It's the dead part of the NFL offseason when players scatter for much-needed time off before the start of training camp. You may remember San Francisco 49ers team reporter Keiana Martin on Friday reporting on what players are doing during their time off. Part of that report included 49ers wide receiver Marquise Goodwin swimming with pigs and sharks in the Bahamas.
That was not all he did with his time off. Goodwin and ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick have never played on the same team, but the two are spending part of their offseason together in Egypt.
While Goodwin, a free agent signed in March, is about to begin his first season with the 49ers, Kaepernick remains unemployed. He had a brief visit with the Seattle Seahawks before they decided not to sign him in favor of quarterback Austin Davis.
RELATED ESPN ranks 49ers' Marquise Goodwin as the NFL's second-fastest player
You may remember that Kaepernick and Goodwin exchanged jerseys following the 49ers' 45-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills – Goodwin's former team. That was Kaepernick's first start of the 2016 season for the 49ers. He replaced a struggling Blaine Gabbert and went on to pass for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions through 11 games last season.
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Prior to signing a two-year contract with the 49ers, Goodwin spent his entire career with Buffalo – the team that drafted him out of Texas in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. In 2016, he had the best season of his career, appearing in 15 games, starting nine, and hauling in 29 catches for 431 yards and three touchdowns for Buffalo.
During the 49ers' offseason program, Goodwin has been lining up everywhere on the practice field, including the slot receiver position. Goodwin was rarely asked to do anything more than line up outside the numbers with Buffalo and the speedy receiver appreciates the variety with the 49ers.
"I'm always open and I'm fast. And I say that in the most humble tone (and) not to be arrogant," Goodwin said. "I'm just confident I'll be open and I'm fast ... People assumed I couldn't run routes. So when they actually see me run routes, they're like, 'Wow, this dude's fast and he can stop fast and he can run routes, and he can catch.' It sickens me that people would think I'm just this fast dude who can't run routes or can't catch."
