It appears the 49ers want to cut bait with Dante Pettis. Now, it's a matter of finding a taker for the 2018 second-round draft pick.
MMQB's Senior NFL Reporter Albert Breer reported Thursday that the 49ers "have made available a receiver they once had high hopes for, in Dante Pettis."
Taken with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Pettis had a decent rookie season, catching 27 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns.
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But Pettis was ineffective last year and has barely seen the field this season.
In 11 games last season, Pettis caught just 11 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. In four games this year, he's been targeted once and didn't catch that pass.
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49ers coach Kyle Shanahan challenged the young wide receiver and was pleased with what he saw from Pettis during training camp.
"He had a lot of opportunities, but it wasn’t just that,” Shanahan said in August. “It was the demeanor, the aggression, his routes and everything. I’ve been very pleased with Dante so far.”
Pettis even had 49ers general manager John Lynch convinced he was poised for a breakout campaign in his third NFL season.
“He’s got to do it when it counts, but every indication is that he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing,” Lynch said in September. “I’m really proud of the young man for the way he’s prepared himself.”
Clearly, Pettis said and did all the right things this offseason to earn confidence from the 49ers' brain trust. But that hasn't translated to the regular season.
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It's hard to see what the 49ers could get for an underperforming Pettis, but another team might believe that a change of scenery will benefit the 25-year-old. If that's the case, Lynch and Shanahan might be able to salvage the situation by acquiring a draft pick for Pettis.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 3, so Lynch has less than two weeks to try to move Pettis.