The San Francisco 49ers understand too well they need to go easy on some of their veteran wide receivers between now and the start of the regular season, particularly the recent free-agent pickups of Mike Evans and Christian Kirk. Plus, third-year pro Ricky Pearsall has dealt with injuries over the first two years of his career, too, meaning pushing him hard during training camp might not be the best idea.
So, it was necessary for general manager John Lynch and Co. to onboard several fringe wide receivers, including an undrafted free-agent pickup in NC State's Wesley Grimes.
Grimes has some promise, yes. At 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, head coach Kyle Shanahan was certainly enticed by a reported 4.24 40-yard time entering his final collegiate season. And with the Niners in need of speedy wideouts who can stretch the field, Grimes certainly has a niche role he can occupy.
At least until the regular season hits. After that, there's almost no way San Francisco retains him.
Wesley Grimes likely finds himself waived by 49ers sooner than later
Speed is Grimes' top calling card, as far as NFL talent goes. He wasn't overly productive at the collegiate level, totaling 1,121 yards and nine touchdowns over four seasons, split between the Wolfpack and Wake Forest. His route tree isn't up to par, and he doesn't offer much of anything on special teams either.
Plus, the 49ers already have speedsters on the roster in third-year pro Jacob Cowing and their top pick from last April, De'Zhaun Stribling, who'll likely emerge as the top-two candidates to stretch the field on offense.
Instead, Grimes is effectively in a battle with hardly known names like Malik Turner, Will Pauling, Colton Dowell and Junior Bergen to compete for one, maybe two spots on the practice squad.
And that's a best-case scenario, at least as far as Grimes' tenure with the Niners goes. The only way those chances seriously improve is if Shanahan loses several of his more-established wideouts to injury, and that'd be disastrous, at best.
Sure, perhaps Grimes is able to put together some impressive camp performances and game tape from the preseason, provided San Francisco isn't tempted to swap him out with another fringe receiver it likes more at some point between now and late August.
But, unfortunately, it seems as if the writing is already on the wall for Grimes' future in the Bay Area.
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