With a handful of injuries in the secondary, the 49ers are looking for veteran help. Per the NFL’s transactions wire, they have their sights potentially set on a Super Bowl winner and former Broncos, Texans and Saints nickel corner in Bradley Roby.
Roby was released by the Saints in a cap-saving move before the start of the season. He’s played 126 games over the last nine years and has 11 interceptions. He won a Super Bowl his rookie year in 2014 with the Broncos.
San Francisco has a glaring need in the secondary. During roster cuts, they made the questionable decision to release undrafted rookie D’Shawn Jamison, despite retaining underwhelming interior offensive lineman Nick Zakelj. Jamison was immediately picked up by the Carolina Panthers.
They were thin at corner to start the season, and got even thinner over the first two weeks.
Last week, Samuel Womack suffered an MCL sprain that had him placed on injured reserve with a tentative six-to-eight-week recovery timeframe. There is an open roster spot left from that move if the 49ers do end up signing Roby.
On Sunday, Deommodore Lenoir was evaluated for a head injury and cleared that protocol. Kyle Shanahan’s Monday press conference came before any results on follow-up testing, so there was no update on him or Ambry Thomas. Thomas suffered a knee injury and was listed as expected to be limited (the 49ers did not practice Monday).
And while Isaiah Oliver made a few massive plays on Sunday, there are still concerns about his fit and short-area quickness at the nickel spot.
If the 49ers don’t sign Roby, and perhaps even if they do given the short week, they’ll likely need to promote someone from the practice squad.
Their only available corners are Tre Swilling, who was activated against the Rams, and Shemar Jean-Charles. Safety/corner Qwuantrezz Knight was signed by the Arizona Cardinals on Monday after they placed Budda Baker on injured reserve.
