Report: 49ers interested in WR Jarius Wright

After Washington lost a wideout, the Athletic’s Ben Standig tweeted that Jarius Wright is on San Francisco’s radar. Signing Wright would make sense after Deebo Samuel and Richie James were both injured last month. We still don’t know the severity of each player’s injury, so bringing in a receiver, if only for training camp, would make sense.

Wright, 5’10”, 190, played more snaps last year for the Carolina Panthers than Kendrick Bourne did for the 49ers, so he has experience. He was a fourth-round pick in 2012 by the Vikings. If you’re wondering why there is interest, Wright ran a 4.42 out of college. That was nearly a decade ago, but he can still run. The Panthers also targeted Wright eight times over 20 yards last year, so he can be a vertical threat if need be.

Wright lined up as a punt returner during Week’s 1 and 12 for Carolina last year. He hasn’t logged an actual return since 2013. My first thought when I saw Standig’s report was Wright had return experience. He does, but it’s nothing that would prevent you from giving Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis, or Brandon Aiyuk the job.

Who knows if the 49ers end up bringing in Wright, but that would signal the team is not as high on the younger wideouts that are currently on the roster, unless Wright is a holdover until Deebo returns from injury.