This says lots concerning the state of the San Francisco 49ers’ battered huge receiver corps: They welcomed again Dante Pettis on Tuesday.
Eight years after drafting Pettis within the second spherical – and 6 years after admitting their error by waiving him – the 49ers signed the onetime No. 44 decide who routinely annoyed head coach Kyle Shanahan to their follow squad.
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Shanahan coveted Pettis earlier than the 2018 draft and the 49ers traded up 15 spots to pick out him. In November 2020, nevertheless, they waived Pettis after he had two catches for 26 yards on 10 targets and a landing whereas enjoying 207 snaps in his closing 11 regular-season video games with the workforce.
“I believe Dante and us agreed {that a} recent begin is warranted,” normal supervisor John Lynch stated after parting with Pettis.
Pettis 2.0 is occurring as a result of the 49ers have 4 wholesome huge receivers on their 53-man roster with De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson on injured reserve and Mike Evans coping with a rib harm that makes his standing unclear for Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Broncos. Among the many 4 non-injured wideouts, solely Deebo Samuel has had greater than 14 catches in a season.
Final week, the 49ers signed huge receiver Brandin Cooks, 33, to the follow squad. Cooks is one among two gamers in NFL historical past with 1,000-yard receiving seasons with 4 groups. In the meantime, Pettis has 1,231 yards on 92 catches and 13 touchdowns in his four-team, 66-game profession. Final yr, Pettis had 9 catches for 127 yards in eight video games with the Saints.
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Shanahan has all the time been notably demanding in relation to younger huge receivers. Simply ask Pettis, who typically impressed public critiques after failing to construct on a 27-catch, 467-yard rookie season that had indicators of promise.
In 2019, Shanahan was requested why Pettis was enjoying with the soon-to-be-unemployed within the closing minutes of a preseason sport in opposition to the Chiefs.
“Simply because I believed he wanted to be,” Shanahan stated. “He is nonetheless making an attempt to earn a job on this workforce. And he is nonetheless making an attempt to point out us what he is able to doing constantly.”
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This text initially printed at Can ex-bust be a Band-Support? 49ers welcome again Dante Pettis with spot on follow squad.
