Watters Won’t Fit Under 49er Cap, So He Flies Off to Eagles : Pro football: San Francisco refuses to match a three-year, $6.9-million offer for the running back.

San Francisco decided Ricky Watters wasn’t worth a three-year, $6.9-million investment, but former 49er assistant Ray Rhodes disagreed, so Watters became a Philadelphia Eagle on Saturday.

The Eagles had given Watters the offer a week ago and San Francisco decided that matching it wouldn’t work under the NFL’s salary cap.

The 49ers were also not exactly magnanimous in bidding him farewell.

“The critical point of consideration and our decision is that the cap dollars are irreplaceable capital,” said Carmen Policy, president of the team. “To that end, we are not comfortable allocating millions of dollars of cap space to a player not 100% committed to our long-range goals.

“This whole situation and decision was reviewed from every department in the organization, from top to bottom, including ownership,” Policy said. “The move to match the offer was considered too risky an investment in view of the league’s current system to doing business.”

Watters, who played in one Super Bowl and two Pro Bowls with the 49ers, logged 2,840 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns in 653 carries over the last three years.

The 6-foot-1, 212-pound Watters, 25, also caught 140 passes for 1,450 yards and eight touchdowns.

Last season, he had 877 rushing yards on 239 carries and caught 66 passes for 719 yards. He scored three touchdowns in the Super Bowl victory over San Diego.

Rhodes, who became the Eagle coach after the Super Bowl, decided that was the sort of thing that would help him in Philadelphia.

“We’re thrilled to have obtained one of the premier running backs in the NFL,” Rhodes said.

“He’ll certainly add a dimension that this team needs in order for us to succeed. He’s a great runner, a great receiver, he knows the offensive team we’re putting in and, more importantly, Ricky Watters knows what it takes to win a championship.

“This is a big lift for us,” said Rhodes, who credited Eagle owner Jeffrey Lurie for the deal.

The 49ers had until 12:01 a.m. today to match the offer.