And the 49ers might need Abdullah to play in the preseason this year if James misses significant time. Without him, their running backs are Christian McCaffrey, who probably won't play in the preseason, Isaac Guerendo, who is injury-prone, and Corey Kiner, an undrafted free agent rookie. So they need bodies.

Why a wide receiver? The 49ers have been giving Ricky Pearsall days off, are still without Jacob Cowing for another couple of weeks, and are still without Brandon Aiyuk. It might