Tag: 49ers news

49ers open Week 16 practice with 3 players missing, 5 limited

The San Francisco 49ers had a busy practice report to open Week 16 preparations for the Miami Dolphins.

With the postseason virtually out of reach, the San Francisco 49ers can start turning an eye toward the 2025 season. However, it doesn’t appear the 49ers are aiming to start shutting things down with three games to go.

San Francisco’s practice participation report from Wednesday featured a trio of players missing, including left tackle Trent Williams and running back Isaac Guerendo. Williams is still working through an ankle issue. Guerendo had a hamstring injury crop up during the team’s Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Beyond that, players like defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Dre Greenlaw were still participating in practice on a limited basis despite playing through injury issues of their own.

Bosa has been dealing with hip and oblique problems since Week 10, and they cost him three games before his return against the Rams. Greenlaw made his season debut in Week 15 after recovering from a torn Achilles. He left the game with what head coach Kyle Shanahan classified as fatigue and soreness. That both players were in practice to begin the week is a good sign for their chances to suit up Sunday in Miami.

Did not participate

DT Maliek Collins (illness)
RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring)
LT Trent Williams (ankle)

Limited participation

DE Nick Bosa (hip, oblique)
LB Dre Greenlaw (Achilles, knee)
OT Jaylon Moore (hip)
S Malik Mustapha (chest)
G Nick Zakelj (illness)

Full participation

G Aaron Banks (elbow)
S Ji’Ayir Brown (groin)
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee)
S Talanoa Hufanga (wrist)
LB Dee Winters (neck)

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Recently-waived former 49ers 3rd-round pick claimed by Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a popular place for former San Francisco 49ers CBs to land.

The San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday as part of a slew of roster moves waived former third-round pick Ambry Thomas.

Thomas, a cornerback from the University of Michigan, was claimed Wednesday by the Indianapolis Colts according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

San Francisco kept Thomas on their initial 53-man roster despite a rough preseason that was further derailed by an injury. Thomas was quickly placed on IR because of a broken forearm he sustained in the team’s preseason opener. He was never activated before being placed on waivers.

Thomas is due to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason after an up-and-down tenure in the Bay Area.

He stepped into a starting role as a rookie and wound up sealing a postseason berth by intercepting Matt Stafford in overtime of a Week 18 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He wound up missing out on a starting job in Year 2 and started none of the 15 games he appeared in. Last season he was in-and-out of the starting lineup as a third CB while the team struggled to find consistency in the secondary.

His training camp and preseason left him without a role heading into 2024. Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir locked down two of the starting jobs, while Isaac Yiadom and rookie Renardo Green were the clear third and fourth CBs in some order. Thomas stayed around as an internal depth piece San Francisco never needed.

Thomas played in 42 games with 11 starts for the 49ers and posted 79 tackles, 12 pass breakups, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He’ll now get a fresh start with a Colts club that also claimed former 49ers CB Samuel Womack after he was let go at final cuts.

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49ers likely to shut down a 3rd All-Pro for rest of 2024 season

Trent Williams isn’t likely to return this year … which is the smart move.

There has been more to the San Francisco 49ers’ issues in 2024 than their injury situation, but the amount of high-level players that have been absent for extended periods because of injury is staggering.

With two All-Pros already on IR, head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday told reporters in his press conference that left tackle Trent Williams may also wind up missing the rest of the year.

“If he could get back to healthy, we’d play him,” Shanahan said when asked if the team would shut Williams down. “But, it’s not like that right now, so it’s getting closer to being that way.”

Williams is dealing with an ankle injury and hasn’t played since Week 11. He was shown on television during the Thursday Night Football broadcast in a suite at Levi’s Stadium with what looked like a scooter next to him that would help him keep weight off his injured ankle.

If Williams is done for the year, he’d join Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk as 2023 All-Pros who suffered season-ending injuries. That doesn’t account for linebacker Fred Warner who is playing through an ankle fracture, defensive end Nick Bosa who has missed three games or cornerback Charvarius Ward who missed four games because of a personal tragedy.

