49ers hopeful for Talanoa Hufanga return in training camp

Talanoa Hufanga is on track for a training camp return, which is great news for him and the 49ers. Here’s what it means for the 49ers’ roster:

The 49ers may have solved their safety depth conundrum. There were questions about Talanoa Hufanga’s availability after he tore his ACL in Week 11 last season, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday indicated the team is hopeful it will get its starting strong safety back during training camp.

This is a pretty significant development for San Francisco, and it means their hunt for a safety in free agency will be for a depth piece instead of a starter. With Hufanga on track for a pre-Week 1 return the ambiguity of the need in the back end of the secondary is eliminated.

San Francisco will still want to add veteran depth. They need some kind of proven commodity behind Hufanga in the event of a setback or if he can’t return to full speed as quickly as they might like. However, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see them add a player via the draft to try and develop as a long-term piece for them with Hufanga entering the final year of his rookie contract.

For now though this is great news for Hufanga. He’ll not only be able to shore up the 49ers’ secondary, but he’ll have a full season under his belt as he hits his first free agency. The All-Pro safety was a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft. He was a First-Team All-Pro in 2022, his first year as a starter, and was putting together another strong 2023 campaign when he got hurt.

Hufanga has started 30 of his 42 games for the 49ers, including 27 in a row before his injury. He’s posted 181 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, seven interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

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49ers free agent signings might’ve been made with new kickoff rule in mind

A few #49ers free agency signings make way more sense when viewed through the lens of the new kickoff rules.

The 49ers might have had an inkling the NFL’s new kickoff rule was going to pass. While San Francisco voted against it, the adoption of the new rule Tuesday at the NFL’s annual league meetings brings into focus the impetus behind a handful  of the 49ers’ offseason additions.

Part of San Francisco’s signings in the first couple free agency waves included cornerbacks Chase Lucas and Isaac Yiadom, as well as linebacker Ezekiel Turner. The 49ers also re-signed LB Demetrius Flanningan-Fowles and extended safety George Odum.

The common thread between these players is that all of them have been strong special teams contributors throughout their careers. Even Yiadom, who is coming off his best season as a defender, played a ton of special teams last season for the Saints.

With kick returns suddenly a more prominent aspect of each game, the 49ers needed to shore up a kick coverage unit that struggled enough last season that it could easily be chalked up as a major problem in a world where there are returns on virtually every kick instead of just one or two per game. By bolstering their roster with special teams aces, they could be giving themselves a major advantage under the NFL’s new special teams-forward rule.

It also makes sense that the 49ers don’t have their return man just yet. San Francisco could just be waiting until the comp pick formula is no longer in play before signing a return specialist, but they might also be viewing a world where some of their playmakers are more useful on kickoffs than they’d been in the past.

With kick coverage units unable to run to cover the kick until the returner has the ball in their hands, it could set up a world where a player like Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk become more dangerous as returners without as much injury risk as there’d been before. Perhaps the 49ers will replace Ray-Ray McCloud and roll with that player as their return man. They could also turn to second-year WR Ronnie Bell, who handled kickoffs at various points last season. However, the door is open for a more proven, electric playmaker to have the ball in their hands on kickoffs with a chance to get behind blockers to make a play.

How the 49ers choose to operate on returns will be a fascinating aspect of the leadup to the 2024 season. For now though it appears they’re gearing up their roster to be strong in kick coverage, and they could be angling toward doing the same for kick returns to try and take an early advantage of a league still figuring out how to play with the new rules.

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49ers LB Dre Greenlaw eyeing Week 1 return after Achilles tear

It looks like Dre Greenlaw will be able to return at some point this season, with the LB hoping for Week 1. John Lynch is eyeing something later than that.

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered an Achilles tear in the Super Bowl that put question marks around his availability for the 2024 season. Now the LB is eyeing a Week 1 return according to general manager John Lynch. Lynch is less optimistic about the LB’s quick return.

While Greenlaw is hopeful to be back in the lineup for the 49ers in early September, Lynch is leaning more toward Greenlaw starting the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.

If Greenlaw does start the regular season on the PUP list he won’t be able to practice, but he’d be eligible to return after four weeks. The PUP three-week practice window works the same as the IR practice window. He’d have 21 days from the time the window is opened to ramp up and get in football shape before the team would be required to activate him or shut him down for the year.

Even if Greenlaw returns by Week 5 or 6 it would be a huge boost for the 49ers’ defense. They added LB De’Vondre Campbell this offseason to likely fill in for Greenlaw. Whether Greenlaw takes back his starting Will LB spot or jumps in as an overqualified Sam LB will be determined down the line, but the fact he’d be ready to play at all is surely welcome news for Greenlaw and the 49ers following the timing of such a devastating injury.

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49ers should bring back familiar UDFA

The #49ers should bring back this familiar face who was just released by the Cardinals:

The Arizona Cardinals on Thursday released defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight.

