After losing Dashon Goldson to Tampa, the San Francisco 49ers are in a bigger need to improve, even slightly, their situation at secondary. If Darrelle Revis doesn’t seem to be coming via trade, maybe signing recently released veterans Charles Woodson and Nnamdi Asomugha will do the trick.
Woodson has been in the NFL for 15 years, making 8 pro bowl teams and three first all-pro selections. He has declined in recent years, but the known shift from corner to safety has been able to prolong his career, still being a meaningful factor in the Packers defense, although after missing nine games last season, the Packers didn’t feel that keeping him on for much longer was worth the while. Woodson has played in the Bay area in the past, spending the first 8 seasons of his career with the Oakland Raiders, also making it to the Super Bowl.
Asomugha is more of a tragic tale – one of the biggest signings by the Philadelphia Eagles two years ago as they were building their “super-team”, his play at corner was very disappointing, most blaming him and old age for the decline, not the system he was playing in. While not worth the kind of money he was being paid in Philly, Asomugha is still a capable corner in the right kind of system, should the 49ers make their relationship into more than just talks.
Woodson might even become a starter for the team now that Goldson is gone, which will probably force the 49ers to try and draft a safety for the future in free agency, as they try and compete in the arms race of the NFC West with the Seahawks, who have mostly been signing defensive ends.