5 players 49ers should let walk in 2021 NFL free agency
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Wide Receiver Kendrick Bourne
Full disclaimer, fourth-year wide receiver Kendrick Bourne is one of my favorite players on the 49ers roster. A former undrafted free agent, the Eastern Washington product is the epitome of an underdog story: a relative unknown commodity, turned success story.
And, yes, the Niners should bid him farewell after this upcoming season.
Granted, Bourne has emerged as a top red-zone threat for head coach Kyle Shanahan, and that’s an area in which the 49ers have struggled since Shanahan took over in 2017. Each one of Bourne’s nine touchdowns have come within the red zone, too. So it makes sense the Niners used a second-round restricted free-agent tender to keep Bourne around at least one more season.
But that’ll cost San Francisco $3.26 million this season, which isn’t an awful price tag overall, especially considering the lack of proven depth elsewhere at the position.
Yet the Niners have invested heavily in wide receivers in the draft the last two years, namely with Deebo Samuel in 2019 before adding both Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings in 2020.
It’s best the 49ers allow their receivers on rookie contracts to contribute, thereby letting Bourne capitalize on a new contract after a hopeful career-best year in 2020.