UPDATED – Tues. June 5 at 4:27 p.m. PST
J.J. Wilcox has left San Francisco in order to sign with the New York Jets.
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The San Francisco 49ers have added to their secondary depth by signing veteran safety J.J. Wilcox on a one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Wilcox, 27, was a former third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys. He spent his first four seasons in the NFL with Dallas before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency last offseason. However, he never ended up playing a single game for the Bucs as he was traded to the Steelers before the start of the season.
Wilcox played sparingly for the Steelers. He made just one start in 12 games and had a mere 12 tackles with one interception while playing just 13 percent of the snaps. He was cut by Pittsburgh after this year’s draft as the Steelers completely retooled their safety depth chart.
Over his five-year career, Wilcox has six picks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 224 total tackles in 70 games (39 starts).
Wilcox will provide some much-needed experience to a very young 49er secondary. Only cornerback Richard Sherman is at least 30 years old with over five years of experience in the group. The team also parted ways with safety Eric Reid this offseason.
Jaquiski Tartt and Adrian Colbert are currently slated to be the team’s starters at safety this season with Jimmie Ward likely to be the top backup.
But Wilcox still figures to get significant snaps for the Niners this season considering four of the safeties on the roster－Corey Griffin, Marcell Harris, Terrell Williams, and Tarvarius Moore－are all rookies while two others－Chanceller James and Tyvis Powell－are sophomores.
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