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Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
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With Deebo Samuel<\/a> traded this offseason and Brandon Aiyuk<\/a> unlikely to be ready for Week 1, the San Francisco 49ers may face uncertainty at wide receiver. Jauan Jennings<\/a> and rookie Ricky Pearsall<\/a> currently project as the team’s opening-day starters. While the 49ers have expressed public confidence in their wideout group, some believe the team should explore options to strengthen its depth.<\/p>\n San Francisco selected two receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft\u2014Jordan Watkins and Junior Bergen\u2014though Bergen is expected to contribute primarily as a returner on special teams. The team also signed Demarcus Robinson in free agency, but he faces the possibility of a three-game suspension<\/a> to start the season.<\/p>\n Could a Kendrick Bourne reunion make sense for the 49ers?<\/p>\n Brandon Austin of Pro Football and Sports Network suggests one potential move\u2014a trade for New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (h\/t to Jose Luis Sanchez of Sports Illustrated<\/a> for the find), who began his NFL career with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Bourne spent his first four seasons in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system, making him a familiar fit.<\/p>\n “Bourne’s future with the Patriots is somewhat uncertain, especially since the new coaching staff has no attachment to him,” Austin wrote. “Since posting 55 catches and 800 yards in 2021, he hasn’t surpassed 500 receiving yards in a season, and a torn ACL in October 2023 has impacted his availability the past two years.<\/p>\n “With Bourne turning 30 in August and the Patriots already bringing in Diggs and Mack Hollins as veteran presences, his role in New England looks shaky.”<\/p>\n The 49ers recently traded a conditional fifth-round pick for pass rusher Bryce Huff<\/a> and may be hesitant to part with more 2026 draft capital. However, if the Patriots decide to release Bourne, a move that would free up $6.3 million in cap space, San Francisco could sign him outright\u2014if the team is even interested.<\/p>\n Still, the Patriots currently lead the NFL in available salary cap space (over $67 million), so they aren’t hurting for cap relief.<\/p>\n “Bourne is set to earn around $6.5 million this season and is under contract through 2026, though none of the remaining money is guaranteed,” Austin noted. “Teams reportedly showed interest around the trade deadline a season ago, but nothing ever materialized. Given his limited role and the lack of clarity around his fit within New England’s rebuild, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him moved.”<\/p>\n Should the 49ers consider trading Spencer Burford?<\/p>\n Austin also floated another potential move\u2014trading offensive guard Spencer Burford<\/a> to the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost Mekhi Becton in free agency. While Burford is expected to compete for the 49ers’ starting left guard job, he’s not considered the favorite and may be expendable.<\/p>\n “Burford made 29 starts at right guard for the 49ers over his first two seasons, but lost his starting role in 2024 after the team drafted Dominick Puni<\/a>,” Austin wrote. “And with Ben Bartch<\/a> expected to start at left guard in 2025, Burford may remain on the outside looking in.”<\/p>\n Burford is entering the final year of his contract, and if he slips down the depth chart, the 49ers might prefer to get something in return now rather than lose him for nothing in free agency next year. Austin notes that the guard could appeal to teams that utilize zone-blocking schemes.<\/p>\n “As a rookie, Burford was respectable in pass protection, allowing pressure on just 4.3% of snaps,” Austin noted. “That number jumped significantly in 2023 (7.8%), but he has a foundation to work with, and the Eagles have a track record of developing OL talent.”<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSan Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy recently praised his offensive line during an interview on KNBR, calling them “war daddies” and expressing complete confidence in the unit. The offensive line has long been a focal point of criticism from fans, many of whom hoped the…\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tVeteran offensive tackle Trent Williams was notably absent from the only San Francisco 49ers practice open to reporters last week. While head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Williams reported for the start of the offseason program in April, he acknowledged the star lineman…\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tBrock Purdy was on the 17th hole at The Olympic Club in the Bay Area, golfing with teammate Jake Brendel and their wives, when he received a life-changing phone call. His agent informed him that his contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers was finalized. Naturally, a…\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSan Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Friday morning to discuss the team’s wide receiver situation. With Deebo Samuel traded this offseason and Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from ACL and MCL injuries sustained in October, the…\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images With Deebo Samuel traded this offseason and Brandon Aiyuk unlikely to be ready for Week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,4817,5305,6731,5680,13292,7,10117,8072,3683,2812,6,2392,1161,252,2624,2623,4819],"class_list":{"0":"post-102113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-ben-bartch","10":"tag-brandon-aiyuk","11":"tag-bryce-huff","12":"tag-demarcus-robinson","13":"tag-dominick-puni","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-jauan-jennings","16":"tag-jordan-watkins","17":"tag-junior-bergen","18":"tag-kyle-shanahan","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-ricky-pearsall","21":"tag-san-francisco","22":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","23":"tag-sanfrancisco","24":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers","25":"tag-spencer-burford"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114622558777307832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}