Give 49ers free-agent receiver Willie Snead some credit. He was an undrafted free agent out of Ball State back in 2014, and had to go through the rigamarole of being cut by the Browns, and bouncing through practice squads in Carolina and New Orleans before finally latching on with the Saints’ 53-man roster.
From there, he built a nice NFL career, playing nine seasons with 281 catches for a total of 3,445 yards and 16 career touchdowns. Financially, he has done well, too, earning a total of more than $17 million in his career, according to Spotrac.
But as he remains unsigned in free agency, Snead has not been particularly happy with his lot. He claimed he wanted to go back to the AFC North, where he had played three seasons with the Ravens. He sent out a mystery post on Twitter/X that took some kind of swipe at the 49ers as an organization, but he was not quite clear what he meant in doing so.
Still, one guy who was not in a mood to hear Snead’s complaints was defensive back Deommodore Lenoir.
“I hope they bring Snead back so I can strap him up,” Lenoir said in an Instagram Live rant.
Deommodore Lenoir on Willie Snead: ‘He’s in His Feelings’
Indeed, the 49ers are not likely to bring back Snead, no matter how much Lenoir—and perhaps others—would like to “strap him up.”
Lenoir’s diatribe continued: “He’s just hurt right now, he’s in his feelings. That’s why he’s over there talking about — What did he say, ‘I want to go back to the AFC North. Different brand of football.’ Come on man, you ain’t going to do that. They know how he is, they know how physical he is in practice.”
Snead was on minimum contracts with the 49ers the past two years, and has made just two receptions in those seasons. He seemed to attribute his lack of production to politics of playing time in the NFL.
He wrote on Twitter/X, from his account that has since been deleted:
“All I want is to go back to a team that isn’t afraid to let guys compete for a roster spot. These last 3 years been nothing short of entitlement… Competition breedz Champions.
“Flock Fanz (Ravens) & WhoDat Nation (Saints) alwayz been good to me. Some real ones. The Faithful (49ers) have a great fan base, as well. I only wish I could have given yal more of what I had to offer.”
49ers Coach: ‘He Did an Unbelievable Job’
Snead comments aside, it’s nice for the 49ers to see Lenoir approaching the upcoming season with a bit of swagger. He is entering his fourth season and at age 25, should be up for the best year of his career, coming off a season in which he had three interceptions and 10 passes defensed.
Lenoir had a Pro Football Focus grade of 75.4 last year, which was good for 23rd of 127 cornerbacks. The 49ers brought in cornerback Isaac Yiadom this offseason, which should allow Lenoir to focus more on playing slot cornerback.
San Francisco struggled with cornerback depth last year behind Lenoir and star Charvarius Ward.
“I say, mentally, he made his biggest jump,” 49ers defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks told reporters last week. “I think the game slowed down for him. He played outside and inside. Most of his snaps was outside. He played at a high level. The game slowed down for him. He did a hell of a job inside at nickel and did an unbelievable job outside. …
“As long as he’s on the field, I’m good. It gives us a weapon. “
