The San Francisco 49ers could use more depth in the secondary, and the Arizona Cardinals released defensive back Tyrann Mathieu on Wednesday. I don’t know if the 49ers will pursue Mathieu, but he brings enough value that it is worth at least making a call.
One 49ers player who might agree with that is Kyle Juszczyk. The 49ers fullback posted a picture on Instagram with the caption, “Big things are happening in the Bay.” The picture? Juszczyk fending off a tackle attempt by Mathieu.
Coincidences do happen from time to time, but this seems a little too good to be a coincidence. And even Eli Harold was intrigued, dropping in a whole bunch of the interested eyeballs!
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It certainly makes sense to recruit Mathieu. He can offer a hybrid skillset between safety and cornerback. The 49ers have K’Waun Williams serving as their nickel back, but competition for that and dime work makes a lot of sense. Anything that offers more versatility against passing attacks is welcome in a league that continues moving from run heavy to pass heavy.
Mathieu is free to sign as soon as he wants, so I imagine the free agency visits will get going fairly quickly. And in case you’re wondering, at one point he did in fact want to join the 49ers.