Tag: 49ers roster

Re-signing Trent Williams won’t be a hard choice for 49ers

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t mince words when talking about 2021 free agent Trent Williams.

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The 49ers have a slew of free agency decisions to make next offseason. Perhaps their biggest, in multiple ways, will be left tackle Trent Williams. He’s on the final year of his contract and opted not to work out an extension prior to this season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday didn’t make it sound like it’ll be much of a decision for the team.

“Trent knows how I feel about him and how our whole team feels about him. I think Trent feels the same, so hopefully it makes sense for him to stay here and I know it makes sense for us,” Shanahan said. “That’s the tough part about this league. We’ve got a lot of good players and we’ve worked real hard to build our roster up and that’s why we’ve had to make tough decisions last year and we’re going to have to do it again this year, but everything’s tied together. I know Trent is very important to me and very important to our team and someone I want around here for a while.”

Among the 49ers players set to hit free agency this offseason are Williams, Richard Sherman, Kyle Juszczyk and K’Waun Williams.

San Francisco knew this was coming when they traded a 2020 fifth-round selection and a 2021 third-round choice to Washington for Williams during the 2020 draft. He had one-year left on his deal, and he chose to play out his contract rather than trying to get an extension done before the year.

His patience is paying off. Through 10 weeks he’s Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded tackle, and he’s allowed just two pressures and no sacks since Week 5.

The big left tackle will surely reset the market at one of the most important positions on offense. San Francisco may have to do some maneuvering to fit Williams’ deal under the deflated salary cap, but the decision to keep him in the Bay Area shouldn’t be a hard one.

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Jimmy Garoppolo expected to be 49ers starter in 2021

The San Francisco 49ers don’t have a question mark under center for 2021 according to Kyle Shanahan. It’s Jimmy Garoppolo … for now.

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49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan added a new wrinkle to the conversation about the team’s future under center. He told reporters he expects Jimmy Garoppolo to be the starter next year, which runs counter to ongoing discussions among fans and analysts that all but assumes Garoppolo won’t return in 2021.

Most of Shanahan’s comments on Garoppolo centered around the quarterback’s potential return this season, but he started his answer with a clear-cut statement in favor of the current signal caller.

“I expect Jimmy to be our starter next year,” Shanahan said. “I expect him to come and play with us this year. We have six games left. We are not out of the playoffs yet. I’ve been on a team that was three and six going into a bye week and ended up winning their division. I think we have guys on this team capable of finishing this the right way. We’ve got to do one game at a time and I hope Jimmy can come back and be a part of that, but to think that we’ve made any decisions on somebody going into the future, this isn’t the case. Jimmy has won a lot of games for us this year. It’s a lot harder to win games when he’s not here and I’m just hoping we can get him back.”

Taking this at face value says San Francisco won’t go out and make any major changes under center this offseason. They could certainly still draft a QB.

Of course, Shanahan could’ve begun the statement with 2020 in mind. He believes the team has a better chance to win with Garoppolo starting, and giving some version of “we’re not making any decisions about next year’s roster” would’ve thrown gasoline on an already red-hot discussion and potentially derailed the team’s already fragile playoff hopes for this season.

This won’t be the last time Shanahan addresses the quarterback situation though. The 49ers can save $24.1 million against the cap next year by parting ways with Garoppolo in the offseason. As long as that fact remains about his contract, and his health and play are up-and-down, there’ll be questions for the head coach about the quarterback.

An intriguing story line to follow will be whether the head coach’s confidence in who the starter will be next season wanes once the team is out of the playoffs.

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49ers plan to try claiming DE Takk McKinley again after failed physical

Takk McKinley is back on waivers and the 49ers are going to try and claim him again.

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The 49ers lost out on defensive end Takkarist McKinley when he was placed on waivers by the Atlanta Falcons before Week 10. Now they’ll get another chance to add him.

McKinley was claimed off waivers by the Bengals, but he failed a physical and was placed back into the waiver process.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday told reporters the club would try for the former first-round pick again.

