4 veteran WRs 49ers could sign after Demarcus Robinson injury
It sounds like the San Francisco 49ers are going to add some help at wide receiver after Demarcus Robinson suffered an ankle injury in the team's Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated the club will look to either sign a WR to their active roster or add one to the practice squad for some internal depth. It's tough to envision the 49ers making any kind of significant swing at this point since Christian Kirk is eligible to return as early as Week 5. De'Zhaun Stribling and Robinson should also be back at some point during the regular season.
There are a handful of veteran options that make sense for the 49ers if they're just looking for a veteran who can play a role deep on the depth chart.
Slayton was released by the New York Giants just before the regular season began. He still hasn't landed with another club, but he may be the best veteran receiver available at this point. He had 296 catches for 4,435 yards and 22 touchdowns in 106 games across seven seasons with the Giants. If the 49ers are looking to replace Robinson on the active roster, Slayton may be the player most equipped to step in and do it on Day 1.
We're going to plant our flag on Turner being the guy the 49ers sign. He was with the team in camp, and spent time on the roster in 2022 before having practice squad stints in 2024 and 2025. Turner had a nice camp and offers special teams upside if he's not contributing a ton offensively. San Francisco needs a player who can get up to speed quickly and there may not be a player better equipped to do that than Turner.
Jones hasn't been a super productive offensive player since the 2022 season when he posted 823 yards and five touchdowns with Jacksonville. The 31-year-old has 123 games under his belt and might be a nice internal depth piece to have if the 49ers want to lean on their younger players for now with a veteran waiting on the practice squad in case they need someone with NFL experience to step in and play some snaps.
Shepard is similar to Jones except he's been more productive more recently. In the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Shepard had 71 catches for 705 yards and two touchdowns in 27 games. He's another veteran who could offer some internal depth on the practice squad if the 49ers have an emergency and need to bring someone up from the practice roster.
