With injuries continuing to pile up during training camp, the San Francisco 49ers have responded by adding more depth to their roster.
Event Context
On Friday, the team signed tight end Josiah Deguara, a former third-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, along with veteran wide receiver Trenton Irwin to help reinforce the offense.
Confirming the moves, ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X, “More receiving help: the 49ers have signed veteran TE Josiah Deguara and former Bengals WR Trenton Irwin to one-year deals.”
The 49ers did bring in a handful of younger veterans during the offseason, but those additions did little to meaningfully reduce the overall age of the roster. Instead, most of their personnel decisions pointed toward maximizing their current championship window.
The 49ers are betting that their experienced core still has enough left to contend for a championship before age, injuries and inevitable roster changes begin to reshape the team.
Player Focus
While the additions provide extra depth, concerns about San Francisco’s offense have also surfaced. On Thursday, health expert JD Morse pointed to the overall age of several key offensive players, suggesting it could become an issue as the season progresses.
“The 49ers offense is OLD
Brock Purdy – 26 years oldChristian McCaffrey – 30 years oldMike Evans – 33 years oldDeebo Samuel – 30 years oldDe’Zhaun Stribling – 23 years oldGeorge Kittle – 32 years oldJake Tonges – 28 years old
Injured
Ricky Pearsall – 26 years oldChristian Kirk – 29 years old
More like the geriatric 49ers!” Morse tweeted on X.
San Francisco entered the offseason with one of the NFL’s oldest veteran cores, and many of the franchise’s cornerstone players remain well into the later stages of their careers.
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Team Analysis
Veterans such as Trent Williams already skewed the roster’s average age, while the arrival of Mike Evans only reinforced that experienced profile.
Match Outlook
Although Evans is still expected to be a major contributor, his signing reflects the team’s emphasis on winning now rather than planning for the distant future.
If San Francisco fails to meet expectations this season, the organization could soon face difficult roster decisions.
Several of its key contributors are approaching the latter stages of their careers, making it increasingly challenging to keep this group together for the long term.
For that reason, the upcoming campaign has all the makings of a Super Bowl-or-bust season.
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