“I was told today that Takk failed his physical and I know we put in a claim last time,” Shanahan said. “So, I don’t think that’s until tomorrow at 1:00, but I know we plan on putting another claim in.”

San Francisco was 15th in the waiver order the last time the placed a claim on McKinley. They were one of four teams to try, and the Bengals were the only club ahead of them. Now the 49ers are 12th in the order and the other two teams that tried claiming McKinley are still behind them.

The 49ers have been trying to bolster their pass rush since Dee Ford and Nick Bosa both went down with injuries in the first two weeks. Former first-round picks have been a common addition for them, which is why McKinley joining the 49ers makes sense. He was the 26th overall pick of the Falcons in the 2017 draft and has 17.5 sacks in 49 career games.

49ers put unsuccessful waiver claim in on DE Takk McKinley

The Cincinnati Bengals were awarded DE Takk McKinley off waivers, but the 49ers tried to get him.

Not long after head coach Kyle Shanahan denied any knowledge of an attempted waiver claim on defensive end Takk McKinley, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported San Francisco was one of four clubs to put in a claim on the former Falcons first-round pick. The Bengals wound up landing him.

“I don’t know. I don’t think we put it in the claim for him,” Shanahan said. “I know that we were behind a number of people. I’m assuming that he went to some people, but yeah, it’s always tough when you’re in the situation that we’re in, but you can make things work and move some things around, but I don’t think we’re going that direction.”

The head coach sounded like he knew McKinley landed with another club. San Francisco was No. 15 in the waiver order – well behind the Bengals.

Adding McKinley would’ve fallen in line with the 49ers’ strategy this year of adding former high draft picks to try and piece together a pass rush off the edge. McKinley has 17.5 sacks since entering the NFL as the No. 26 overall pick of the Falcons in 2017.

San Francisco instead will continue relying on Arik Armstead, Kerry Hyder Jr., Jordan Willis and Dion Jordan as their primary defensive ends.

49ers LB Fred Warner should be a household name

San Francisco 49ers LB Fred Warner is still underrated. That shouldn’t be the case for much longer.

49ers linebacker Fred Warner is a star in every sense, except that he’s not quite reached the ‘household name’ level yet. He should be there soon though.

Warner, a third-round pick from BYU in the 2018 draft, almost immediately took over the starting Mike linebacker spot for San Francisco upon arriving at the facility. The team was so confident in Warner’s abilities as a rookie they assigned him the role of relaying plays in from the defensive coordinator.

San Francisco was an abysmal 4-12 club during Warner’s strong rookie season though and Warner didn’t get a ton of attention.

Last year the 49ers boasted one of the NFL’s best defenses, but the defensive line was the star. Warner was excellent, but he was overshadowed by that defensive front. Now he’s taken his game to a new level, but San Francisco’s injury-ravaged season has pushed them, and Warner, out of the national conversation.

In fact, Warner landed on Doug Farrar’s list of the NFL’s most underrated defensive players at the Touchdown Wire. Here’s Farrar on the 49ers’ third-year linebacker:

Warner has been a key cog in San Francisco’s defense since his rookie season of 2018, but he’s played at his best in 2020 despite injuries all around him. He hasn’t allowed a touchdown and has two interceptions this season, giving up 23 of 31 targets for just 156 yards, and an opponent passer rating of 58.0. Add in his 24 stops, and it’s just one more great season for a defender who has never been given the credit he deserves for hitting the ground running at the NFL level.

Warner is a prototypical modern NFL linebacker with the size and strength to get downhill vs. the run, but the athleticism to get out in coverage against tight ends, running backs and wide receivers.

His ability to own the middle of the field makes him an invaluable piece for defending contemporary NFL offenses. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told Warner following their Week 9 showdown that Warner should be an All-Pro.

