next season cannot open again until March 5 — the official start of the 2010 trading period.

Adding high-octane fuel to the fire is the recent tampering charge involving Crabtree that the Niners filed against the Jets, who have hardly kept their need for WR help a secret.

At the crux of the tampering charge, it is widely believed in league circles, was a report not long after the trading deadline had passed by NFL Network commentator and Crabtree confidant Deion Sanders, who claimed that there were at least two teams, including the Jets, that were willing to trade for the Texas Tech receiver and pay him $40 million.

As is the case with Parker regarding his Crabtree game plan moving forward, the Niners are remaining mum on the tampering charge.

"But I have to think they absolutely are looking for vindication," said one team insider of the Niners, making note of the tampering charge levied against the Niners two years ago, when the league ordered the team to forfeit a fifth-round pick in the '08 draft and switch third-round picks with the Bears for tampering with OLB Lance Briggs.

In any event, a line appears to have been drawn in the sand by both the Niners and Crabtree's camp that neither has any intention of crossing.

The Niners, team insiders have indicated, have no intention whatsoever of budging from their aforementioned offer to Crabtree, especially with the team off to a surprisingly strong start without him.

As to whether or not the Niners could really use him right about now, opinions are more than a little mixed.

"It's really hard to say," said one daily team observer of Crabtree, who racked up eye-popping numbers — 3,127 yards and 41 TDs — in his two years at Texas Tech. "I just don't know how good he is.

"There are some scouts I've talked to who think he's electric. But there just as many who have not been impressed by him, claiming that the cornerbacks in the Big 12 weren't real good, and that his yards-after-catch ability leaves a lot to be desired."

As for the current Niners players, star CB Nate Clements provided PFW with the party line on Crabtree in a phone interview four days before the team's near upset of the Vikings that dropped its record to 2-1.

"I think the guys can't help but be aware of what's been going on, but I don't think it's been a distraction," Clements told PFW. "Most of the guys are just focusing on their responsibilities and what they need to do to get ready for our opponents, week in and out."

Parker, meanwhile, appears firmly committed to continue gambling for a more palatable alternative for his client.

"I thought the NFL would collude, so to speak, to keep Crabtree put," said one source. "But in the (league's) current climate, there really do appear to be some higher-revenue teams possibly interested in him that don't care about preserving the integrity of the system. That has to be the case, you would think. There's no way Parker would be doing what he's doing otherwise."

Should Crabtree ultimately re-enter the draft in 2010, league personnel experts we've talked to believe he could have plenty of company in the high-rent WR district.

The way we hear it, had Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant, who is widely considered more gifted than Crabtree, been eligible for last year's draft, he would have been the first receiver drafted.

As a junior this year, word is Bryant, who may be "the best receiver to enter the draft since Calvin Johnson," according to PFW personnel analyst Nolan Nawrocki, could potentially be the first player drafted overall.

We also hear Illinois junior WR Arrelious Benn also should be considered in Crabtree's league with his great size, strength and run-after-the-catch ability, a few character issues notwithstanding.

The bottom line?

"The further Crabtree falls, the less risk there will be drafting him," said one league insider. "But few teams will likely be willing to take the risk to draft Crabtree without having assurance from Parker that he will take a slotted deal.

"His exorbitant, unrealistic expectations could hinder (Crabtree's) status a year from now."

PFW has launched its brand-new NFL Draft Newsletter series, with the first issue now ready for mailing. Produced by PFW's player personnel department under the direction of Nolan Nawrocki, the series consists of four information-packed issues. For more info or to subscribe — click here for PDF e-pub or here for print format.