The San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver corps is so absolutely battered, they welcomed Dante Pettis back to the practice squad on Tuesday. Eight years after drafting him in the second round, and six years after waving him goodbye, the former No. 44 pick is back in the building. That right there tells you everything about their current depth crisis.
The “Fresh Start” That Wasn’t So Fresh
Let’s rewind, shall we? Head coach Kyle Shanahan was absolutely infatuated with Pettis before the 2018 draft, so much so that the 49ers traded up 15 spots just to snatch him. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Shanahan was notoriously demanding of young wideouts, and Pettis often found himself on the receiving end of public critiques. Remember 2019, when Shanahan had him playing with the “soon-to-be-unemployed” guys in a preseason game? His quote still stings: “Just because I believed he needed to be. He’s still trying to earn a role on this team. And he’s still trying to show us what he’s capable of doing consistently.” Ouch.
It all culminated in November 2020 when they finally waived him. In his last 11 regular-season games with the team, he managed a paltry two catches for 26 yards, one touchdown, and 207 snaps. General manager John Lynch even admitted, “I think Dante and us agreed that a fresh start is warranted.” Pettis has bounced around since, playing 66 games for four teams, racking up 1,231 yards on 92 catches with 13 touchdowns in his career. Last year, he had nine catches for 127 yards in eight games with the Saints. So, yeah, this “Dante Pettis 2.0” feels less like an upgrade and more like a sign of pure desperation.
Battered, Bruised, and Barely Breathing
Why the reunion now? Because the 49ers are running on fumes at wide receiver. They’ve only got four healthy wideouts on their entire 53-man roster. De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson are chilling on injured reserve. Mike Evans is dealing with a rib injury, and his status for Sunday’s game against the Broncos is totally unclear. Think about that. Among the four non-injured receivers, only Deebo Samuel has even had more than 14 catches in a season. It’s dire. They even had to grab veteran Brandin Cooks, 33, for the practice squad last week. Cooks is one of only two players in NFL history with 1,000-yard receiving seasons for four different teams, which is cool, but he’s also on the practice squad.
This week, with Sunday’s game against the Broncos looming, the 49ers are scrambling. Bringing back a guy they drafted, waived, and frankly, struggled to motivate just shows you how deep the hole is at wide receiver. Can Pettis offer anything more than a warm body? Shanahan clearly has a history of high expectations and low patience here. This is going to be interesting to watch.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply