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The San Francisco 49ers have had a very rough offseason, and in addition to a number of other needs on their roster the team really could use a veteran wide receiver. According to a report from ESPN's Josina Anderson, former Colts wide receiver Hakeem Nicks is visiting with the 49ers today.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>WR Hakeem Nicks told me this morning that he is traveling today to California to visit the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/49ers?src=hash">#49ers</a>. Nicks played for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Colts?src=hash">#Colts</a> last season.</p>— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/582524522592489472">March 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Nicks played in all 16 games with the Colts last year (starting six) and caught 38 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. He also added six receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown in three playoff games. It was a very rough season for the veteran receiver in his first year with the Colts, as he signed a one-year, "prove it" deal with the team hoping to reach his level of play from a few years ago. But from day one of training camp it was clear that he didn't have much timing whatsoever with quarterback Andrew Luck and that issue remained for much of the season, hurting the Colts at times. He didn't have much burst and lacked the speed to beat defensive backs consistently, and added with the lack of timing with Luck it made for a very rough season. With that said, however, Nicks played much better over the final few weeks of the regular season and into the postseason, even developing into a somewhat reliable target.
He's not much more than a third or fourth wide receiver right now, but the team that signs him will hope that he can play like he did toward the end of the season in 2014 for the entire season in 2015, and perhaps even better than that. He wouldn't be a terrible option for the 49ers and, among the veteran wide receivers still available, he's one of the best. He'd be a good signing for San Francisco, as long as they realize that he's likely nothing more than a third or fourth wideout at this point.