Who Should I Start? Dante Pettis or Arian Smith

Tuesday, September 29, 3:14 PM

The San Francisco 49ers are signing veteran free-agent wide receiver Dante Pettis on Tuesday, eight years after they took him in the second round in the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Washington, sources told Jordan Schultz. The 49ers' wide receiver room has been decimated by injuries through three weeks, with Ricky Pearsall (knee) out for the year and rookie De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle), Christian Kirk (calf), and Demarcus Robinson (ankle) all on Injured Reserve. Veteran Mike Evans suffered a painful rib sprain in the Week 3 win over the division-rival Arizona Cardinals and could also miss some time going forward, so Pettis will give the team some familiar depth. The 30-year-old appeared in only 16 games (zero starts) with the New Orleans Saints in the last two years, catching 21 of 39 targets for 247 yards and a touchdown. Pettis' best year in his seven NFL seasons was as a rookie in 2018 with San Francisco, when he posted a 27-467-5 line in 12 games played. Because of his experience and familiarity with the organization, Pettis could quickly become involved in the offense alongside Evans and Deebo Samuel Sr., making him a deep-league waiver-wire consideration at WR this week.