The Arizona Cardinals released defensive back Tyrann Mathieu Wednesday afternoon, and he is likely to begin his tour of teams in the coming days. On Wednesday evening, he spoke to ESPN reporter Josina Anderson about what he is looking for in his next team.
Spoke to free agent DB Tyrann Mathieu yesterday evening. Mathieu told me a "bunch of teams have reached out" but added that "I just want to go somewhere where football is important and it matters. That's where I want to go."
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 15, 2018
The comments are fairly cliched, but worth noting considering Ndamukong Suh said it’s all about who pays him the most. The 49ers are rebuilding their football culture, and John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have quickly turned around an organization that was in the dumps for much of the previous three seasons.
The 49ers have starting options at free safety, strong safety, and the three main cornerback positions. But adding a versatile threat like the Honey Badger makes a lot of sense. He can play multiple safety roles along with nickel back. He would create additional versatility. He might look to go somewhere with a more clear role and more snaps pre-defined, but the 49ers could certainly use a weapon like Mathieu.