Veteran WR expresses interest in joining 49ers amidst injuries

The San Francisco 49ers' wide receiver room has been a major storyline heading into the 2025 season. The team traded away Deebo Samuel, while star wideout Brandon Aiyuk continues to rehab from ACL and MCL injuries sustained in October 2024. Rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall is on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list—although he could return as early as Sunday.

To make matters worse, second-year wideout Jacob Cowing suffered a hamstring injury during Wednesday's opening training camp practice. Jauan Jennings is practicing but is dissatisfied with his contract situation.

In response to the growing depth concerns, the 49ers signed two veteran receivers this week—Equanimeous St. Brown and Quintez Cephus. However, there's another free-agent receiver showing interest in joining head coach Kyle Shanahan's roster—Gabe Davis.

Appearing on the Up & Adams show with Kay Adams, Davis expressed enthusiasm about potentially signing with San Francisco.

"I went on a visit there. It was awesome," Davis said. "I have a lot of teammates from UCF and previous players [I played with] like [QB] Mac Jones and [WR] Isaiah Hodgins that were there. So, definitely a team I'm interested in, for sure. San Fran is a nice spot. It's a great team with great players."

Davis visited the 49ers in May, sparking speculation that a signing might be imminent. However, nothing materialized from that visit.

"I talked to [RB] Christian [McCaffrey], talked to [TE] George [Kittle]," Davis continued. "I talked to a lot of the people out there, and it's awesome. San Fran is definitely a spot that I'm looking at. Shanahan's the man. He knows how to call an offense. They just got a lot of great weapons around there."

Adams even suggested that Davis would be an ideal deep-ball threat for San Francisco's offense, clearly in favor of the potential match.

"I give props to those guys," Davis added. "Those guys have been making some plays. Jennings was making hella plays when he had to. It was awesome to watch. Aiyuk is a stud and a true No. 1 player. I got a lot of respect for his game.

"So, definitely a team that interests me because I like to be around great players like that. It's definitely a great opportunity."

If the 49ers were seriously interested, it's possible a deal would already be in place unless Davis' salary demands are higher than the team is willing to pay. For now, rookies such as Jordan Watkins, Junior Bergen, and Isaiah Neyor will continue seeing more practice reps as they try to earn spots on the 53-man roster.