San Francisco still could have done things to put themselves in position to make the postseason despite the injuries. They made too many mistakes and didn’t get enough high-level performances from their star players who have been healthy. However, the absence of the top-end players on a top-heavy roster has been an issue all season and it hasn’t gotten better.

Shutting down Williams would make sense given that the 49ers are virtually eliminated from the postseason. He turns 37 before next year’s training camp, and because he’s still playing at a high level, ensuring he’s fully healthy and ready to go next season has to be a high priority for San Francisco as they wrap up a dreadful 2024 season.

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Brock Purdy’s future lands on NFL analyst’s Panic Meter

Brock Purdy’s future is a question mark for one NFL exec.

Week 15 wasn’t Brock Purdy’s best performance as a pro.

Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers posted only six points in a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday during a rainy night at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers QB finished the game 14-of-31 for 142 yards and one interception. His turnover was a backbreaker late, and it was a poor throw and poor decision.

While Purdy hasn’t been the 49ers’ biggest problem in 2024, his outing in Thursday’s rainy game after bad nights in two cold-weather contests against the Packers and Bills was enough to land San Francisco’s signal caller on the NFL Panic Meter produced by the Athletic’s Mike Sando.

On the 10-point scale, Purdy and his future in San Francisco landed at a 5.5 thanks to an NFL executive who has questions about whether he’d give the QB a massive extension once he’s eligible in the offseason.

Via the Athletic:

“The new contract for Purdy (in the offseason) was a slam dunk for me until Thursday night,” an exec from another team said. “What I saw was a guy who was so limited physically that, I’m not saying I don’t want him, it’s just the first time I’ve said, ‘Hmmm, he can’t make those throws.’”

Perhaps it was the weather. Perhaps Purdy was injured. Whatever the case, his performance changed the conversation around him for some. The next few weeks will provide more information heading into a big offseason for San Francisco. The 49ers could let Purdy play out his contract. They could draft or sign competition for him. They could re-sign him to any number of deals. It’s easier to envision more options than what seemed like the obvious one for a long time.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini on Saturday reported Purdy is still in the 49ers’ long-term plans under center, but he may have to prove himself worthy of an extension in the $55 million range over the next few weeks.

How his contract shakes out will shape the entire next era of football in the Bay Area.

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Falcons QB change may alter 49ers QB plans in offseason

Hear us out…

The Atlanta Falcons are making a change under center that could have a ripple effect that reaches the West Coast.

According to Falcons team reporter Tori McElhaney, Atlanta is benching starting quarterback Kirk Cousins and moving rookie signal caller Michael Penix Jr. into the starting lineup.

Benching Cousins with three weeks to go in the 2024 season could be a sign that Atlanta plans to hand the keys to Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, long-term. If Penix acquits himself well as the team’s starter, the Falcons could part ways with Cousins in the offseason, making the 36-year-old a free agent for the second consecutive year.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the 49ers kicked the tires on Cousins as a backup in that scenario.

Cousins isn’t the same player he was when head coach Kyle Shanahan had him lined up to be a high-priced free agent signing in 2018. The four-time Pro Bowler is in the midst of his worst season as a pro after signing a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in the offseason. He may still get a starter-level contract in free agency, but his numbers and play this season have shown his best years are likely behind him.

If his season is over he’ll have thrown 18 touchdowns with 16 interceptions, and averaged 7.7 yards per attempt with an 88.6 QB rating – his worst mark since becoming a full-time starter. While those numbers aren’t good, it’s not likely we see Cousins out of the league in 2025 even if the Falcons do let him go.

San Francisco appears to be all-in on Brock Purdy as a franchise QB which is why Cousins wouldn’t likely be on the table as a starter even if he was a free agent coming off a good year. However, both 49ers backup QBs, Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs, are set to hit free agency after the season and San Francisco will need to find a No. 2 behind Purdy.

