Uniform plan gets derailed in desert
The 49ers wore white against the Seahawks for a second time this season in their finale in Arizona.
They donned white- onwhite 1994 throwbacks uniforms in their Nov. 1 loss in Seattle, and planned to wear them again Sunday. But they suffered a hiccup when relocating to Glendale, Arizona last month, forcing them to wear whiteover- gold at home in the regular season for the first time since 1979.
The 49ers did not bring those throwback uniforms with them on the trip, according to team reporter Keiana Martin and Uni Watch’s Paul Lukas, but they had already committed to wearing white in the season finale. Teams must submit their main uniform color for each matchup to the NFL before the season begins.
White jerseys at home are nothing new for the 49ers — they wore the allwhite throwback alternates earlier this year at Levi’s Stadium against the Rams, last season against the Panthers, and also against the Rams in 2018.
From 1980 through 2017, the 49ers never wore white at home in the regular season, according to the Gridiron Uniform Database. Then, they began using all-white throwbacks as their Color Rush uniforms in 2018 and wore them at home for the first time against Los Angeles.
The database says the Niners wore white in all seven home games in 1976 and against the Cowboys at home in 1979, making Sunday just the ninth time they’ve worn their normal white uniform with gold pants at home in team history.
The plan to wear the white- on-white twice this season against the Seahawks might have been a callback to last year’s finale in Seattle, when the 49ers clinched the NFC West and No. 1 seed on a last- second goal-line tackle by Dre Greenlaw. The 49ers wore the throwbacks in that win, and the Seahawks wore their blue uniforms.
According to the database, the Seahawks are the only team to never wear white in a home game.
This was the second week in a row that the 49ers have worn white- over-gold, but when they did it last week against the Cardinals, it was because the 49ers were the road team.
DRAFT NEWS >> The 49ers have never drafted No. 12 overall, but that is their slot for the 2021 NFL draft after finishing 6-10.
The Niners have drafted eight times at No. 11 and twice at No. 13. Last year they made defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw the first-ever 49ers pick at No. 14 overall (acquired from Indianapolis), then selected wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk with the 25th pick.
With the sheer volume of free agents the 49ers have pending from their 2020 roster, it’s difficult to suss out exactly what types of players they will target in the draft, which is set for April 29-May 1 in Cleveland — though the coronavirus could force a second consecutive virtual draft.
Offensive line, linebackers and potentially the secondary (depending on free agency) appear to be likely areas where the 49ers could use early-round picks to strengthen their roster, which was decimated by injuries this season. The wide receiver group isn’t particularly deep, but they have spent early-round picks in consecutive years on that position (Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel).
If they do want to bring in competition for Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, BY U’s Zach Wilson or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance may be available for them at No. 12.