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Jason LaCanfora is reporting wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is arriving in the Bay Area Saturday evening for his visit with the San Francisco 49ers. There is no word how serious the visit will be. I mention that because Ian Rapoport reported on Friday that Julian Edelman's visit to the 49ers was more of a feeling out process for both sides. That made some sense given that Edelman doesn't really fit what the 49ers need at wide receiver. And given his eventual return to the Patriots, my guess is it was more of leverage play.
LaCanfora also tweeted this:
The 49ers have hosted a few WRS already and remain very much in that market. SD, NE, CAR, TB been exploring WRs as well
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 15, 2014
Other than Edelman, I am not entirely sure what other receivers the 49ers would have hosted. Hakeem Nicks ended up on the radar, but there was never any word of a visit. Other than that, there has been no mention of other wide receiver visits.
One intriguing option comes from across the Bay in the form of Oakland Raiders free agent receiver Jacoby Ford. There is no word about any visits for him, but it would make some sense. The 2013 season was a disaster for Ford. He was hurt early, and once he got healthy was mostly ineffective. He turns 27 this summer and would conceivably still have crazy speed. He ran a 4.22 40 at the 2010 NFL Combine. He could very well have lost an important chunk of that speed, but if he still has it, he is well worth a veteran minimum flier.
There is not much left in free agency among the wide receivers. We'll see the team make some moves in the draft at the position, but will we see anything among the remaining free agents? I wouldn't be surprised to see one brought in at the veteran's minimum, but I would be surprised if there was anything of much more value.
In other news, it sounds like Walter Thurmond's visit is a wrap. Matt Barrows said he was told Thurmond was "weighing his options" at this point. We'll wait and see what exactly that means.