After Washington lost a wide range, Athletic’s Ben Standig tweeted that Jarius Wright was on the San Francisco radar. Signing Wright would make sense after Deebo Samuel and Richie James were injured last month. We still don’t know the severity of each player’s injury, so bringing a receiver, if only for training camp, would make sense.
Wright, 5’10 ”, 190, played more shots last year for the Carolina Panthers than Kendrick Bourne for the 49ers, so he has experience. He was a fourth round pick in 2012 by the Vikings. If you are wondering why there is interest, Wright ran a 4.42 out of college. It was almost a decade ago, but it can still run. The Panthers also targeted Wright eight times over 20 yards last year, so he can be a vertical threat if need be.
Wright lined up as a punt returner for weeks 1 and 12 for Carolina last year. He hasn’t had an actual return since 2013. My first thought when I saw Standig’s report was that Wright had a return experience. It does, but nothing will prevent you from entrusting the work to Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis or Brandon Aiyuk.
Who knows if the 49ers end up bringing Wright, but that would mean the team is not as high on the young rookies who are currently on the list, unless Wright stays put until Deebo comes back from an injury.
