The San Francisco 49ers have seen some quality players depart in recent years. The early years of the Trent Baalke/Jim Harbaugh era seemed to see the 49ers make smart decisions in terms of letting players walk, but we have some quality players leave the building that could help in any rebuilding process.
I came across a thread on the 49ers sub-Reddit today that offered up an intriguing question:
If you could have any former 49er who is still playing in the NFL back on the team, who would it be?
The comments include sentimental options like Frank Gore and Anquan Boldin. Some of the more productive current ex-49ers include Michael Crabtree, Delanie Walker, and Mike Iupati. And of course, Alex Smith will always get a few mentions.
Walker is someone who would bring positional versatility. I could see him being an intriguing complement to Kyle Juszczyk (or vice versa, if you will). Juszczyk is a fullback who can move around, while Walker is more of a tight end/wide receiver who can move around. We’ll see plenty of creativity with Juszczyk moving around the 49ers backfield and out to tight end and potentially receiver. I feel like adding Walker back in would allow for some crazy formation maneuvering.
Crabtree would certainly add a solid receiver presence to the 49ers depth chart. He and Pierre Garçon are both more in that 1a/2 role, but given the 49ers current depth, I would not be concerned about having too many non-No. 1 receivers.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Mike Iupati over Zane Beadles or Brandon Fusco. He has a $9.7 million cap hit each of the next three years, which is pretty hefty. Injuries are a concern with him. He only missed one game last year, but did miss three the season before, and it always seems like he’s dealing with some bump or bruise. But he’d be an upgrade over Beadles.
Who would be the former 49er still in the NFL you’d most want to see on the current roster heading into 2017?
Poll
Which former 49er still in the NFL would you want on the current roster?
This poll is closed
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26%
Delanie Walker
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12%
Michael Crabtree
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20%
Alex Smith
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18%
Mike Iupati
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13%
Frank Gore
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4%
Anquan Boldin
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3%
Other (specify in comments)