Latest news with #St.Brown
USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL News: 49ers sign controversial ex-New Orleans Saints wide receiver
The former Saint will compete for a roster spot with the 49ers Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Equanimous St. Brown, brother of Lions All‑Pro Amon‑Ra St. Brown, has signed with the San Francisco 49ers ahead of training camp. The seven‑year veteran lands in the NFC West after seeing very limited action with New Orleans last season. Like Eli Apple before him, St. Brown became a controversial figure during his time with the Saints for talking down on the Crescent City's culinary scene; rookie quarterback Tyler Shough got a dig in on him about that when he appeared on St. Brown's podcast for an interview. St. Brown, the Notre Dame product, will compete for a roster spot in a 49ers receiver room that's currently in flux. Both top options -- Pro Bowler Brandon Aiyuk and last year's first‑round pick Ricky Pearsall -- have opened camp on the PUP list, while Jauan Jennings, who broke out in 2024, is embroiled in a contract dispute. That uncertainty could open the door for St. Brown to earn valuable early‑camp reps and make a push among the back end of the depth chart. St. Brown flashed during last preseason in New Orleans, showing promise as a big‑bodied target. While that potential never fully materialized with the Saints, the 27‑year‑old now gets another opportunity to prove he can carve out a meaningful role in the league. He appeared in two games last season, spending most of the year on the Saints' practice squad.
NBC Sports
7 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
49ers sign Equanimeous St. Brown
The 49ers added some experienced wide receiver depth on Tuesday. The team announced the signing of Equanimeous St. Brown to their 90-man roster. It's a one-year deal with no other terms announced. St. Brown spent last season with the Saints, but only appeared in two games without catching a pass. He had 63 catches for 928 yards and two touchdowns in 60 games with the Bears and Packers earlier in his career. The move comes as the team waits for Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall to come off of the physically unable to perform list. Aiyuk's timeline for a return from his torn ACL is unknown while Pearsall dealt with hamstring issues this offseason.
USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
49ers sign 63-catch wide receiver after successful workout
After trading former All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick, the San Francisco 49ers didn't do much to improve the position group for the start of the season when they likely won't have Brandon Aiyuk while he's recovering from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus that he suffered in a battle with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. In fact, the only moves they made at wide receiver were signing veteran wideout Demarcus Robinson to a two-year, $8 million deal, drafting Jordan Watkins and Junior Bergen in the fourth and seventh rounds of the 2025 NFL draft, respectively and bringing in Isaiah Neyor as an undrafted free agent. However, they added another veteran to the group on Tuesday, as The Athletic's Matt Barrows reported that the 49ers are signing Equanimeous St. Brown after a successful workout earlier in the week. St. Brown, 28, played collegiately at Notre Dame from 2015-17 before the Green Bay Packers took him in the sixth round (No. 207 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. In his seven seasons in the NFL, he spent four with the Packers (2018-21), two with the Chicago Bears (2022-23) and one with the New Orleans Saints (2024), catching 63 passes for 928 yards and two touchdowns. In 2024, St. Brown, whose brother is a three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver with the Detroit Lions, appeared in just two games for the Saints, playing 35 offensive snaps and nine on special teams. San Francisco needs help at the position, but St. Brown will really have to work in training camp to earn a role with the team in 2025 with Robinson, Watkins, Bergen, Neyor, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Jacob Cowing, Isaiah Hodgins, Malik Knowles, Terique Owens and Russell Gage Jr. also competing for limited opportunities. But, if he shines, he could end up seeing the field in Week 1. More 49ers: Injury updates on 2 49ers WRs are a mixed bag of good and bad news
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former USC star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to host football camp on Saturday, July 12
Former USC star Amon-Ra St. Brown has established himself as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. In each of the past two seasons, St. Brown has been named a first-team All-Pro, leading the Detroit Lions to consecutive NFC North Division titles. Although he plays in Detroit now, Southern California will always be home to St. Brown. This weekend, the star wide receiver will be returning to his alma mater, Mater Dei High School, to co-host the fourth annual St. Brown Brothers Youth Football Camp with his brother, Equanimeous. "We're excited," St. Brown told me in an interview on Tuesday. "Hopefully it's gonna be around 300 kids. "It's always a lot of fun being with [the kids], hanging out with them, playing football, throwing the ball around . . . Just to be back at my old high school, and you know, being able to see some old people and things like that. It's always a lot of fun." The camp will be held on Saturday, July 12 from 9 a.m to 1 p.m., and will be open to children between the ages of 7 and 14. Those interested in attending the camp can register at
