49ers desperately trying to repair WR room with this signing

This is the best wide receiver the 49ers could find?

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers had to do something with the wide receiver position, considering how thin they were. That is why it is no surprise to see that they signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to their 53-man roster. 

San Francisco 49ers sign Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The fit makes plenty of sense. San Francisco almost had nobody to play wide receiver in Week 1. They kept five players and between Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins and Jauan Jennings, they only had two players practicing. Jennings should be back by week one, but the addition of Valdes-Scantling should give them four healthy players for the first week. 

It will be interesting to see where Valdes-Scantling fits into the depth chart. On one side, he has NFL experience dating back to 2018. He has played for the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints.

In 2023, Skyy Moore and Valdes-Scantling were on the same team and MVS finished with more yards. Would he still finish ahead of Moore? If that is the case, San Francisco signed a starter off of the streets. 

Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

However, the flip side is that he was just cut by the Seattle Seahawks. He has played with Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen, and his best season with those players was 690 yards in 2020. Beyond that, he is now over the age of 30. 

At best, he is a short-term replacement; at the worst, he actually has to play and ends up with a costly drop of a play that ends up hurting the team. Then, by week five, we forget that he even played here. 

The next interesting discussion is what happens to the 53-man roster. Jacob Cowing is likely to head to the IR, but the team also does not have a punter on their roster as they are currently constructed. They cannot cut another wide receiver to add Valdes-Scantling, so somebody on the current roster is likely to be released in relation to this addition.

Considering the team is going to be so thin at wide receiver and they are about to be in a worse spot at another position as well, it is hard to get too excited about this move. 

One small positive to take away is that, as of 24 hours ago, he was with the Seattle Seahawks. So, any gameplanning, talks, or plays that the team ran in anticipation of the 49ers game in week one may be leaked to the team.