Getty Travis Benjamin returning a kick.
With the 2022 NFL season officially underway, teams from Seattle to Foxboro and every city in between are looking to put the finishing touches on their rosters.
For the San Francisco 49ers, that means saying goodbye to veteran pass-catcher Willie Snead in favor of re-signing former Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli to their practice squad and looking for ways to help fill the void for a reportedly injured George Kittle. Though it’s a lot easier said than done to replace arguably the best tight end in the business on short notice, between Tyler Kroft, Charlie Woerner, and Ross Dwelley, Kyle Shanahan should be able to adequately fill the void in the short-to-medium term.
Unfortunately, the Niners’ Week 1 opponent, the Chicago Bears, might just be looking for some additional firepower as they attempt to capitalize on the second year of the Justin Field era. With three wide receivers on IR in David Moore, Tajae Sharpe, and Brandon Aiyuk’s ex-college teammate, N’Keal Harry, and another, Velus Jones, listed as doubtful for Week 1, the Bears may be on the lookout for some additional firepower to fill out their wide receiver room.
Fortunately for fans of the Bears, Heavy’s NFL insider Matt Lombardo has some intel that an ex-member of the Niners may be in the crosshairs of San Francisco’s Week 1 foe.
Chicago’s Receiving Corps Has a Need for Speed
Will the Bears add another wide receiver and throw him to Niner Nation on a day’s notice ahead of their Week 1 bout at Soldier Field? According to Lombardo’s weekly mailbag on September 9, the answer to that question is likely no, as his sources have indicated that such a move isn’t imminent.
But if Chicago’s offense comes out of the gate flat and a change is deemed necessary, general manager Ryan Poles may turn to a certain former member of the Niners to accomplish the goal.
“One name to watch as a potentially ideal fit in Chicago is veteran Travis Benjamin,” Lombardo detailed in his mailbag. “In 2021, Benjamin appeared in 10 games as the San Francisco 49ers’ punt and kickoff returner, averaging 15.7 yards per punt return and 12 yards per kickoff return.”
If the Bears’ special teams unit needs some additional pop, adding Benjamin is far from the worst idea imaginable, but if the goal is instead to give Fields another downfield target, there might be more ready-made options on the open market.
Benjamin Provided the 49ers With Little Value in 2021
There was a time when Benjamin was one of the more intriguing deep threats in the NFL. He averaged 736.7 yards and 4.3 touchdowns per season from 2015 to 2017 while splitting his time between the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Chargers, and was paid handsomely for his handiwork via a four-year, $26 million contract in free agency.
Since Benjamin’s penultimate season in LA, however, his offensive production has seriously fallen off a cliff.
From 2019 to 2021, Benjamin only recorded 216 yards receiving yards combined and recorded exactly zero receiving yards on 5 targets as a member of the 49ers during the 2021 season. While those numbers look slightly worse than they actually are, as the Miami product opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, any offensive production Benjamin brings to the table in 2022 should be considered a luxury, instead of an expected result.
Could the Bears prove the 49ers’ folly and get some choice offensive production out of Benjamin? Potentially so, but his recent track record doesn’t spell immediate success for a wide receiver-needy team looking for an immediate upgrade for a target-needy second-year pro.