5 cheap free agents SF 49ers should sign in case of injury
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers Target No. 1: Wide Receiver Jermaine Kearse
Since San Francisco seems to be in the habit of bringing aboard all kinds of wide receivers lately, and there are more than enough injury concerns to think this won’t just go away once the regular season rolls around, why not tack on another wideout to the list of possible go-to free agents on the cheap?
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Like Ross Cockrell, it might be a bit of a shocker veteran wide receiver Jermaine Kearse is still on the open market. At 30 years old, he still has a good deal of the proverbial “gas in the tank” left and could help mentor a predominantly young 49ers wide receiver room. That’s important, just as now-New Orleans Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders helped over the second half of 2019.
Granted, Kearse’s last two years haven’t been promising. In 2018, he saw a significant drop in production from the career-best 65-catch, 810-yard, five-touchdown effort he enjoyed with the New York Jets the year prior. And in his one-and-done year with the Detroit Lions in 2019, Kearse suffered a broken leg in the preseason and landed on injured reserve.
Still, that notable 2017 campaign isn’t too far removed, and the Niners could hope a player with a 6-foot-1, 210-pound stature could help with some of the more-pressing possession needs the position generally lacks with other players currently on the roster.
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If anything, someone like Kearse would be cheap enough and could at least provide a key niche role if injuries pile up at wide receiver this season.