SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The 49ers learned a painful lesson in 2007: You can't run the ball if defenses don't respect your passing game.

With that in mind, the team signed speedy wideout Brandon Jones, 26, to a five-year contract Saturday and scheduled a meeting this week with the top quarterback on the free-agent market, Arizona's Kurt Warner.

Whether Warner, 37, actually boards a plane for the Bay Area remains to be seen. Following the Super Bowl, he said that he would either return to the Cardinals or retire. Some inside the 49ers' organization are certain he will remain in Arizona where he has enjoyed wild success at the twilight of his career. Many feel Warner's dalliance with the 49ers is an attempt to pry more money from the Cardinals.

Still, Warner's agent, Mark Bartelstein, insisted Saturday that Warner was open to looking at other teams.

"I know there's a lot of skepticism out there," Bartelstein said. "I'll say this — the people that know Kurt Warner will tell you he doesn't get into deals with people unless he is serious. He doesn't use other people."

Jones, meanwhile, signed a five-year deal with the 49ers worth $16.5 million.

The 208-pound wideout was a third-round pick of the Titans in 2005 and failed to live up to his draft status in his first three seasons in the league. Jones tore an anterior cruciate knee ligament in 2005. He was inconsistent in 2006, and he again landed on injured reserve — this time with a groin injury — in 2007.

Last season, Jones began to ascend. He played in all 16 games, starting seven. Only five teams threw the ball more infrequently than Tennessee in 2008. Jones caught 41 passes for 449 yards and a touchdown.

"I'm young. I haven't reached my full potential," Jones said minutes after signing his contract. "I've been in an offense that doesn't throw the ball as much. I've made the best of my opportunities when we did throw the ball. So I'm ready just to elevate and step up my game and be showcased."

Jones joins a receiving corps that is long on potential but lacks experience.

The 49ers' top two receivers in 2008 were Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson. Bruce, however, hasn't decided whether he'll return for a second season in San Francisco while Johnson on Saturday agreed to a three-year deal with the Lions. The 49ers plan to add another wideout in the draft.

They'll also likely try to pair Jones with Josh Morgan, a sixth-round pick last year who showed flashes of big-play ability during his rookie season. Morgan averaged 16 yards a catch and scored three touchdowns while appearing in 12 games.

Both wideouts have the ability to create running room for Frank Gore and allow tight end Vernon Davis to work the middle of the field.

Jones had a blazing 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds before he was drafted in 2005, and he insisted his knee injury hasn't slowed him down.

"I came back better than ever," he said. "I've never felt better. They say you can come back from an ACL either slower or faster. I came back faster. I came back in a short period of time and was ready to play the next year."