This past offseason, the San Francisco 49ers brought back Dre Greenlaw and Deebo Samuel. Both players played well in the Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams, and someone is proposing that the Niners bring back another familiar face.
During a Sept. 15 appearance on 95.7 The Game, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bonta Hill floated the idea that the Niners should consider pursuing Indianapolis Colts‘ DeForest Buckner.
Hill expects the Colts to fall to 0-2 as Indianapolis heads on the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs. Moreover, Buckner is a free agent after this season, and if the Colts struggle out of the gate, they’ll be better off trading him to recoup a draft pick.
“There’s a situation I’m monitoring,” Hill said. “It’s the Indianapolis Colts. Ms. Irsay came out in the offseason to put Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard on notice with the Colts, saying, ‘There’s an urgency here. You have to win.’ They got bludgeoned by the Baltimore Ravens. They go to Kansas City next week on Sunday Night Football.
“How many people think they’re going to win that football game? So I’m just looking at their schedule, and the deadline, I believe, is Nov. 10. If they want to bring somebody else home, I would love to see DeForest Buckner back in red and gold.”
DeForest Buckner Would Want to Go to a Contender
In the Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Buckner played 51 total snaps, leading to a 61.1 defensive grade. The veteran defensive tackle also recorded six pressures, one sack, five hurries, two stops, and one tackle.
Moreover, Hill notes that Buckner will want to go somewhere to win, which is why a return to the Niners, where he played from 2016 to 2019 and was the team’s first-round pick in 2016, makes sense.
“[Buckner is] a free agent,” Hill added. “He’s not going to re-sign with the Colts right now. He wants to win. The Niners have a need at defensive tackle. “I’m just monitoring the situation. I’m not saying they can’t trade for him. I would love for him to come back home alongside Dre Greenlaw and Deebo Samuel, go get this damn Super Bowl.”
49ers Get Short-Term Option After De’Zhaun Stribling Injury
Meanwhile, the 49ers did lose De’Zhaun Stribling but avoided the worst-case scenario. As a result, Larry Krueger of KNBR believes San Francisco should look to the free-agent market for a solution: Former New York Giants wideout Darius Slayton.
“The one name that’s out there that really is interesting is Darius Slayton,” Krueger said in a Sept. 14 livestream on a YouTube channel. ” Now, Darius Slayton was cut by the New York Giants. They released him after seven seasons in New Yor and if Stribling’s going to the IR, Darius Slayton makes a lot of sense for the 49ers. Why? He’s 29.”
Furthermore, Krueger believes Slayton can fit the role head coach Kyle Shanahan planned for Stribling, since both are big-bodied receivers.
“What’s Stribling? He’s a big receiver who runs 4.36,” Krueger added. “What’s Darius Slayton? He’s a big receiver who, coming out of college, ran 4.39. So, in a lot of ways, they’re very similar receivers. I don’t think the money is going to be a big deal because he’s got money coming his way.”
49ers Land Compelling Take on Colts’ DeForest Buckner After Week 1