San Francisco 49ers: 5 free agents worth targeting in 2018
By Peter Panacy
2017 Base Salary: $1,350,000. Eric Decker. 2. player. 35. . Wide Receiver
The Tennessee Titans brought in 30-year-old veteran wide receiver Eric Decker this year after he was released by the New York Jets, who were clearing house.
Decker was thought to be a substantial upgrade to an initially less-than-talented Titans wide receiver corps — an added weapon for budding quarterback Marcus Mariota. The thing is, through five weeks, Decker hasn’t exactly been a major factor in Tennessee’s offense. He has just 16 receptions for 138 yards.
It doesn’t seem likely the Titans will retain him after this season, which makes him a likable target for the 49ers.
Usually, one might not think another veteran, paired with No. 1 wideout Pierre Garçon, would be the right kind of addition. But Decker offers something the vast majority of Niners receivers don’t — size.
In fact, San Francisco’s wideouts, entering 2017, were the NFL’s shortest by average.
With the likelihood the Niners draft a rookie quarterback in 2018, adding a veteran presence along with Garçon should give any first-year signal-caller a bit more comfort operating under center.
If the numbers for Decker stay low, a reasonable one-year, $3 million deal wouldn’t be too hard to swallow.