McMillian Signs With Niners

June 8, 1999 / 9:45 PM EDT / AP

Free agent cornerback Mark McMillian was signed to a three-year contract by the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, adding depth and experience to a secondary stung by big plays last season.

Terms of the contract weren't disclosed.

McMillian, whose ballhawking style produced 11 interceptions over the last two seasons in Kansas City, joined the 49ers in time to take part in the opening of the team's full-squad four-day minicamp.

San Francisco, which ranked second-to-last in pass defense last year, is in the process of remaking its secondary. The 49ers lost cornerback Marquez Pope to free agency and free agent bust Antonio Langham was claimed in the expansion draft by Cleveland.

R.W. McQuarters and Darnell Walker, who began last season as backups but wound up being pressed into starting roles, begin the year as the team's top two cornerbacks. San Francisco also drafted Anthony Parker and Pierson Prioleau last April.

Coach Steve Mariucci said McMillian could wind up starting or playing in the nickel defense. In either case, he's expected to tighten up coverage in a secondary that was all too vulnerable last season.

"He's technically sound. He's very veteran savvy. He's played a lot back there," Mariucci said.

At 5-foot-7, McMillian will be San Francisco's shortest defensive back but Mariucci said he doesn't expect him to have matchup problems.

"He knows how to play against all these receivers that we're playing against and don't let the size fool you," Mariucci said. "It's like (5-foot-8) Darnell Walker. He's very productive, very capable and very experienced."

McMillian is joining his fourth NFL team. He spent his first four years in Philadelphia and spent one season with New Orleans before going to Kansas City in 1997, when he had a career-high eight interceptions including one in the Chief's 44-9 victory over the 49ers that season.

He said he hopes to win a starting job but will fulfill his job with the team whether its coming off the bench or playing fulltime.

"I've been starting for seven years so I don't feel I'm a nickel guy," McMillian said. "I'm going in with the idea that I'm going to start. If I don't, then the guy that's in front of me, he's going to get pushed, and make him even better."