The last time we discussed the 49ers and free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs was in March, before free agency began. Diggs remains a free agent, and the 49ers have quite a few players—both young and old—who will want to get onto the field. Regardless, Mike Tannenbaum, former NFL GM and now analyst for ESPN, says the 49ers might want to still take a look at adding Diggs to the roster:
“I look at San Francisco and even though they added Mike Evans and drafted [De’Zhaun] Stribling in the second round,
I still think if they brought in one more veteran receiver for a team that is in a win now mode, I think you’d get one year out of Stefon Diggs and San Francisco has done that over the years. So, again, past his prime, but come on in while Stribling develops, see what you have in Pearsall who’s been hurt, I think Diggs can help the 49ers’ passing attack.”
Seems a little late for the 49ers to add Diggs unless there’s a massive disaster. Two things say this would never work. Let’s start with the 49ers. Why? The 49ers have Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, De’Zhaun Stribling, Christian Kirk—and I haven’t named all the folks in that wide receiver room. That batch alone is strong—provided they stay healthy.
Stribling is a rookie, so he will hopefully get to see the field in some capacity. He’s got enough competition there as it is. The 49ers also have Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins (again, hopefully) chomping at the bit for a roster spot.
If Diggs were to come to the 49ers, that would add yet another veteran and then make things even harder for the existing group. A group that has players either drafted or as undrafted free agents (READ: cheaper contracts). Now, you could sign Diggs in anticipation of the yearly 49ers injury bug, but that’s not the best use of the 49ers’ salary cap space. It’d be great to have him, but he’d be fighting with Evans and Pearsall for the ball.
Now, let’s move on to Diggs. Taking that into account, with what is already waiting for him on the 49ers, would he want to go to a team that has that talent or somewhere where he would be better utilized? Like, say, the Washington Commanders? Because that Brandon Aiyuk transfer may not happen at all.
Sure, we thought Brandon Aiyuk would be heading that direction, but given what we’ve seen the last few weeks, it’s probably not as guaranteed as we thought. Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh recently said to “stick a fork in him” and that Aiyuk’s chances of going to the Commanders are zero.
That leaves a nice opening for Diggs to go to the Commanders. There’s no Deebo Samuel there now either. There’s potentially a good salary waiting for him also, and he’s not supplanting a homegrown pass catcher for a roster spot.
And the Commanders are just one example. Now, if Diggs remains on the market by training camp and the 49ers suffer a series of injuries, then yes. But that’s provided he lasts that long. The 49ers would have a longer reach for the panic button with that group, unlike several other teams in the league. Even then, something tells me they want to hold on to the money they are going to save with Aiyuk and use it when the Salary Cap Collector comes around in 2027.
Do you think the 49ers should even look Diggs’ way?
