The San Francisco 49ers need wide receiver help, and this year’s free agency market will provide a lot of options. I don’t think there is a clear-cut No. 1 receiver out there, but there is a lot of talent. Receivers like Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Pierre Garcon are not the dominant No. 1, but they all would provide a significant upgrade for the 49ers.
However, there are some other options that could cash in next week. One notable name is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills. Dolphins beat writer Armando Salguero is reporting the team will meet with Stills’ representatives this week at the Combine, but Stills is expected to test free agency. According to Salguero, there is a belief that Stills’ market could reach $12 million per year.
Salguero is reporting there is an open secret that Stills will head to Philadelphia once free agency opens. He cannot begin negotiating with them until March 7, but nobody actually believes there is no contact before the tampering period.
Earlier this month, the Miami Herald reported that an associate of Stills, “said to keep in mind that he also likes the West Coast and an offer from an AFC West or NFC West team could be attractive.” He went to high school in California, but for the time being there have been no specific reports connecting him to the 49ers or anybody else out west.
Stills joined the Dolphins in 2015 via trade. He had been a fifth round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2013. The team dealt him to Miami for linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and a fifth round pick. Here are his numbers through four seasons:
2013: 32 rec, 641 yards, 5 TDs
2014: 63 rec, 931 yards, 3 TDs
2015: 27 rec, 440 yards, 3 TDs
2016: 42 rec, 726 yards, 9 TDs
The ranking of wide receiver salaries will adjust this offseason, but if Stills got $12 million per year, that would make him the seventh highest paid receiver on an APY basis. In reality, it’s about guarantees, but in comparing APY, here are the top ten receivers:
A.J. Green: $15,000,000
Alshon Jeffery: $14,599,000 (franchise)
Julio Jones: $14,250,000
Demaryius Thomas: $14,000,000
Dez Bryant: $14,000,000
T.Y. Hilton: $13,000,000
Doug Baldwin: $11,500,000
Keenan Allen: $11,250,000
Vincent Jackson: $11,111,111
Larry Fitzgerald: $11,000,000
Jeremy Maclin: $11,000,000
Emmanuel Sanders: $11,000,000