Last year, the San Francisco 49ers somewhat surprisingly released safety George Odum. He had been with the Niners for several years and proved to be a solid special teams player.
He is now a free agent, and the 49ers should seriously consider bringing him back to ensure they don't regress on special teams in 2026.
Last season was the first time in a long time that San Francisco had a good year on special teams. Bringing in new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer and basically cleaning house at all key special teams positions brought about much better results.
Thankfully, the Niners were able to keep some of their key special teams players like kicker Eddy Piñeiro and linebacker Luke Gifford, who is huge in kick coverage. They did move on from punter Thomas Morstead and lose Skyy Moore in free agency, but most of the unit remains intact.
Gifford and defensive back Siran Neal were two essential players in kick coverage, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to bring Odum back into the mix. The veteran safety only played in three games last season with the Indianapolis Colts, as he spent most of the year on the practice squad. He made four tackles on the season.
Odum was drafted by the Colts back in 2018 and stayed with them until 2021 while spending 2022 to 2024 with San Francisco. The Colts and Niners are the only two teams he has known. He was an All-Pro back in 2020 with the Colts for his special teams play and was an All-Pro again in 2022 with the Niners.
He's age 32 now, so Odum may not have all the same tools in the tool belt, but it could be a decent move to bring him back into the fold to make sure San Francisco has enough adequate depth in kick coverage.
Odum could also provide some veteran depth to a safety room that needs it. The Niners could use some help at that position after last season in which they got spotty play from Malik Mustapha, Ji'Ayir Brown, and Marques Sigle. Veteran Jason Pinnock departed in free agency, so the door is wide open for Odum to return.
The Colts had him on a one-year, $1.25 million deal last season, so San Francisco would not have to break the bank and could be getting some valuable special teams insurance if they sign him.