Why not bring back some ex-49ers in 2009?

by SSC24 on Mar 15, 2009 6:50 PM PDT

There are some good free agents on the market this offseason. The Forty Niners need to look at every one of them and not only the key FAs that stand out (i.e. Haynesworth, Warner). There are two ex-49ers that are free agents right now that don't have teams. Both played for the Denver Broncos last season and have good value, even though they got released. Here's the link to the article from NFL.com about their releases:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80ec5f16&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Let's start off with John Engelberger. Yes, he's 32 years of age, but has great veteran experience and about 2-3 years left in him. He earned 2.18 million last season, and due to his release and the current state of the economy, the Forty Niners can sign him at a very cheap price. It's true that his numbers in the past four seasons with the Broncos aren't as good as we'd like them to be but in the years prior, when he was playing for San Francisco, he provided a decent pass rush along with solid run-stopping ability. He would provide good depth on the D-line.

The second and more intriguing player is Jamie Winborn. Remember him? The Forty Niners traded him to Jacksonville for a seventh round pick in the 2006 draft (probably because of Nolan's stupidity). Does anyone remember who was San Francisco drafted in the seventh round of '06? I don't. Winborn had decent seasons while with the Forty Niners. But his best season was last season in 2008! The 29 year old started all 16 games last season and stood out on a bad defense by recording 99 tackles (74 solo). He only recorded half a sack, though, because the Broncos primarily used him to drop back. He is versatile and can do both, but is better in coverage, as he showcased with 11 passes defensed last season. He can come in on third downs and we fans won't have to worry about Manny Lawson dropping interceptions or not having good angles on TEs/WRs. Winborn is still young and I bet he'd love to play in San Francisco once more. Imagine having tackling machines in Willis, Spikes and Winborn. Then maybe the Forty Niners can actually use Lawson to rush the passer along with Haralson. Winborn earned 2.25 million last season and can also be a bargain. His and Spikes's veteran experience would greatly help the other young LBs (Willis, Haralson, Lawson).

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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naaaaw im good…..we gotta look towards the future!

Forever FaithFul

by Ny2ThaBay09 on Mar 15, 2009 7:06 PM PDT reply actions

Agreed

Building up with young talent is the best way to build a team that will be good for years to come, instead of an arizona cardinals/flash in the pan team.

Also – 7th round draft pick in 2006: pick number 254 overall Vickiel Vaughn, DB from Arkansas. He never saw the field of play in a reg-season game, and has played on the practice squads for the Broncos and Cowboys since leaving the niners.

Blind devotion.

by ProfessorBigelow on Mar 15, 2009 8:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Now I wouldn't have traded himn for that

But I don’t want him back. If we add t o the LB core we need to draft Spikes replacement.

by rlott#42 on Mar 15, 2009 9:37 PM PDT reply actions

Winborn

Hasn’t he kind of fallen off the wayside since leaving SF?

by sfgfan on Mar 16, 2009 9:14 AM PDT reply actions

i have always liked winborn

by 5-0 on Mar 16, 2009 10:56 AM PDT reply actions

I liked winborn too

but I agree that at this point we need to get younger – the only reason to bring in a FA is if they are a substantial upgrade over what we already have, or if they are filling out the roster for depth purposes only.

Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis

by wjackalope on Mar 16, 2009 10:58 AM PDT reply actions

i agree

by 5-0 on Mar 16, 2009 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

I loved both those players and was sad to see them go

but the reason they were traded and cut was because neither fit the 3-4 scheme. Engelberger is undersized for a DE and not quick enough for a 3-4 linebacker.
Winborn is also a little undersized and is better suited to a cover 2 scheme.
I do remember that Giants game, though, where he racked up all those tackles. I remember replaying it in Madden and trying as hard as possible to equal that number of tackles and never could do it

by foosball4949 on Mar 16, 2009 12:38 PM PDT reply actions