This name might not mean much to those not dialed deep into 49ers offseason rosters or the practice squad, but Knight was a popular name in camp for San Francisco since they signed him as an undrafted rookie following the 2022 draft. He was let go as part of the 49ers’ final roster cuts last offseason and the Cardinals swooped in to sign him. Now Knight is available following his release from Arizona and the 49ers should aim to bring him back.

Last season Knight debuted for the Cardinals and played in six games, mostly contributing on special teams. It’s not so much that the 49ers can solve all of their problems by bringing him in, but he provides some safety/cornerback versatility that could give San Francisco some options this offseason. He’s also able to contribute on special teams.

While there will be other additions in the secondary who’ll move the needle more than Knight, it would be worthwhile for the 49ers to tap back in and give him another chance to contribute. If he can help, that would be a nice boost for a secondary that desperately needs some quality depth. If he can’t, it’s a low-risk addition that won’t have many significant ramifications for San Francisco’s offseason.

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Why 49ers adding QB Josh Dobbs makes sense

Here’s why the #49ers signed another veteran quarterback:

The 49ers are set to sign veteran signal caller Josh Dobbs to a one-year contract. Dobbs’ agent announced the agreement on Twitter Monday afternoon.

Dobbs is the second quarterback the 49ers have signed this offseason. He’ll join Brandon Allen and Brock Purdy in San Francisco’s QB room.

It looked like the 49ers might be content with Allen as their QB2 and a draft pick sitting as the emergency third signal caller. Instead they brought in Dobbs to presumably compete for the backup QB job, leaving Allen to potentially work in as the emergency third QB on game days. That opens the door for a rookie to work out with the practice squad assuming he doesn’t pull a Purdy and beat out one of the veterans for a roster spot out of camp.

Dobbs is an intriguing addition though with plenty of upside. His Cinderella run with the Vikings fell flat after just a couple of weeks, but Dobbs showed during his 12 starts last year with the Cardinals and Vikings that he’s a capable starting QB in the NFL.

There are warts to his game, to be sure. Sometimes he has too much faith in his arm and his accuracy can be erratic, but he’s a mobile QB with enough upside that he’s a viable backup for a team like the 49ers. And backup QB is an extremely important position in San Francisco.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Dobbs will earn $2.25 million fully guaranteed with up to $750,000 in playing time incentives.

Purdy made it easy to forget the 49ers’ recent history with injuries under center. His healthy 2023 campaign though will unlikely erase the scars left by all the previous seasons the 49ers saw derailed because of an injury to the starting QB. They may have confidence that Allen can go win a few games if he’s pushed into a starting role, but he’s hardly done enough as a pro to warrant that level of confidence out of camp.

Now instead of competing with a rookie, he’ll be competing with a bonafide NFL QB who’ll either be better or force Allen to earn the all-important QB2 job.

Adding another quarterback didn’t appear to be super high on the 49ers’ list of offseason needs, but they were able to find a third at an affordable price that should ultimately improve their QB room regardless of whether he winds up as QB2 or QB3.

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49ers can’t be done adding edge depth after agreeing to deals with 2 DEs

The 49ers did a nice job adding at DE on Monday, but they can’t stop now.

The 49ers on Monday showed what their top priority was in free agency when they quickly scooped up two affordable defensive ends in the first day of the NFL’s legal negotiating window. Deals agreed upon during that window won’t become official until the league year begins Wednesday at 1:00pm Pacific Time.

San Francisco added veteran DEs Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos on relatively affordable two-year deals. While the big-time splash along the defensive line isn’t likely coming, they can’t be done adding depth on the edges.

Adding defensive end help was maybe the second-biggest offseason need for the 49ers. Having a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate at one end is nice, but San Francisco has placed a major emphasis on its defensive front. They needed additional help for Bosa with Drake Jackson and Robert Beal Jr. as the only other DEs slated to potentially play major roles in 2024.

Floyd and Gross-Matos will help in that realm. The former was a full-time starter for the Bills last season, but he played just 54 percent of Buffalo’s defensive snaps. Meanwhile, Gross-Matos missed five games and started only half of the 12 games he played. That’s not to say he can’t develop into a full-time starter, which he was for the Panthers in 2022, but his production as a pass rusher has always left something to be desired if he’s going to be on the field for a majority of the team’s snaps.

Ideally the 49ers would utilize Gross-Matos as a versatile pass rusher in the same vein as Charles Omenihu during his couple of seasons in San Francisco. Floyd may start, but he’s probably limited to being more of a pass-rush specialist instead of an every-down player.

Both players should be very valuable for a 49ers defensive line that struggled with consistency and overall production last year. However, given the rotational role both players figure to occupy, more depth will be a necessity for the 49ers.

Perhaps they view Jackson and Beal as those depth pieces. Jackson has flashed a handful of times in 23 games as a pro, but he’s still an unproven commodity despite his big-time upside. Beal was a rookie last season and saw action in only four games, although he did record a sack in Week 18 when he played a career-high 24 defensive snaps.

Neither player has done enough as a pro to inspire the kind of confidence the 49ers will want in their edge depth. They’ll get opportunities, but San Francisco would be wise to either find another inexpensive free agent, or use an early draft pick at DE.

