San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has a lot of work to do to improve the defense next season. While getting linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa back from injury should help a lot, San Francisco still needs help in other areas.
It seems clear the Niners could use some help at safety. Former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman has said San Francisco needs to upgrade at that position.
If Morris shares that assessment, then he should be advocating for the Niners to sign veteran safety Xavier Woods in free agency.
The 30-year-old pro has been a solid player pretty much ever since he came into the league back in 2017 with the Dallas Cowboys. Over his nine-year career, he has 15 interceptions and five forced fumbles. He’s also eclipsed 100 tackles multiple times in his career.
Last season with the Tennessee Titans, Woods had 39 combined tackles and two interceptions in 11 games played. He missed time due to a hamstring issue and was recently released by the Titans. Apparently, new head coach Robert Saleh wants to go younger at the position.
But Morris has seen Woods play up close before. Woods was with the Carolina Panthers from 2022 to 2024 and had his best season with Carolina in 2024. He played in all 17 games and had three interceptions as well as a career-high 119 tackles. That was Morris’ first season as the Atlanta Falcons head coach, so he saw what Woods can do when he is healthy and playing well since the Falcons and Panthers play each other twice a year.
Xavier Woods is an obvious free-agent choice for 49ers. It would be smart for the 49ers to add some veteran depth at safety this offseason. They lost Jason Pinnock to the New York Giants in free agency, so the Niners are left with mostly young players now in Malik Mustapha, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Marques Sigle.
All three of those youngsters have shown promise over the last few seasons, but handing the keys to them again after inconsistent safety play last season does not seem like a wise strategy for success. Adding Woods into the mix at least gives San Francisco a proven veteran who could, at the very least, serve as a mentor for those younger players. In a best-case scenario, maybe Woods would be a starter for the season while the young guys compete for the other safety spot. That way, the Niners won’t be overly exposed at the position by having two young guys at the last line of defense.
Woods could be had for pretty cheap, too. The Titans signed him to a two-year, $8 million deal, so the Niners could probably get him on a one-year contract in the $2 million to $4 million range.
That’s not a terrible price to pay to give Morris a bit more peace of mind when it comes to the secondary.
In an offseason where splashy signings and marquee names dominate the headlines, Xavier Woods represents the smart, low-risk move that actually fits the 49ers’ current roster reality. Forget chasing the big-ticket safeties everyone else is eyeing—Raheem Morris, who has already evaluated Woods in person during two head-to-head matchups per season, knows exactly what this nine-year veteran brings: 15 career interceptions, proven ball production, and the steady leadership a young secondary desperately needs. At $2–4 million on a short-term deal, Woods isn’t just depth; he’s the insurance policy that turns potential inconsistency into championship-caliber reliability. For a defense already counting on Warner and Bosa’s returns, this is the precise upgrade Morris should be pushing for—quietly effective, battle-tested, and perfectly priced.
