Following the return of Robert Saleh to the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator position, there has already been plenty of talk about which of Saleh’s old players could follow him back to Levi’s Stadium.
New York Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood, an underrated piece of Saleh’s defense during his time as head coach of the Jets, has been mooted as a potential free agent target for the Niners.
Two former 49ers defensive linemen who joined Saleh on the Jets, Solomon Thomas and Javon Kinlaw, are both free agents, but it is not clear whether San Francisco will have interest in bringing either back.
But there is one former 49er who also played for Saleh in New York who would fill a void for San Francisco.
And, following his bizarre departure in 2020, the signing of looming free agent cornerback D.J. Reed would also give the 49ers chance to correct one of the biggest mistakes of the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era.
In the July before the 2020 season, Reed was placed on the non-football injury list with a torn pectoral. The 49ers seemingly did not believe the injury would heal in time for him to play any part in the campaign, and waived him with an injury designation that August in the hope he would clear waivers and revert back to the reserve list for the 49ers.
Instead, Reed was claimed by the 49ers’ NFC West rivals the Seattle Seahawks, for whom he started at cornerback from that October. He went on to play the entire of the 2021 season for Seattle, before establishing a dominant cornerback duo with Sauce Gardner in New York under the guidance of Saleh.
Reed has been a mainstay in the secondary for the Jets, but heads into the new league year out of contract. He did not have an interception yet still managed to log 11 pass breakups in 2024.
The 49ers know all about Reed’s capacity for making plays on the ball having drafted him in the fifth round in 2018. With a potential hole developing at corner with Charvarius Ward set to leave in free agency, there would appear to be an opening for a huge role in the Saleh defense for a new cornerback.
Reed’s familiarity with the system, which at its foundations is the same one the 49ers have used throughout the Shanahan tenure, including after Saleh’s 2021 departure, would be a big plus point in his favor.
Just as important is his ability to play inside and out. Deommodore Lenoir has established himself as an exciting young slot corner who has made that role his own, while Renardo Green will likely be a starter in his second season after a hugely impressive rookie year.
Still only 28, the 49ers have the chance to make amends for that off-base projection regarding Reed’s recovery, and possibly extract the best years of his career before he hits the cliff.
Whether Reed would be willing to potentially sign as a corner who likely won’t play all of the defensive snaps remains to be seen. Lenoir rotates to the outside on traditional base downs, meaning he could well eat into Reed’s prospective snacks.
The 49ers also may want to try to draft a cornerback to fill the potential void left by Ward, rather than paying up to acquire a veteran in an offseason in which they will likely pay quarterback Brock Purdy.
But there are other more pressing needs on both sides of the line of scrimmage in 2025 that would be better served by the draft. If the 49ers’ plan is to focus on the trenches ahead of corners in the draft, then they should at the very least explore the possibility of reuniting with Reed and atoning for one of the most substantial personnel errors in recent Niners history