Either way the 49ers have done a nice job filling out their barren DE depth chart so far. They just have to ensure they’re not satisfied just yet or else they run the risk of falling short at one of the most important positions on their roster for the second consecutive year.

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49ers free agent QB Sam Darnold to sign with Vikings

Sam Darnold turned his one season as the #49ers’ backup into a big-time raise.

The Vikings on Monday learned quarterback Kirk Cousins is exiting Minnesota in free agency to join the Atlanta Falcons once the new league year begins. Minnesota’s vacancy at quarterback opened the door for the club to agree to a deal with unrestricted free agent QB Sam Darnold per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Darnold after one season with San Francisco agreed to a one-year deal with the Vikings worth up to $10 million.

This was partially the goal for Darnold when he signed on to be the 49ers’ backup signal caller last season. He needed a reset after a tumultuous first five seasons where he had three unsuccessful years with the Jets and two more rough seasons in Carolina.

Darnold acquitted himself well in limited action for San Francisco and one year after agreeing to a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the 49ers, he earned a $10 million deal to potentially be the starting quarterback in Minnesota.

Last season Darnold appeared in 10 games, although he only threw passes in half of them. He lost his only start against the Rams in the final week of the season when most of the 49ers’ starters rested. For the year he completed 60.9 percent of his throws with two touchdowns, one interception and 6.5 yards per attempt.

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49ers TE Charlie Woerner to sign 3-year deal with Falcons

The #49ers are down a TE with Charlie Woerner set to join the Falcons.

The 49ers tight end depth is taking a hit. Charlie Woerner’s time with the club is over after four seasons. He’s agreed to a three-year deal with the Falcons worth up to $12 million according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

Woerner was a sixth-round pick of the 49ers in the 2020 draft and he became a key piece of their offense as a blocking tight end. He eventually surpassed Ross Dwelley as the No. 2 TE and played a career-high 29 percent of the offensive snaps last season.

The writing was on the wall for Woerner last season when the 49ers added TEs Cameron Latu and Brayden Willis in the draft. Had there not been a market for him it’s easy to see the 49ers bringing back such a reliable run-blocking TE. The $4 million he received annually from the Falcons probably put him out of San Francisco’s price range.

In four years Woerner played in 65 games and didn’t miss any after the two he missed as a rookie. He started seven of those contests and notched 11 catches for 120 yards.

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49ers aiming for FB Kyle Juszczyk to take pay cut

Could Kyle Juszczyk be the next 49ers player to leave instead of taking a pay cut?

The 49ers’ attempts to generate salary cap space by way of pay cuts for some of their more expensive players will already cost them defensive lineman Arik Armstead. They’re hoping the same won’t be the case for fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who has also been approached about a pay cut per NFL insider Adam Caplan.

Juszczyk, 32, has two years left on the five-year deal he signed ahead of the 2021 season. He’s due to make $5.75 million in each of the next two seasons with salary cap hits of $7,588,750 in both of those years. He’s by far the highest-paid fullback in the league thanks in part to his importance to San Francisco’s offense.

It’s unclear whether the team plans to release him without a pay cut like they did with Armstead. It’s also unclear how amenable Juszczyk is to a pay cut at this point.

With enough teams running a version of the Kyle Shanahan offense it would make sense if there was a market for him in free agency, but given that no team has come close to giving a fullback the contracts Juszczyk has gotten from the 49ers it stands to reason that there wouldn’t be a sizable free agent deal for the soon-to-be 33-year-old.

Replacing Juszczyk wouldn’t be easy for San Francisco. He’s been a vital cog in their offense since arriving as a free agent in 2017. Juszczyk has been a Pro Bowler in each of his seven seasons with the 49ers and earned an All-Pro nod this year when his position was put back into the All-Pro balloting.

In seven years Juszczyk has missed only seven games for the 49ers. He’s accounted for 1,881 yards and 15 touchdowns in that stretch.

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Report: 49ers to release DL Arik Armstead

The #49ers are going to release Arik Armstead according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz:

It appears Arik Armstead’s run with the 49ers is over after eight seasons. Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report on Sunday reported Armstead will be released by San Francisco. The report indicates Armstead decided to become a free agent, which indicates there was some sort of ultimatum from the club, although there’s no additional information about the details behind his pending release.

NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported the 49ers asked Armstead to take a pay cut, and instead he elected for free agency.

The move comes as part of a salary cap crunch the 49ers are facing. It’s also unclear whether he’ll be designated a post-June 1 release. If he’s let go before June 1 the 49ers would carry a $25,860,824 dead cap hit while saving just $2,492,412 against the cap.

A post-June 1 release saves them $18,039,412 against the cap while incurring a $10,313,824 dead cap hit per Over the Cap.

Armstead was the No. 17 pick in the 2015 draft. In eight years with the 49ers he played in 116 games with 97 starts. He had 33.5 regular season sacks, including a career-high 10.0 in 2019 when he led the team in that category. He also tallied 8.0 sacks in 12 career postseason games.

With depth already a problem on the interior of the defensive line the 49ers have to put replacing him at or near the top of their offseason to-do list.

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