1 Gabe Wilkins: Despite the several big-money flops that have followed Wilkins to the 49ers, he remains the franchise’s biggest failure in free agency in terms of what a bad move it was for the price and the effect it had on the organization. Wilkins was damaged goods with a knee injury that kept him out of Super Bowl XXXII following the 1997 season — his first year as a full-time starter — but the 49ers still gave him a blockbuster five-year, $20 million deal to steal Wilkins from rival Green Bay. It was money horribly spent. Wilkins recorded just one sack and 36 tackles in two seasons with the team, retiring after the 1999 season due to his knee issues and leaving the 49ers high and dry in their need for a top-end edge pass rusher.
2 Antonio Langham: Desperate for a capa-ble cornerback to replace Rod Woodson and help keep their aging defense at a championship level, the 49ers astonished some observers by signing Langham to a five-year, $17 million deal in 1998 after he’d completed just four seasons in the league. Langham was a disaster from the start, experiencing problems covering receivers from the get-go before losing his starting job midway through his first and only season with the team.
This story is from the October 2019 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the October 2019 edition of Niner Report.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
