Why the 49ers Signed WR Terrace Marshall Jr.

Marshall was a second-round pick in 2021 and apparently the 49ers really liked him when he came out of college.

Grant Cohn | Aug 28, 2024

Nov 27, 2022; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. (88) runs on to the field at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA -- Technically, the 49ers just added wide receiver no. 8 to their 53-man roster.

Today, they signed former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. who cleared waivers after Carolina cut him. Marshall was a second-round pick in 2021 and apparently the 49ers really liked him when he came out of college.

“That's just a good football player we were very fortunate to get in the building," said general manager John Lynch. "I don't know what went on in Carolina. I know that I got on the phone with Terrace, along with [wide receivers coach] Leonard Hankerson and Kyle and just told him about the way we do things, what we thought of him coming out of college and that this could be a great landing spot for him. He's going to have to earn everything, but it's a fun place for receivers to come and thrive. Whatever your best is, I think you'll find it here. We're excited for that opportunity."

TRANSLATION: Brandon Aiyuk refuses to practice and the 49ers need someone to take his spot while he sits out. In addition, the 49ers turned Aiyuk into a good player and can do the same thing with Marshall.

If the 49ers thought they'd have Aiyuk back on the practice field soon, I doubt they would have signed an eighth wide receiver today. So they're preparing for life without Aiyuk, either because he'll continue to hold out or get traded.

Unless Aiyuk completely caves, it's starting to look like he won't play for the 49ers any time soon.

Published Aug 28, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.