It’s not an outrageous claim to say Warner is the best middle linebacker in the NFL. He’s the second-highest graded linebacker overall by Pro Football Focus, trailing only Seattle’s Bobby Wagner. He’s also ranked No. 8 in run defense, No. 12 in tackling, No. 4 in pass rush and No. 1 in coverage by PFF. He’s been outstanding in every facet.

The 49ers may not be backing up their Super Bowl run with a better year, but Fred Warner has. If this isn’t the season where he gets league-wide recognition as one of the game’s best players at his position, it’ll happen soon.

49ers activate TE Jordan Reed as part of series of roster moves

The 49ers made a bunch of roster moves leading up to their game against the Green Bay Packers.

The 49ers on Thursday ahead of their showdown with the Green Bay Packers made a slew of roster moves following the placement of Deebo Samuel, Kendrick Bourne, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday.

Tight end Jordan Reed, who hurt his knee in Week 3 was activated off the Injured Reserve list. He’s tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns despite missing the last five games.

San Francisco elevated a pair of players from the practice squad, including offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and running back Austin Walter. With Williams on the COVID-19 list, Bergstrom gives the 49ers some added depth on the offensive line. Walter will be the third healthy running back alongside JaMycal Hasty and Jerick McKinnon.

To replace the four players who vacated their roster spots to go on the COVID-19 list, the 49ers added wide receiver River Cracraft, wide receiver Kevin White, safety Johnathan Cyprien and tight end Daniel Helm to the active roster. Cracraft and White could wind up seeing time at receiver with that group ravaged by injuries. Cyprien’s elevation gives the club some insurance in case strong safety Jaquiski Tartt, who’s listed as ‘questionable’ on the status report, gets hurt again or can’t play on his groin injury.

The 49ers also officially placed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tight end George Kittle on Injured Reserve. This move was expected with Garoppolo set to miss at least four weeks, and possibly the rest of the year. Kittle is out at least eight weeks and his season could be over as well.

A final roster move came on the practice squad with wide receiver Chris Finke getting released, and defensive lineman Josiah Coatney taking his place on the 16-man unit.

Why DL Javon Kinlaw’s football IQ has DC Robert Saleh excited

Javon Kinlaw is already learning how to learn in the NFL, and that’s great news for the 49ers and his future.

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49ers rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw after seven games is still in search of his first sack and his first tackle for loss. While the job of a defensive tackle can be relatively thankless because of the outside-the-box-score impact they can have, Kinlaw’s rookie season hasn’t been great. There have been good plays and bad plays, but defensive coordinator Robert Saleh likes what he sees from the No. 14 overall pick because of what’s happening outside the lines.

Kinlaw may not be producing at a high level yet, and growing pains were certainly expected in a year with a limited offseason, but Saleh said the rookie is growing each game because of his ability to rapidly notice and fix mistakes.

“He’s learning something new every single game. I think it was a couple of games ago, he had some opportunities in pass rush and a couple of them, we talked about it and he knew exactly what happened,” Saleh told reporters in a video conference Thursday. “He’s like, ‘Man, I wish I would have,’ but that all comes with time and experience. So, for Javon, it’s continue to stay the course. Continue to find ways to get better, but what’s encouraging about him is he’s recognizing when he could have done better on a play and you’re not seeing the same mistake twice.

“If you have a player who can recognize things that happen that quickly, he doesn’t need to go to the film room. He just knows it happened. When they’re able to recognize it on the fly like that and make a self in-game adjustment, you know that those players have a chance to be very special.”

Kinlaw has posted 11 pressures, two quarterback hits and nine run stops while playing 60.9 percent of the snaps — third-most on the club among defensive linemen.

There’s a chance the numbers stay low for Kinlaw all year just given the learning curve and the nature of the position. Learning on the fly though will put Kinlaw ahead of that curve going into Year 2. He’s also had a couple of plays each game where everything clicks and it’s clear what type of player he can be.

Saleh said there’s a clear road map for Kinlaw to reach the potential the team saw when they made him their first pick in this year’s draft.

