The 49ers are showing up for the 2016 season without their most explosive playmaker.
Primed for a breakout campaign in a high-flying scheme, Bruce Ellington’s hamstring tear has San Francisco hamstrung for a pass-catcher who can stretch the defense — or at least get open on a consistent basis. Trading for Jeremy Kerley was a step in the right direction, but San Francisco will need to throw multiple band-aids at this situation to try and jumpstart the offense.
Some will say it’s counterintuitive for the 49ers to get older on offense. But Kelly and GM Trent Baalke’s goal in 2016 is not solely to develop young talent. Kelly has to prove his offensive system can still be effective after a tenuous 7-9 season; Baalke needs the 49ers not to be an embarrassment to keep his job. Sacrificing playing time for Dres Anderson, DeAndre Smelter and DeAndrew White in order to have a more effective offense will prove to help both men in charge down the road.
Chip Kelly fully knows what his wide receiving depth chart looks like: late-round draft picks with low ceilings for success. Hopefully one of them makes a leap this year, but banking on that premise is a treacherous road.
More realistically, Kelly understands he’ll be showing up every Sunday to a street fight with plastic knives. The offensive line is much better and Kelly thankfully still has a healthy Carlos Hyde. But without any resemblance of a passing game, opposing defenses will stack the box and force Blaine Gabbert or Colin Kaepernick to beat them with their arms. Kelly needs to step into Baalke’s office and convince him this unit is in need of a pass-catcher with a proven track record.
One name that surfaced Wednesday morning who could be a viable option: James Jones.
The 32-year-old San Jose native confirmed to Sirius XM he was surprised the Chargers released him and is actively looking for a new home. Last season for the Packers Jones hauled in 50 receptions for 890 yards and 8 TDs. Granted, that was with Aaron Rodgers. But the man who plays with his patented green hoodie underneath his jersey can still separate from NFL cornerbacks
“It’s just a waiting game for me right now,” Jones said. “I just want to play football and stay home in the Bay Area… It is a little shocking to me that I’m not on a ball club after the 2015 season,” Jones said, per Sirius XM NFL Radio. “I feel like I can still help a team.”
To be clear, this won’t solve the 49ers’ playmaking problem. But it can’t cripple the operation either. Roll the dice, Baalke.
Other options:
Trade for Kendall Wright
The 26-year-old Baylor alum has fallen out of favor in Tennessee and has a $7 million cap hit. The Titans are switching their offensive attack to a rushing format which makes the 5-foot-10, 191-pound speedster expendable, and probably at an extremely low cost. In 10 games last season he hauled in 36 receptions for 408 yards. Kelly could get creative with him in the screen game.
Sign Rueben Randle
The Eagles dropped him trimming their roster to 75 earlier this week, but he’s still relatively young at 25 years old. Randle’s 57 catches for 797 yards and career-high 8 TDs in 2015 with the Giants don’t show a receiver who has fallen off the map, either. At 6-foot-2, he’s a bigger body than both Torrey Smith and Quinton Patton.