49ers sign Chris Cook to 1 year deal

Fooch's Update: The 49ers announced Chris Cook has signed his contract.

San Francisco 49ers beat writer Matt Barrows is reporting the team has signed cornerback Chris Cook to a 1-year contract. There is no word yet on the terms of the deal, although I have to think it's not overly expensive. Cook is a guy who did not reach his potential in Minnesota. He had some early off-the-field issues (a domestic assault charge on which he was acquitted), and he generally has just not been a particularly good cornerback recently.

Cook gets a chance to work with 49ers secondary coach Ed Donatell, and hopefully he can take advantage of his sizable wing span. When he came out for the draft in 2010, he was viewed as a guy who could play very physical press coverage, but some of his fundamentals, including footwork, needed some work. Additionally, there have been criticisms of his run support. The 49ers like seeing strong tackling from their cornerbacks, so we'll see how that develops.

If this deal is at or near the league minimum, it does not preclude a potential Walter Thurmond signing, but at this point, I would be surprised to see that happen. Assuming this deal goes official, the 49ers cornerback depth chart would look something like this:

CB: Tramaine Brock, Eric Wright, Darryl Morris
CB: Chris Culliver, Chris Cook, Dax Swanson

Tarell Brown remains on the market, so the 49ers could still decide to bring him back in. A one year deal for Cook likely is going to be one in which he could still be leap-frogged on the depth chart. We'll need to see what the guarantees are on the deal, if there are any. At the very least it brings competition to the position. Add in one or two cornerbacks in the draft, and there will be plenty of competition in the secondary.

Tre's note: In case you're freaking out over signing a player who's thus-far underwhelmed, I'll refer you to this article.