The Time is Now for the San Francisco 49ers to Sign 6-Time Pro Bowl Wide Receiver

Getty

Keenan Allen celebrates after his touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second quarter on December 22, 2024.

It’s been a roller coaster first week of training camp for the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver room already. 

Before training camp, the 49ers WR room was a mess. It seemed like every top 49ers receiver including Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall, Demarcus Robinson and Jauan Jennings all had were dealing with injury or some other issue that put their status in question for Week 1 of the NFL season. 

The 49ers receiving corps started the week out with some good news. First, the 49ers signed veteran WR Equanimeous St. Brown to help out their WR depth. Then, it became clear on the first day of training camp Wednesday July 24, 2025 that Jennings, amidst a contract dispute, was not going to hold out to force the 49ers to pay him more. 

But, all of that momentum came to a screeching halt when 49ers second year wide receiver Jacob Cowing suffered a hamstring injury on July 24. 

Now, the 49ers essentially have just Jennings, St, Brown, and Jordan Watkins as top wide receivers that are healthy. Out of that group, only Jennings has played like a starting WR so far in his career. 

It’s abundantly clear that the 49ers cannot assume that Pearsall, Aiyuk, Cowing and Robinson will all be ready to contribute at a high level Week 1. So, they can’t sign another depth piece like St. Brown. They need to go after someone who can be an NFL starter. 

That person is 6-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen, who is still a free agent despite having over 1,200 receiving yards just two seasons ago in 2023. 

Keenan Allen Provides Experience, Leadership 

There’s plenty of reasons why signing Keenan Allen makes sense for the 49ers. 

For one, Allen is still a very productive NFL wide receiver. From 2017-2023, Allen was a Pro Bowl wide receiver six out of those seven seasons, and the only reason he wasn’t a Pro Bowler in 2022 was because injuries limited him to 10 games. He was also more productive than the younger Amari Cooper last season, another WR that the 49ers have been tied to. 

For another, he would give the 49ers needed veteran leadership and experience. The 49ers wide receiver room is filled with rookies, second year players and journeyman veterans who haven’t had much NFL success. 

Allen knows what it takes to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, and his mentorship would be valuable to especially the 49ers young wideouts like Pearsall, Cowing and Watkins. 

He’d also be valuable to quarterback Brock Purdy. Purdy is still a young, improving quarterback. Iron always sharpens iron. A veteran wideout who knows what it takes to forge a strong connection with his QB and has dealt with every situation the NFL can throw at you would be good for Purdy. 

Allen is 33 years old, so the 49ers don’t necessarily want to commit a five-year contract to him. But this late in the offseason, a one or two year contract sounds like a win-win for all parties. 

The Concerns About Allen

Admittedly, there are some risks that the 49ers would be taking by signing Keenan Allen. 

For one, Allen is very injury prone. His injury issues are not as bad as earlier in his career. In all but one season since 2017 he has played in at least 13 games. 

But Allen has also missed multiple games every season since 2021. If he’s healthy, the 49ers would be getting a steal by signing Allen. Even if he only misses a few games in the middle or towards the end of the season, signing Allen may be worth it to tide them over through training camp and the beginning of the season. 

But since the 49ers are already dealing with a thin WR room, if they sign Allen and he isn’t ready for Weeks 1-4, it would just be another frustrating injury for the 49ers to navigate through. 

Especially since Allen probably won’t come cheap. The 49ers would probably need to fork over at least $15 million to lure Allen to San Francisco. The 49ers already have dealt with a massive financial crunch this offseason so they may not feel Allen is worth the money. 

But it’s at least worth a shot. The 49ers won’t know if Allen is willing to come to San Francisco unless they try. Given that training camps everywhere are starting, he is running out of time to find a home before the season and therefore running out of options and financial leverage anyway. 

What do you think, 49ers fans? Should the Niners go after Keenan Allen?

 Watch 49ers News & Highlights

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders for heavy.com. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman