49ers sign $5 million old friend WR amid injury concerns for Jauan Jennings, George Kittle

Billy Heyen

49ers sign $5 million old friend WR amid injury concerns for Jauan Jennings, George Kittle image

Things are already a mess for the San Francisco 49ers.

George Kittle is hurt. Jauan Jennings is hurt. Just about the only saving grace is that the 49ers won Sunday to open the season while keeping Christian McCaffrey intact.

To help alleviate at least a little concern, the 'Niners have reunited with an old friend.

Kendrick Bourne has signed a $5 million contract with the 49ers on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The 49ers are awaiting MRIs on Monday for both Kittle and Jennings to see their updated status.

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San Francisco is already without Brandon Aiyuk, due to injury, and Demarcus Robinson, due to suspension.

Ricky Pearsall is healthy, at least. So are Skyy Moore and Russell Gage Jr. and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Bourne might find his way immediately into the mix, especially if Jennings has to miss time.

He came to the 49ers originally in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Washington.

Bourne had 16 catches in 2017, 42 in 2018, 30 in 2019 and 49 in 2020 to give him a four-season San Francisco total of 137 catches for 1,769 yards and 11 touchdowns.

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From there, it was four seasons with the New England Patriots for Bourne. In that span, he had 155 grabs, 1,945 yards and 11 more touchdowns.

Now, Bourne is back in the Bay Area.

He spent the summer with the Pats, but he was released on Aug. 27.

Bourne now gets a chance to quickly refamiliarize himself with Kyle Shanahan's offense in the hopes of helping a depleted 49ers pass-catching group that definitely needs it.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle