The market for receiver Michael Crabtree has been drier than many observers expected. Sure, the No. 10 overall pick of the 2009 draft by the San Francisco 49ers had been linked to Washington and the San Diego Chargers after the initial waves of free agency.

But it took until Wednesday, eight days after the start of the new league year, for Crabtree to get a visit as he was scheduled to travel to South Florida to meet with the Miami Dolphins.

There was no word on how the visit went for Crabtree, who endured a particularly frustrating season in 2014, even as he played in all 16 games while dealing with niggling foot injuries.

Because even after saving a game for the 49ers with a 51-yard catch on 4th-and-10 late at New Orleans, he derisively referred to himself as a third-down receiver or a fourth option. And after entering the season with a 12.9 yards-per-catch career average, he averaged a career-low 10.3 yards per catch, which would have been 9.7 yards sans the 51 yarder at the Superdome.

Crabtree, who missed most of 2013 with an Achilles’ injury, did catch four TD passes, the third-highest single-season total of his career, so he did show some burst. And according to Pro Football Focus, the 49ers’ passer rating when targeting Crabtree of 91.1 was third-best on the team, behind Anquan Boldin (103.5) and Stevie Johnson (102.0).

But the 49ers signed Torrey Smith last week, which seemingly ended any chance of Crabtree returning to Santa Clara. At least, on a contract he would deem worthy.

With such little interest, many expect Crabtree to sign a one-year "prove-it" type deal to get bigger money and more security next offseason.

The interest from Miami, as ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter Tweeted, stems from new Dolphins vice president Mike Tannenbaum, who had Crabtree listed as the No. 1 player on his board with the New York Jets in 2009. The Jets, though, traded up from No. 17 to No. 5 with the Cleveland Browns to select USC quarterback Mark Sanchez that year.