49ers add Dekoda Watson

Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2017, 11:20 PM EDT
Getty Images

The 2017 49ers may not be much better than they were in 2016, but they’ll definitely be different.

The team has added yet another free agent, announcing on Friday night a three-year deal with veteran linebacker Dekoda Watson. After entering the league as a seventh-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2010, Watson has played for the Jaguars, Cowboys, Patriots, and Broncos.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the three-year deal has a value of $6 million.

It’s the latest move for a team that has signed at least 10 veteran free agents and traded for center Jeremy Zuttah. And it’s hard to blame new coach Kyle Shanahan and new G.M. John Lynch for bringing in new players; the holdovers went 2-14 in 2016.

Permalink 5 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

5 responses to “49ers add Dekoda Watson”

  1. Lynch himself was quoted as saying that the Niners were better team than their record indicates. Many of the players they brought in are not pro bowl caliber. Some of the players they lost (e.g. Kap) may not be replaced with players who are the same talent or better With better coaching, the team should do much better than their 2016 record.

  2. I think a lot of the 49ers problems were because of injuries to their talented players on offense and poor coaching. They also had injuries on D which hurt them. Aaron Lynch being suspended and then getting hurt affected their pass pass rush.

    I don’t think the 2016 49ers were as bad as their record.

    They’ve acquired some good free agents to go with the young players and vets they’ll be retaining. I think that Kyle will have them around .500.

  3. Until we see this new collection of talent, we, of course, won’t know how they collectively match up as a unit with the talent Harbaugh walked into. If, however, they are relatively even – or relatively close to being even, Kyle will field a product worth viewing for a change. However the comparisons turn out, I reject the idea of the team looking anything like what we’ve lived thru the last couple of seasons.

    That’s my forecast – and “fervent” hope anyway!!!

  4. In Belichick’s first year in New England, he went 5-11 and was over the cap. The next year he signed 21 free agents, all that were basically veteran cast offs. Some were good players in a bad scheme. They won the Super Bowl. Not saying SF will win the SB, but having depth on your roster is a smart idea.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.