placeholder image

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports


49ers: Being inactive during the Super Bowl was ‘the final straw’ for Dante Pettis, who is ready to ‘play free’

Aug 21, 2020 at 1:07 PM--


Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis on Friday sat down to speak with reporters for the first time this offseason. There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the work he has seemingly put in this offseason after struggling to even get on the football field last year.

Pettis has impressed during training camp. He knows there has been criticism after his underwhelming 2019 campaign and understands that perhaps much of it was deserved.

"As far as the critiquing or whatever, it is what it is," Pettis said. "... I'm sure they had a reason to say it. I didn't play how I should have been playing, how I know I can play, and how they know I can play, so it was probably warranted."

Pettis wasn't targeted after November 11, 2019, and the receiver didn't catch a pass after Halloween night. But it was being inactive for the Super Bowl that was eye-opening for the former second-round pick.

RELATED Dante's Inferno: Can Pettis Reignite His 49ers Career?

"If that doesn't change the way someone approaches the offseason, then they don't really want to be in the NFL, I don't think," Pettis said. "There's not too many things worse than that, football-wise, that could get you going, being [inactive] for the Super Bowl.

"That was kind of like the final straw, I guess you could say, especially heading into the offseason. There's not much more than that, that could get someone going."

Pettis spoke tentatively but tried to be as open as possible with reporters. He admits that there is more he plans to share, when the time is right.

Pettis also acknowledged that he probably took head coach Kyle Shanahan's tough coaching last season the wrong way.

"I made it more personal and about me than about me realizing how good he knows I can be," Pettis explained. "I got caught up in the way he said some things, and not the actual message that he was trying to get to me. And once I realized that, everything kind of changed. I think our relationship is really good. It's open, and we can communicate."

RELATED Pettis sought out Shanahan upon reporting to the 49ers and left the coach impressed

Shanahan recently revealed that the receiver sought him out upon reporting to training camp, and the coach noticed that Pettis had been working hard during the offseason.

"When I came back, we had a good talk, and I think that we have a really good relationship now," Pettis added.

That hard work has resulted in a nice training camp for Pettis, so far. He said he feels stronger and more confident this offseason. He's also more in-tune with himself.

"This offseason was more purposeful," Pettis explained. "I did my workouts with a purpose. Every single rep was for a reason, instead of just going through the motions."

While Pettis doesn't have any statistical goals for the 2020 season, he did share what he hopes to accomplish.

"To play free, without anything holding me back," Pettis said. "... Going in every day, and getting to a point to where, coming into practice or the weight room or whatever, getting to a point to where I know that I got better ... You need to get to the breaking point each day and get past that. That's kind of how I would measure my goals for this year."



Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News


placeholder image

49ers assistant coach also suffered torn Achilles during Super Bowl

By David Bonilla
Mar 26

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw is currently rehabilitating after undergoing surgery for the torn Achilles he sustained last month during Super Bowl 58. He'll have a partner in his recovery, as he wasn't the only member of the team to suffer that specific injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters on Tuesday morning at the NFL owners meetings and revealed that defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks also sustained a torn Achilles during the game. "[It occurred] about five minutes after Dre's," Shanahan told reporters. "I think it was when [S] Ji'Ayir [Brown] got the interception, he just jumped up and cheered, very similar to Dre's, and his Achilles went too." Bullocks remained on the sideline and continued coaching throughout the


placeholder image

49ers still favored to win Super Bowl 59 after first wave of free agency

By David Bonilla
Mar 20

After falling just short of championship glory in February, the San Francisco 49ers are eyeing another opportunity in Super Bowl 59, and oddsmakers are backing their ambitions. The latest defeat was the second unsuccessful Super Bowl trip of the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era. Now, the Niners own the best odds in the league (+550) to finally hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy once more. Super Bowl 59 will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team that dashed the 49ers' championship dreams in February, the Kansas City Chiefs, boast the second-best odds (+600) in the NFL to win Super Bowl 59. Among the NFC West teams, the Los Angeles Rams have the next-best odds after the 49ers, with distant +3500 odds,


placeholder image

USA Today grades 49ers' initial free-agency moves

By David Bonilla
Mar 21

Nate Davis of USA Today Sports recently published his free-agency grades for each NFL team. It's been over a week since the start of the new league year, when players no longer under contract are allowed to sign with other organizations, hoping to prove to their former teams that letting them walk was a mistake. While the San Francisco 49ers didn't make any attention-grabbing additions like they did last year with the Javon Hargrave signing, they did shake things up along the defensive line. The Niners bid farewell to their longest-tenured player, Arik Armstead, releasing him for salary cap savings


placeholder image

49ers hosting safety Julian Blackmon on free-agency visit

By David Bonilla
Mar 21

Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz reports that free agent safety Julian Blackmon is visiting with the San Francisco 49ers today. Schultz wrote on social media, "Blackmon has several suitors after enjoying a career season with the Colts, which included 4 INTs." Free agent safety Julian Blackmon is visiting the #49ers today, sources tell @BleacherReport.Blackmon has several suitors after


Latest

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone