3 veteran free agents 49ers can still target on the cheap

Trey Flowers #90 of the Detroit Lions (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
Trey Flowers #90 of the Detroit Lions (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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Bryce Callahan, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos cornerback Bryce Callahan (29) Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

49ers low-cost free-agent target No. 2: Cornerback Bryce Callahan

It’s time to embrace the youth movement within the Niners secondary. Gone are veteran cornerbacks Josh Norman and K’Waun Williams, and San Francisco hopes its high-profile NFL free agency signing of Charvarius Ward alleviates what was a prime weakness in 2021.

The 49ers are going to play Ward on the boundary, and in nickel formations, it’s likely No. 2 cornerback Emmanuel Moseley bumps inside to replace Williams, while second-year pro Ambry Thomas assumes the opposite boundary.

However, Williams’ absence isn’t exactly ideal, and the Niners may be better off luring in another veteran presence.

Read More: 5 former 49ers who remain unemployed in NFL free agency

Such as 30-year-old former Denver Broncos veteran corner Bryce Callahan.

Like the smaller Williams, the 5-foot-9 and 188-pound Callahan has never let a lack of size get in his way. And while he failed to record an interception over 11 games last season, the fact he had six split between 2017 and 2020 suggests he has some modest ballhawking capabilities.

Callahan is looking at one of the last contracts he’d probably get at this point of his career, and he’d surely not mind joining a contender.

If anything, he’d push the other crop of cornerbacks on San Francisco’s roster for cheap.