4 former 49ers players San Francisco should bring back in 2022
By Peter Panacy
Former 49ers player No. 3: Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin
There were certainly flashes of veteran wide receiver Marquise Goodwin being a hidden free-agent find for San Francisco when he first signed back in 2017, only to see injuries and a failed immersion attempt to blend him with Jimmy Garoppolo result in his departure in 2020.
One thing is for certain, though: head coach Kyle Shanahan loves Goodwin.
At 31 years old, Goodwin could still have a bit left in the tank as a gadget player, the kind of situational use Shanahan might employ for the still-fast wide receiver who managed to post 20 receptions for 313 yards and a touchdown over 14 in a bad Chicago Bears offense a year ago.
Garoppolo didn’t have the arm strength to take advantage of Goodwin’s field-stretching abilities, but that wouldn’t be a problem with second-year quarterback Trey Lance.
The 49ers wanted fellow veteran wideout Travis Benjamin to assume that deep-field role a season ago, but that didn’t pan out to desired levels either. And with receivers like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk on the roster already heading into 2022, Goodwin wouldn’t need to be anything more than a situational player.
But, should Shanahan want to open up the field more, Goodwin could certainly help out on the cheap.