The San Francisco 49ers are trying to figure out their wide receiver situation due to a number of reasons. Thanks to yet another injury, three fringe veterans now have a golden opportunity to carve out a role for themselves.
Rookie Jordan Watkins is out with a high-ankle sprain after he had a respectable showing in his first preseason game. It seemed like he was trending towards being the team's No. 3 wide receiver, but with him likely to be out for a month, that creates an opportunity for some veterans.
Russell Gage is one veteran who impressed early in camp. His name has not come up as much in recent reports from practice, and he had a bit of a lackluster showing in San Francisco's first preseason game, but he has proven he can be a successful receiver in the NFL.
In five NFL seasons, Gage has racked up nearly 2,500 receiving yards and has 14 touchdown catches. He has not played in the NFL since 2022 after suffering a patellar tendon injury, but he appears to be healthy and may be one of the team's better depth options early this season.
Another veteran to keep an eye on is Robbie Chosen. The 49ers picked him up just a few weeks ago, and he, too, has a great opportunity to snag a spot on the roster with all the issues at wide receiver.
The 32-year-old Chosen has over 5,000 receiving yards in his career with 30 touchdown catches. Most of that production came early in his career, but if he can prove to be serviceable for the offense and maybe has a big preseason game, he could end up seeing a lot of action in the first few weeks of the regular season.
The Niners just brought back a familiar face in Malik Turner. The 29-year-old pro was on the team back in 2022, so he brings some familiarity with head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense to the table.
Turner only has roughly 400 career receiving yards with four touchdown catches, so he has not had the past success of a Gage or Chosen, but with the wide receiver competition being so wide open, the former could still earn playing time if he impresses in practice.
The current state of the San Francisco's wide receiver situation is not great, but if one of these veterans can step up and stabilize things that could go a long way towards making the first few weeks of the regular season smoother.