Already, prior to their thrilling victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5, the San Francisco 49ers had a glaring shortage of available wide receivers.
When Deebo Samuel went down and was subsequently ruled out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, the need to acquire another wideout became that much more apparent.
After all, Samuel joined a long list of injured receivers who've missed substantial time already: Ricky Pearsall (knee), Demarcus Robinson (ankle), Christian Kirk (hamstring) and De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle).
Despite several possibilities, including proposed trades for the likes of the Jacksonville Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. or the Minnesota Vikings' Jauan Jennings, it appears as if head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch aren't overly concerned about scrambling for another receiver.
Any bit of evidence out there suggests this is the case.
49ers don't appear likely to add new WR anytime soon
Earlier this week, Shanahan pretty much indicated the Niners wouldn't panic and add another wide receiver based on an acute need.
"I think we have enough," Shanahan responded on Monday when asked about the receiver depth. "We’ve got three guys on practice squad also who can help. Anytime you lose this number of guys, four guys or five guys whatever it is, it’s a huge challenge. But, we do have guys in this building who can do it and we’ll always look."
Case in point, when Deebo exited the game in Seattle, it was veteran Brandin Cooks who stepped up with a crucial late-game touchdown grab after being promoted up from the practice squad.
Reserve receivers like Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins may see added opportunities, too.
The evidence doesn't stop there either. On Wednesday, San Francisco worked out four linebackers and zero receivers, suggesting it was worried more about Dre Greenlaw's suspension than wideout depth.
On top of that, the 49ers have two more games—Week 6 against the Washington Commanders (Monday Night Football) and Week 7 at the Atlanta Falcons—before a bye in Week 8, meaning injured wide receivers like Samuel, Kirk, Robinson and potentially even Stribling would be that much closer to returning.
Simply put, it appears as if the Niners are content to weather the proverbial storm of receiver shortages over the next two weeks before getting a much-needed break, then banking on reinforcements coming back for the second half of the season.
So, if that dampens the hope some may have of San Francisco getting aggressive and adding a receiver now, don't count on it.
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