Who Should I Start? Trent Taylor or Tyquan Thornton

Wednesday, June 4, 6:35 PM

The San Francisco 49ers announced on Tuesday that they placed wide receiver Trent Taylor (undisclosed) on Injured Reserve and signed receiver Malik Knowles to an undisclosed one-year deal in a corresponding move. It's unclear exactly what Taylor's injury is, but he's now expected to miss the entire 2025 season. The 31-year-old former fifth-round pick (177th overall) in 2017 out of Louisiana Tech spent the first three years of his career in the Bay Area before going to the Cincinnati Bengals for two years and the Chicago Bears in 2023. In just two games in his return to the Niners last season, Taylor caught his only target for an 11-yard pickup. Taylor has been a depth piece in his career and has a total of 88 receptions for 845 yards and only three touchdowns on 138 targets over 80 games played (three starts) since debuting in 2017.

Thursday, June 19, 6:31 PM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton has made a good impression with his new team this offseason. "I like Tyquan. I like the way he approached things. He's got the quarterback's trust. That's an important thing. He's gotten some valuable reps here. So far, so good. I'd like to see him in a game situation," head coach Andy Reid said. Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and rookie Jalen Royals are virtual locks to make the 53-man roster, but Thornton could have a leg up for another spot with training camp approaching. He'll be competing with the likes of Skyy Moore and Nikko Remigio. Thornton, a former second-rounder by the Patriots, has speed to spare and has developed strong chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The fact that he's also been involved on special teams increases the chances of him winning the No. 6 receiver role this summer.