Former Packers (and briefly Raiders) wide receiver James Jones remains on the sidelines as a free agent, but it sounds like he is still interested in playing for the San Francisco 49ers. Back in early June, he told the radio station that he would be interested in playing for the 49ers. Three months later, he was a bit more general, but reiterated his Bay Area interest.
FA WR James Jones: It's just a waiting game for me right now. I just want to play football and stay home in the Bay Area. #49ers
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 31, 2016
Jones went to San Jose State, and calls the Bay Area home. He could be down for the Oakland Raiders, but they are much deeper at wide receiver than the 49ers. If he is just looking to play, he would get significantly more opportunities if the 49ers were inclined to sign him. Matt Barrows looked into any interest and said there was no preliminary interest, but did suggest that didn’t mean things wouldn’t change.
The 49ers acquired Jeremy Kerley via trade over the weekend once they realize the severity of Bruce Ellington’s hamstring injury. Ellington was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, and the team heads into their preseason finale with nobody stepping up to contribute opposite Torrey Smith. Quinton Patton is likely the starter, and he showed some improvement last year. But other than that, it’s a lot of question marks. Kerley has experience, but everybody else has little experience in the NFL. That does not mean they won’t be able to contribute this year, but there’s not a ton of reason for optimism.
Trent Baalke and company could very well be content struggling through this season with the young talent to see what they can get out of it. I’d feel much more comfortable if Ellington and Eric Rogers had remained healthy, but this is what the team is left with. Maybe they take their lumps, and go from there. Jones would add a veteran presence alongside Smith, but if the team is not really going anywhere this year, maybe they decide it’s not worth the addition.