With longtime slot cornerback K’Waun Williams going down Sunday night, the 49ers plan to sign veteran Buster Skrine, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets.
Skrine has enjoyed a 10-year career, playing with the Browns, Jets and Bears, working mostly as a slot corner. The 49ers are reeling at corner, having seen several key players suffer injuries in recent weeks.
The Ravens auditioned Skrine earlier this month. Otherwise, it has been a quiet 2021 for the veteran inside cover man. Skrine, 32, succeeded Bryce Callahan in the slot for the Bears and has been a regular on defenses since his 2011 rookie season. He is set to join a 49ers coverage corps that lost Jason Verrett for the season and lost Williams to a calf strain in Week 3. The 49ers also played part of Sunday’s game without recently acquired boundary defender Josh Norman. An injury also delayed Emmanuel Moseley‘s season debut by two weeks.
San Francisco has added Norman and Dre Kirkpatrick in recent weeks. The team made the latter a healthy scratch for Week 3, but its latest batch of injuries will likely bump Kirkpatrick back to active duty. Williams, who played with Skrine in 2014 in Cleveland, has been San Francisco’s slot corner since 2017. Rookie Deommodore Lenoir replaced Williams on Sunday.
A former fifth-round pick, Skrine has logged 151 games since arriving in the NFL during the lockout-marred offseason. Skrine’s Browns run ended in 2014, when Kyle Shanahan was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator. Although Skrine was an in-demand free agent in both the 2015 and ’19 offseasons, the Bears cut him shortly before releasing Kyle Fuller amid this year’s salary cap crunch. Skrine graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 92 overall corner last season.
Just sign Sherman FFS
Idk why they at least haven’t signed Gareon Conley. It’s obvious Skrine, Kirkpatrick, and Norman won’t be key pieces next year, but Conley’s only 26. With a DB room full of veterans, I’d imagine it’s a good spot for him to rebound his career.
Or just trade from a position of strength like DT, and make the move for CJ Henderson. Hell, give em Kinlaw and a 5th round pick. DJ Jones/Kerr/Street/Hurst/Givens are all legit/starter caliber. And it’d allow them to use their first pick in the draft, 2nd rounders til 2024, on best player available. They could try to go for a do-it-all/every down DE, a 6’4+/260+ guy that can both rush the passer AND play the run, unlike Key/Willis/Ford/Ebukam, who only play on “passing downs”, which has an ever changing definition.
A Bosa/Armstead/Jones/_____ could wreak havoc on base defense. Even Bosa/Jones/Hurst/Armstead would be an elite front, though Armstead is best utilized inside(as is Bosa, but I’d imagine you can run all sorts of alignments if they get another big pass rusher in there.
If they move Jimmy G for a 2nd rounder, they may even trade both 2nd’s to get a 1st rounder, which I’d assume would be enough to get into the top 20.
Although, it might be better to get two top 64 guys.
Jimmy G frees up $27.5m of annual cap space no matter how he leaves, but they have to worry about paying Bosa/Greenlaw/Deebo/McGlinchey/Al-Shaiir/Moseley.
Each of the top 18 CB’s makes over $10m annually, and honestly the best CB’s under 32 in 2022 FA, is Ahkello Witherspoon!!
Henderson just makes sense, as installing him as the No.1, means Lenoir/Moseley battle for No2 and fhe “loser” battles with KWaun and Ambry Thomas for nickel CB, a spot where scouts say DeMo and Thomas are better off at.
Conley could be a low risk high reward singing. Worst case scenario, he’s no better than Dontae Johnson—SOMEBODY THATS ALREADY ON THE ROSTER! Best case, he’s your No.2/No.4(starter or first depth piece) for the next 3+ years.
This is too many no names to read through
So that’s about the dumbest and longest post I have read on trade rumors