“For him, it’s just continue to get better,” Saleh said. “Continue to focus on all those little details and he’s going to be a good one. You can mark my words on that one.”

49ers make several changes to practice squad, reach injury settlement with Tavon Austin

The 49ers made several practice squad moves, and released wide receiver Tavon Austin.

The 49ers on Tuesday announced a slew of changes to their practice squad. They signed offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and defensive lineman Willie Henry Jr. to the 16-man squad. In a corresponding move, cornerback Brian Allen, offensive lineman Cody Conway and defensive lineman Adam Shuler were all let go. Wide receiver Tavon Austin was also released with an injury settlement.

Bergstrom, 34, was a third-round pick of the Raiders in 2012. He spent three years with Oakland before bouncing to Houston, Baltimore and Washington. Through his eight seasons he’s started 21 of the 82 games he’s played in. He’ll give them additional experience and depth on the interior if they need to dip into their practice squad.

Henry spent time in the offseason with San Francisco, but was released in late July. The 2016 Ravens fourth-round pick has three starts in 17 career games. In those 17 games Henry has 36 tackles, 4.5 sacks and five pass breakups. He’s another player the 49ers may lean on if they need depth from on internal source.

Allen is the most notable name of the players let go. He was pushed into a start against the Dolphins in Week 5 because of injuries in the secondary. The outing did not go well and he was removed from the game and reverted back on the practice squad the following day.

San Francisco reached an injury settlement with Austin who hurt his knee during training camp and was placed on Injured Reserve. Going on IR before the season prevented him from playing for the 49ers this year. An injury settlement means he’s a free agent and can sign with any club. Austin signed with the 49ers in mid-August and went on IR just over two weeks later.

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49ers release CB and DL, clear 2 roster spots

The 49ers on Monday let go of Parnell Motley and Alex Barrett to clear roster space for players coming off injured reserve.

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The 49ers on Monday released a pair of defensive players with no immediate corresponding roster moves. Cornerback Parnell Motley and defensive lineman Alex Barrett were both let go following Sunday’s win over the Patriots.

The move preceded head coach Kyle Shanahan’s press conference where he expressed hope to get running back Tevin Coleman and cornerback K’Waun Williams back from Injured Reserve.

Motley was claimed off waivers from the Buccaneers in the week leading up to the Rams game. He didn’t play in a game and was inactive vs. the Patriots.

Barrett was in and out of the 49ers’ roster over the offseason after spending time on the practice squad last year. He had an extremely limited defensive role.

The release of Motley and Barrett opens two roster spots, conceivably for Coleman and Williams. The club has also yet to make the trade for Jets edge rusher Jordan Willis official which will also require a free roster spot.

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49ers will be without both starting safeties vs. Patriots

San Francisco 49ers will be without Jaquiski Tartt and Jimmie Ward vs. the New England Patriots.

The 49ers secondary on Friday suffered a pair of major blows when both starters, Jaquiski Tartt and Jimmie Ward were ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Patriots. Their absence means four of San Francisco’s Week 1 starters in the back end wont be available vs. New England.

Tartt injured his groin during the 49ers’ Week 6 win over the Rams. He was a non-participant in practice all week.

Ward is more of a mystery. He showed up on Friday’s practice report as a non-participant with a quad injury after practicing in full the first two days. The quad injury was bad enough for the team to rule him out for Sunday. It’s the first time Ward has missed a game due to injury since he returned from a preseason broken collarbone in Week 5 last year.

Tartt and Ward join cornerback Richard Sherman and nickel corner K’Waun Williams among starters in the secondary who won’t be available Sunday.

Here’s the full Week 7 injury report:

Out

SS Jaquiski Tartt (groin)

FS Jimmie Ward (quad)

RB Raheem Mostert (knee)

LB Kwon Alexander (ankle)

Questionable

OT Trent Williams (ankle)

RB Jeff Wilson Jr. (calf)