USA Today
07-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Data and Film: Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown more than just a slot merchant
Obviously, it's bit of a guessing game on how the Detroit Lions offense will look under new offensive coordinator John Morton. Compared to former offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, it could look a lot different. Or it could look somewhat similar. It's obviously a waiting game filled with a whole lot of guessing and anticipation. One thing that will remain constant in the Detroit Lions offense is the presence of wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Entering his 5th season in the NFL, he's been the most consistent piece to the Lions organization during that time. Through four seasons, he's totaled 470 receptions for 4,851 yards and 33 touchdowns. On a 17-game average (per Pro Football Reference), St. Brown averages 111 receptions for 1,250 yards and 9 touchdowns per season. Despite the emergence of players such as Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, it hasn't slowed Amon-Ra down. Much of what makes Amon-Ra so dominant and consistent is his ability to win anywhere and everywhere on the field. Primarily aligned out wide or in the slot, there was strong production from either alignment in 2024. According to NextGenStats, St. Brown ran 240 routes from the slot with 39 receptions for 441 yards and five touchdowns. He was targeted 56 times out of the slot. However, he ran 252 routes from a wide alignment. This led to 67 receptions for 740 yards and five touchdowns. He was targeted 75 times from a wide alignment and this resulted in a 89.3% catch percentage. It's clear after the 2024 season that St. Brown is more than just a slot merchant as some like to label him. Let's dive into the film to look more into what makes St. Brown successful from wide alignments. As I reviewed the tape from last season, one of my big takeaways is how the Lions offense somewhat manipulated defenses by condensing their formations. The play above gives a great snapshot of that prior to the snap. At the top of the screen, you'll see Amon-Ra St. Brown aligned on the ball and about two yards from the top of the numbers. From there, you can see that the Lions are aligned in a 2x2 set for their offensive formation. Once the ball is snapped, you'll see St. Brown work through some initial contact, but he manages to get inside leverage on the cornerback. As he threatens vertically, he makes it appear as if he's going to continue vertically on his route. However, he quickly breaks his route to the middle of the field and Jared Goff finds him for a big completion. Moving onto the next play, we'll see a similar formation as the previous play with the Lions coming out in a 2x2 set. However, rather than it being condensed, the receivers are wider. As you can see, St. Brown is aligned at the top of the screen and is about a yard or so from the bottom of the numbers. Once the ball is snapped, you'll see St. Brown reading the cornerback. As the cornerback begins to quickly bail, he breaks his route to the middle of the field, and he slips underneath the linebackers. While St. Brown begins to break towards the middle of the field, you'll see tight end Sam LaPorta begin to run vertically up the seam. As he carries vertically, St. Brown runs underneath, and this would be labeled as a Dagger concept. From there, Jared Goff finds him with ease and it leads to a nice completion. Lastly, I want to focus on an easy pitch-and-catch between Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown from the Colts game last season. On the play above, the Lions come out in another 2x2 set with St. Brown aligned at the top of the screen. This time, St. Brown is right at the bottom of the numbers. With a safety buzzed down, the expected coverage prior to the snap could be Cover 1, Cover 3 or potentially some type of inverted Cover 4 look from the Colts defense. Once the ball is snapped, it appears to be some variation of Cover 3 from the Colts. On the route, you can see St. Brown work inside and then break back towards the sideline on what appears to be a corner route. Despite the cornerback being over the top of the route, there's plenty of separation due to the fluidity and explosiveness from St. Brown on his route. This gives Goff plenty of room to make a clean pass and it ultimately leads to a first down. Overall, it's certainly a joy to watch Amon-Ra St. Brown on a weekly basis. But it's no secret that he's one of the most consistent playmakers in the NFL. We all know the list of receivers that were drafted prior to him in the 2021 NFL Draft but there's been a misconception on how he's utilized in the Lions offense on a weekly basis. As the data and film indicate, St. Brown is a complete receiver who can win anywhere on the field. Regardless of alignment or route being ran, there are no limitations within his game. I'd expect the production and usage to continue for him in the Detroit Lions offense, regardless of who is calling the plays.
