The San Francisco 49ers will not have another game before the NFL trade deadline.
That means whatever evaluation they've done of their roster is complete with the trade deadline looming at 1:00pm Pacific Time on Tuesday. Wide receiver is one position San Francisco is often connected to in trade talks. As injuries have mounted the 49ers have struggled to find reliable players at that position.
Second-year WR Jordan Watkins has been very good the last two weeks and turned in a career-high 80 receiving yards with his first NFL touchdown on four receptions in Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He's up to 136 yards in his last two games, but his breakout performances haven't been enough to sway the 49ers on their quest to improve their roster
according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.
“We're always looking to upgrade our team in any way," Shanahan told reporters after Sunday's game. "We'll definitely continue to do that all the way until Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. or whenever it is. Then it's not just a receiver. You want to have depth. It's not just to replace one guy or anything like that, but we wanted to give Watkins this opportunity when people got hurt and he's really stepped it up and given us a lot of confidence too.”
The 49ers are in a tough spot ahead of Tuesday's deadline. With Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and De'Zhaun Stribling nursing injuries, Watkins is arguably their No. 1 healthy receiver entering Week 10. He's followed by veterans Demarcus Robinson and Brandin Cooks. Jacob Cowing hasn't been as reliable as a pass catcher.
San Francisco could try to get by at receiver until they start getting players back healthy. The problem is Evans is dealing with Achilles tendinitis with no firm timeline for a return. Samuel has a hamstring issue that could linger, and Stribling is still on IR with no clear timetable for a return. There's a chance the 49ers are fully healthy by the playoffs and don't need another body at WR. However, there's a chance the 49ers are spending the entire season piecing together a patchwork receiving corps and having another reliable veteran would make that job easier.
No matter what happens at the deadline the 49ers have to be thrilled with Watkins' development, and he figures to be a significant factor for their banged up receiver group until they get healthy.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL trade deadline: Will WR's breakout game affects 49ers moves?
