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Will the 49ers Sign Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.?

The 49ers might not be done making moves.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 23, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (26) enters the field before the game against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Dec 23, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (26) enters the field before the game against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers might not be done making moves.

Last week, they signed offensive tackle D.J. Humphries and tight end Ross Dwelley. Now, they could turn their attention to defense, as NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha suggests the 49ers should sign free agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.

"San Francisco makes sense for Samuel for two reasons," writes Chadiha. "One is that he’s likely to be available at a very affordable price now that the draft has passed. The other is that the 49ers are thin at cornerback -- they lost Charvarius Ward, Rock Ya-Sin and Isaac Yiadom from last year’s team -- and play a zone-heavy system that could allow Samuel to flourish. The big knocks on Samuel after his four seasons with the Chargers were his tackling and lack of consistency in press coverage.

"He also dealt with a lingering neck/shoulder injury that limited him to four games last season (and continued to dog him earlier this offseason). If the 49ers could land Samuel on a one-year, prove-it deal, he might flourish under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and create a chance for a massive long-term deal. Samuel is only 25 and one of the best remaining free agents on the market. This could be a win-win for both sides."

Chadiha is correct that the 49ers lost Ward, Ya-Sin and Yiadom. But they also signed Tre Brown and drafted nickelback Upton Stout in Round 3. It seems clear that the 49ers drafted Stout so early because they want him to start at nickel. So I don't think the 49ers will be in the market for an injured cornerback who struggles against the run.

Every defensive player the 49ers have added this offseason has been a run-stuffing menace.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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