When the 49ers introduced the newest iteration of their historic cherry red jerseys, I knew I was going to have to get one. I've got a throw-back Montana jersey so I want this new one to be a current player. The last current player jersey I bought? This one marked down to $30. Needless to say we haven't rolled that one out in a while.
This will actually be the first new jersey I've bought since starting Niners Nation, so I consider this a relatively important purchase. Accordingly, I'd like to get folks thoughts on potential options. I've included a list of some potential options with pros and cons, but feel free to throw out your own suggestions. And if somebody out there is trying to decide on a new 49ers jersey, this might be of some use.
#52 - Patrick Willis
PROs: This was the one of the first jersey ideas to pop to mind. Willis is a badass so it would certainly not be a poor choice. While it's still too early to declare him a Hall of Famer, he's certainly put together an impressive first two seasons.
CONs: It's too easy a choice. He's one of the most popular 49ers, and I think as a hard-core fan, it might be more fun with something a little more subtle. The other thing is that he hasn't been signed to an extension yet. We know it's going to happen, but paranoia has me thinking a Willis jersey purchase would somehow jinx things.
#21 - Frank Gore
PROs: As with Willis, Gore is awesome. Also, he already signed that first extension so there's a little less trepidation about him not being around long term.
CONs: And again, as with Willis, it's too easy a choice. Gore and Willis might be the two most popular 49ers and I just don't know if I want to be wearing the same jersey as everybody else.
#4 - Andy Lee
PROs: The dark horse candidate that was actually the first one I thought of when the new jerseys first came out. If I'm looking for the subtle, random jersey, can you do much better than #4? More importantly, he's an awesome punter and should actually surpass Tommy Davis as the 49ers all-time leader in gross yards. Finally, he's signed through 2012, so hopefully there's some stability there.
CONs: Well he is the punter, so it's a bit odd.
After the jump we continue the rundown of jersey options...
Quarterbacks
I've vowed never to buy a QB jersey again...at least a 49ers jersey. I'm tempted by Nate Davis, but it might be too soon to roll the dice on that one. Of course that would certainly be a bit subtle and random.
#74 - Joe Staley
PROs: A big fan favorite, but I suspect you wouldn't see a lot of Staley jerseys out on the streets. He also just signed an extension so he's gonna be around town for a while.
CONs: If somebody can answer me this I'd appreciate it, but do I need to be a bit bigger to rock an O-lineman jersey? I'm 5'9, 165 lbs so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to wear an offensive lineman jersey. I'm actually curious if there's a general philosophy on this.
#84 - Josh Morgan
PROs: Many of us have been on the Morgan bandwagon since last preseason so it'd be nice to show him a little love with a jersey. He's going to be starting this season and doesn't seem like an ego guy who would be gone too soon.
CONs: He hasn't signed a long term deal and he could end up being a tantalizer who never reaches his full potential. I think he'll reach his potential, but it sort of comes back to the whole jinxing thing. It's a crazy thought, but it's still something I think about.
#38 - Dashon Goldson
I see this as just about the same reasoning as the pros and cons of the Morgan jersey. One additional PRO is that it would certainly be a little more of a subtle purchase than many of these. One could argue it's even more so than an Andy Lee purchase. Hmmmm.....
#94 - Justin Smith
PROs: Smith is going to be around for a while and is clearly a good guy to be supporting.
CONs: Does the o-lineman philosophy apply to defensive linemen as well? I'd kind of prefer having a jersey of someone who's been with the 49ers from the beginning of their career. It's definitely a lot more difficult to do this in the current days of free agency and the salary cap.
#85 - Vernon Davis
I just don't see it happening. The Davis jersey purchase would have occurred at least a year or two ago.
#15 - Michael Crabtree
Yea, that's not happening anytime soon.
This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but I think it hits a lot of the big ones. There are plenty of other options (Heitmann, Haralson, Lawson, R. Smith, T. Brown, etc...). I've thrown up a poll to see where people's support falls. You can probably tell some of the options I'm leaning towards, but I'm curious to hear what people think about the subject.