The wide receiver market was on fire over the weekend. Several top players found themselves on new teams The New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos all needed top targets and all three teams made signing as Emmanuel Sanders, Julian Edelman and Hakeem Nicks were officially taken off the market. That leaves the San Francisco 49ers as one of the teams that missed out and left trying to sign whoever is left.
The 49ers were in the market to sign Edelman or Nicks. The team had reached out to both players and even brought a few in for workouts, but the weekend came and went and the 49ers did not make a move. San Francisco has already made one move this offseason re-signing Anquan Boldin to a new contract, but have not done much since. Michael Crabtree is set to return healthy, but Mario Manningham likely will not be back, leaving room on the roster for another addition.
Bill Williamson of ESPN.com reports the 49ers are targeting Santonio Holmes, James Jones and Sidney Rice as options for 2014. All three players were salary cap casualties with their respective teams and have been put on the back burner in free agency while other marquee receivers got contracts first. Williamson writes that since the 49ers already have Boldin and Crabtree, they are not looking for a super star which is why the team opted not to sign anyone over the weekend. They are looking for a cheaper option which could be anyone one of the three available.
If San Francisco is going to make a move in free agency, they need to do it soon. Jones is already garnering a lot of attention from teams in need of a veteran. Both the Carolina Panthers and Oakland Raiders are expected to be in talks for him in the coming days. Rice has already been an option to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks. Holmes has not acquired much interest considering his down year paired with a foot injury, but the New York Jets have mentioned re-signing the veteran at a cheaper contract.
If the 49ers are simply just window shopping and driving up the market, the draft will be where they make their move. Many NFL experts have the 49ers taking a top wide receiver in the first or second round of this year's draft. Players like Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins and Marqise Lee are the best available and will go quickly.