If head coach Kyle Shanahan believes Cousins is still capable of operating an NFL offense, it would make sense to see if Cousins is available for backup QB money. Having a viable veteran backup who can step in and potentially win a game if Purdy is unavailable would be a valuable piece for a team that should be looking to revamp its depth in the offseason.

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49ers dreary season summed up by place in NFL power rankings

The 49ers are in an embarrassing spot in the USA TODAY NFL power rankings.

The San Francisco 49ers’ rough 2024 season can be perfectly summed up by where they landed in the post-Week 15 NFL power rankings from USA TODAY.

While power rankings don’t hold weight in terms of a team winning a Super Bowl, they give a good snapshot of how a team looks from the 30,000-foot, national perspective.

USA TODAY dropped the 49ers to No. 19 overall in the rankings, which is a fine spot for a 6-8 team that is 1-4 in its division. It’s who’s around San Francisco that really drives home where their various stumbles this season have left them in the NFL pecking order.

Just ahead of the 49ers at No. 18 are the Atlanta Falcons – losers of four in a row before somehow sneaking past the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday to cap Week 15.

Just behind the 49ers at No. 20 are the Dallas Cowboys – a laughingstock that is now tied with San Francisco in the standings.

The Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots are the three teams just behind Dallas, signaling the realm the 49ers could fall into with another bad loss or two in their final three games.

As for the rest of the NFC West, they’re all way in front of San Francisco. The Arizona Cardinals are at No. 15, one spot behind the No. 14 Seattle Seahawks. The division-leading Los Angeles Rams are at No. 9.

In a year where the division was imminently winnable, instead of sitting way above the rest of the NFC West, San Francisco is looking up at them while slumming it with the Cowboys and Falcons.

Ouch.

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Raiders-Falcons final score helped 49ers 2025 NFL draft position

The 49ers needed that Flacons win over the Raiders on Monday.

The San Francisco 49ers’ postseason hopes are over, which means each week now becomes about where they land in the 2025 NFL draft order.

By virtue of missing the playoffs, the 49ers have secured at least a top-18 pick. Losing Thursday helped their draft pick, but it took until Monday night for the 49ers to ensure they’d get into the top 15 after 15 weeks.

Because they hold an extremely high strength of schedule, the likelihood the 49ers will get a better pick in a tiebreaker is low, so getting clear of the slew of other 6-8 teams is crucial if the club is to maximize its pick in next year’s draft. That’s why the Las Vegas Raiders’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday helped San Francisco.

With Atlanta’s 15-9 win over the Raiders, they moved to 7-7 and snapped a four-game losing skid. Had the Raiders won, the Falcons have been 6-8 and above the 49ers in the draft because of the tiebreaker. Alas, the 49ers are now slated to pick No. 15 overall because they leapfrogged the victorious Falcons in the order.

Here’s what the NFL draft order looks like with three games to go:

1. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12)
2. New York Giants (2-12)
3. New England Patriots (3-11)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11)
5. Carolina Panthers (3-11)
6. Tennessee Titans (3-11)
7. Cleveland Browns (3-11)
8. New York Jets (4-10)
9. Chicago Bears (4-10)
10. New Orleans Saints (5-9)
11. Miami Dolphins (6-8)
12. Indianapolis Colts (6-8)
13. Cincinnati Bengals (6-8) 
14. Dallas Cowboys (6-8)
15. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)
16. Atlanta Falcons (7-7)
17. Arizona Cardinals (7-7)
18. Seattle Seahawks (8-6)

Given the logjams in the top and middle of the first round, there’s a ton that could change over the next few weeks. The 49ers still face the Dolphins and Cardinals in two of their final three games, and both will be massive in determining how the 2025 NFL draft order shakes out.

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Report: 49ers to end De’Vondre Campbell’s season

De’Vondre Campbell will be suspended instead of released.

The San Francisco 49ers aren’t going to release linebacker De’Vondre Campbell.

Instead the team will suspend him for the final three games of the 2024 season according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Campbell, who started 12 games for the 49ers prior to Week 15, was moved to a reserve role following the return of LB Dre Greenlaw from an Achilles injury. Greenlaw was removed from the game because of fatigue and soreness, and the 49ers called upon Campbell to step into that spot.

