SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Newly-acquired San Francisco 49ers receiver Rod Streater just got to the Bay Area on Sunday morning but hasn't seen much besides his playbook since his arrival.
Streater is no stranger to the area, spending his first four NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders. But after a brief stop with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Niners traded an undisclosed draft pick to Kansas City on Saturday for Streater and another undisclosed choice.
Upon his arrival at the team facility, Streater wasted no time trying to learn coach Chip Kelly's offense.
"(I'm) just learning the plays," Streater said. "I've been here every day, late nights and just studying with the guys trying to get the tempo and signals down."
Streater has taken to a nightly routine of studying with Jeremy Kerley and Chris Harper, whom the Niners traded for and added to the practice squad, respectively, in recent days. Streater arrives at the SAP Training Center in the morning and estimates that he's there until 8 or 9 p.m. When he returns to his hotel, he picks up where he left off.
So why the urgency?
Well, there's no doubt that Streater will have an opportunity to contribute right away and the sooner he gets up to speed, the sooner he can get those chances. As it stands, he's one of five wideouts on the roster, with only Torrey Smith owning a more accomplished resume than his.
It's not lost on Streater that he has a chance to play right away and make a difference for a receiver corps lacking proven playmakers.
"I believe so," Streater said. "I get that vibe. I've got to learn the plays first before anything. I'm hungry, (it's) a new opportunity, they brought me in, so I'm just ready to prove them right."
In acquiring the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Streater, the Niners saw the chance to add a bigger, longer type of wideout capable of filling the void left by Eric Rogers, who suffered a season-ending knee injury early in camp.
"Well, I like what Rod brings," offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins said. "One, he has some length. He can run. He's had some production in this league and you know, when we lost Eric, we felt like Eric would kind of give us some of that, you know, downfield, a bigger guy that can move and I think when losing Eric, I think Streater kind of replaces that. So, you know, we're looking forward to, you know, he's getting up to speed himself and he's doing a good job of getting up to speed just like Jeremy has."
Speaking of speed, Streater said Wednesday the biggest adjustment for him has been Kelly's fast-break tempo. Streater likes that Kelly's offense allows his receivers to be interchangeable and says the terminology isn't too difficult to learn in short order.
To that end, Streater says he draw up each play on a piece of paper then tries to go through them mentally. Back healthy after dealing with a foot injury in 2014 that lingered into last season, Streater has something to prove.
"I feel like I fit here," Streater said. "I'm confident in myself. I had a little setback but I feel like God has a plan and brought me here for a reason and that's to go out and make plays."
And if all goes well, Streater could get his first chance to do just that on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams.
"I'm ready to go," Streater said. "I'm preparing like I'm playing."
