Three-fourths of the San Francisco 49ers secondary is banged up. Cornerback Richard Sherman is expected to be out at least a couple of weeks with a calf injury. Safety Jaquiski Tartt has missed each of the team's two practices this week with a shoulder injury. The other safety, Adrian Colbert, returned to practice on Thursday but is dealing with a hip injury.
The situation in the defensive backfield forced the 49ers to give Eric Reid a call this week in hopes of bringing him back to the team. The former 49ers safety declined San Francisco's offer and opted instead to sign with the Carolina Panthers.
General manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Friday morning and discussed the team's effort to try to bring back Reid.
"We're banged up at safety," Lynch said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "We'll see here. Friday is a big day for us in terms of that. Adrian Colbert did practice yesterday, and that was promising, but Jaquiski Tartt has not yet this week. He may give it a go today to see if they're ready.
"We were banged up. We have great familiarity with Eric. Eric's a good football player, so we reached out to him and extended an offer. He chose to go to Carolina, so we wish Eric well."
Reid's choice makes sense. Money was probably not the most significant deciding factor in the decision. Lynch said the 49ers' offer was competitive. Reid will start in Carolina. In San Francisco, he would be situated as a backup.
"First of all, in Carolina, he's going to be the starter," Lynch continued. "Their starter went to injured reserve. Our guys are likely to come back. While [our offer] could have been competitive, I think there was an opportunity there. The other thing, it's been five years here, and sometimes a player feels like it's time to move on. I don't know. I can't get inside his head. I just know what transpired."
The 49ers decided it was time to "move on" from Reid in March when they let the safety hit free agency. He remained available for nearly six months before Carolina and San Francisco came calling. Reid spent his first five NFL seasons with the 49ers after the team made him the No. 18 overall pick in 2013.