He refused, leading general manager John Lynch to go to the sideline and eventually send Campbell to the locker room.

It sounded initially like San Francisco would release Campbell. Instead they’re going to suspend him, costing him his final three game checks. The team could also conceivably fine him to maximize the punishment for quitting mid-game. They also eliminate his ability to sign with another club by not granting him his outright release.

Demetrius Flanagan-Fowles was dealing with an injury and had to enter the game because Campbell refused to play. The 49ers wound up losing the contest 12-6 and ostensibly ended their postseason hopes.

Campbell played in 13 games with 12 starts for the 49ers this season. He finished with 79 tackles, three tackles for loss and two pass breakups.

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Brock Purdy is still 49ers franchise QB per report from NFL insider

Brock Purdy’s contract extension still appears to be coming this offseason.

2024 hasn’t been the best year of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s career.

His regression has aligned with some injuries to the team’s cache of offensive weapons, leading to questions about Purdy’s viability as a franchise signal caller outside of a perfectly crafted ecosystem.

Those external questions don’t linger insider the organization according to the Athletic’s Dianna Russini. She reported the team still believes Purdy is their franchise QB.

Via the Athletic:

The dark cloud hanging over the San Francisco 49ers just won’t seem to lift. It’s been a difficult season, one that’s felt “off” since the summer, but the team is sticking to its plan. They’re firmly committed to Brock Purdy as their long-term quarterback. I’ve been told the 49ers are still planning to negotiate a multi-year contract extension with Purdy this offseason, backing up the message they’ve consistently sent: “Purdy is our quarterback.”

Purdy this season has seen dramatic dips in virtually every statistical category, and his play as a quick, accurate decision maker has given way to a less decisive, more risky downfield passer.

However, there has been enough adversity to believe there’s a bounce back coming for Purdy. He also appears to be coming into his own as the team’s offensive leader.

The 49ers have Purdy under contract through 2025. He’s extension-eligible after this season, though. The team could conceivably wait until after 2025 to work out an extension, but putting the most important position on the field in limbo isn’t necessarily conducive to the long-term health of the roster.

Purdy bailed the 49ers out when the Trey Lance situation went sideways. Now head coach Kyle Shanahan appears poised to hitch his wagon to Purdy after this season despite an imperfect year.

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John Lynch’s alter ego threw De’Vondre Campbell off 49ers sideline

De’Vondre Campbell was ejected by John Lynch’s ‘crazy’ alter ego.

The De’Vondre Campbell saga isn’t done quite yet.

Fox’s Jay Glazer on the network’s NFL pregame show reported some fascinating details about Campbell’s sudden exit from the San Francisco 49ers’ Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

First, according to Glazer, the 49ers are opting to explore a suspension route instead of an outright release for the veteran linebacker.

“The 49ers are trying to suspend him,” Glazer said. “They’re working with the league office to see what’s the max they can do. Even if he wanted to come and apologize and come back – players don’t want him.”

This isn’t a huge surprise. 49ers players were vocally displeased with Campbell after Thursday’s game. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday also made it clear the club was done with Campbell after he refused to enter their Week 15 bout in relief of linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

However, it wasn’t the coaching staff that forced Campbell to leave the sideline and go to the locker room. Per Glazer, that was done by general manager John Lynch and his ‘Red 47’ alter ego.

“But you’re asking what happened behind the scenes,” Glazer said. “They started seeing about the second quarter that he was refusing to go in. So John Lynch actually went down there and confronted De’Vondre, and said ‘you don’t want to go in the game? You’re refusing?’ So it was Lynch who sent him to the locker room.

“By the way, I’ve got players who called me after and said ‘hey, we’ve heard you talk about this alter ego of John Lynch, this 47 Red character – man we saw it. That dude is crazy!'”

It’s not typical that a player will actively quit on his team the way Campbell did, but knowing that Lynch’s alter ego is looming may keep it from happening again any time soon in San Francisco.

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