Some are confident the San Francisco 49ers will return to the NFL playoffs this season after an injury-plagued 2024 campaign that saw them go 6-11. However, the injury bug is still sinking its teeth into some of their main players.
In particular, they’re dealing with injuries to their wide receivers.
Brandon Aiyuk, who demanded and got a lucrative contract extension last summer, struggled to start 2024 before tearing his ACL and will miss at least the first few weeks of this year. Jauan Jennings, who blossomed into a main playmaker in 2024, has a calf injury and is demanding an extension of his own, Jacob Cowing is hurt and Demarcus Robinson has been suspended for three games.
With so many 49ers players ailing right now, John Breech of CBS Sports suggested that Jakobi Meyers, who wants the Las Vegas Raiders to trade him, would be a good fit in San Francisco.
“The 49ers are so banged up at receiver that they made a trade for Skyy Moore last week, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go after Meyers,” Breech wrote. “Unlike Moore, the Raiders receiver is a proven commodity who’s gone over 800 yards in each of his past four seasons.”
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There was speculation that San Francisco was looking to sign veteran wideout Amari Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowler, but he’s now going to the Raiders. Therefore, the team needs help — now.
Meyers hasn’t made the Pro Bowl in his six seasons in the league and isn’t exactly the second coming of Jerry Rice. But in 2024, he caught 87 passes and posted 1,027 yards and four touchdowns. He was able to do that despite some very subpar quarterback play in Las Vegas.
At age 28, Meyers could be a weapon for Brock Purdy and crew for the next several years, and he may not be that costly either.
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At full strength, the Niners should be a playoff team, especially with running back Christian McCaffrey, the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year, back to full health, and newcomer Brian Robinson Jr. ready to lessen his workload as the team’s RB2. On defense, they hope that rookie defensive linemen Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins, not to mention the return of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, will make them feared on that side of the football again.
But the Niners are far from full strength right now, and they have fewer than two weeks to go before they open their regular season at the reloaded Seattle Seahawks.
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