49ers signing of Brandin Cooks does more than address WR depth

SANTA CLARA — Brandin Cooks, a dozen years into his NFL career and on the verge of 10,000 career receiving yards, was in no hurry to choose his team for this season.The waiting game paid off this week, to the benefit of the 49ers, who signed the Stockton-born speed demon after taking blow after blow at the position.It worked out pretty well for Cooks, too, who took part in his first practice Wednesday, wearing a No.84 jersey, and could provide the help the Niners desperately need at receiver as soon as Sunday.The last time Cooks, 32, was this close to a 49ers practice, Steve Mariucci was still in charge.“I was a diehard Niner fan,” Cooks said.

“You play in the league so you’ve kind of got to forget about that, but now that you’re here, all those memories start coming back.”Memories such as those bike rides as an elementary-aged kid every summer out in the San Joaquin Valley, across the Calaveras River, to the University of Pacific, where the 49ers held training camp from 1998 to 2002.Cooks would peer through the fence just to catch a glimpse of Steve Young throwing downfield to Terrell Owens.By 6 or 7, he said, he was hooked.

On football — and the 49ers. Now, days away from his 33rd birthday, he’s about to catch passes from Brock Purdy, the best quarterback to come through San Francisco since Young.At least, the 49ers hope he will be — they need him to.“He knows that we’re down guys,” coach Kyle Shanahan said, “so he’s going to have an opportunity to get up [on the active roster] eventually.”San Francisco needed to make a move after losing Ricky Pearsall in the preseason, De’Zhaun Stribling in Week 1 and Demarcus Robinson in Week 2.Mike Evans also left last week’s game with a hip issue that Shanahan said the Niners would have to “manage” this week in practice.In Cooks, the 49ers got more pedigree than just about any other receiver on the market, besides maybe Tyreek Hill.

As it turned out, he was more or less waiting for t...