Kendrick Bourne signs tender to stay with 49ers
.jpg "San Francisco 49ers receiver Kendrick Bourne celebrates after he scored a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter of Saturday’s playoff game.")
A key piece to the 49ers puzzle at receiver has been put into place.
Restricted free agent Kendrick Bourne one Monday signed his one-year tender to stay, the team announced. He was offered the one-year tender March 17 and could have signed with a new team that would have sent San Francisco a second-round pick in return.
Bourne, 24, is entering 2020 as one of the few known commodities in the 49ers’ receiving corps due to look significantly different.
As the No. 3 option on last season’s NFC champion, Bourne tied George Kittle for the team lead with five touchdown catches while 23 of his 30 receptions went for first downs. He had 358 yards last season after posing 487 in 2018, the best of his three-year career.
Bourne, after a successful career at Eastern Washington, joined the 49ers as an undrafted free agent during head coach Kyle Shanahan’s first season in 2017.
One of Shanahan’s most pressing tasks this offseason is remaking the receiving corps that lost top option Emmanuel Sanders to the New Orleans Saints last month in free agency. Bourne and second-year pro Deebo Samuel headline the group that also features free agent addition Travis Benjamin, Dante Pettis, Richie James Jr., Marquise Goodwin, Trent Taylor and 2019 third-round pick Jalen Hurd, who missed all of last season with a back injury.
The 49ers have the No. 13 and 31 pick in the first round of the NFL Draft later this month and are expected to add a receiver early. The class is considered one of the best at the position in years with Jerry Jeudy (Alabama), CeeDee Lamb (Oklahoma) and Henry Ruggs III (Alabama) topping the group.