Tag: 49ers

49ers have chance to correct front office gaffe in free agency

The 49ers do need CB help…

The San Francisco 49ers front office during general manager’s John Lynch’s tenure has had some pretty significant missteps to go along with a bevy of home runs that have allowed the club to remain competitive when healthy for the last six seasons.

While gaffes like the Trey Lance trade stand out, there’s another, under-the-radar mistake Lynch and the front office actually have a chance to correct in the 2025 offseason.

Former New York Jets cornerback DJ Reed is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens in the middle of March.

Reed originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick by the 49ers in the 2018 draft. It looked after his second season like Reed was working his way into a regular role in the 49ers’ secondary as a versatile safety. In the 2020 offseason he suffered a chest injury San Francisco deemed to be season-ending. They waived him with an injury designation, meaning he’d revert to season-ending IR for San Francisco as long as he cleared waivers.

“That’s a tough one for us,” Lynch said at the time in a press conference on Zoom. “The earliest we might’ve had D.J. back, was early November, but it’s a four-to-six month injury.”

The 49ers have done this a handful of times without issue, but in 2020 it backfired. When Reed hit waivers, the Seattle Seahawks pounced. Reed wound up playing in 10 games that year and a career-high 560 snaps for the Seahawks. It also proved to be a breakout campaign for Reed who moved to cornerback full time.

While the 49ers had trouble piecing together a secondary in the years after Reed’s exit, he thrived. Now he’s a free agent and San Francisco could use a third CB to play alongside Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green. There’s an opportunity for Lynch and the 49ers front office to bring Reed back after his unceremonious exit before the 2020 campaign.

Of course, Reed just turned 28 and has been an excellent starting CB with the Jets for the three years after his two-year Seattle tenure. He has two interceptions and 32 pass breakups the last three seasons to go along with 220 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks.

He may get priced out of what the 49ers are willing to spend on a third starting CB, but they should absolutely be in the market to try and correct a mistake they made in letting Reed out the door in the first place.

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Another fired 49ers coordinator lands new job

Brian Schneider joined Nick Sorensen among the ranks of fired 49ers coaches who quickly found new jobs.

The San Francisco 49ers fired two coordinators after the 2024 season, and both quickly picked up new jobs.

Former 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, who spent one year in that position, wound up snagging a special teams coordinator job in Dallas. He cut his teeth in the coaching ranks as a special teams assistant, and spent one year as the special teams coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars before joining the 49ers staff as a defensive assistant.

There was some hope from head coach Kyle Shanahan that he’d be able to retain Sorensen to replace fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider.

It took Schneider a little longer to find a new gig, but he landed with the Washington Commanders according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Schneider will take on an assistant special teams coordinator role for Washington, where he’ll reunite with head coach Dan Quinn who was on Pete Carroll’s staff with Schneider in Seattle.

Schneider has been a successful special teams coach in his career, but he struggled to help right a 49ers special teams group that hasn’t had a ton of success during Shanahan’s tenure.

The 49ers replaced Schneider with former New York Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer after they were unable to hold on to Sorensen.

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49ers have clear agenda in latest ESPN 2025 NFL mock draft

In ESPN’s latest 2025 NFL mock draft, the 49ers have a clear agenda of what they want to improve.

In the latest 2025 NFL mock draft for ESPN, the San Francisco 49ers have a clear direction in which they want to head.

ESPN’s Matt Miller shared his latest two-round mock draft following the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl all-star events. It has the 49ers looking to the trenches for help.

In Miller’s two-round mock, the 49ers select Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons at No. 11 overall and then North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel in the second round with pick No. 43.

San Francisco would have to weigh injury concerns with Simmons. The 6-foot-5, 310 pound offensive tackle had a season-ending knee surgery that ended his 2024 college football season.

Despite the injury, Simmons is currently ranked as ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s No. 3 offensive tackle in this draft class.

Christian McCaffrey‘s injury issues were the headline for the 49ers’ offensive woes this season, yet their offensive line was a mess and will be a priority fix for general manager John Lynch. The 49ers made a great selection on guard Dominick Puni in the third round of the 2024 draft, but a plug-and-play right tackle who could eventually take over for All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams could be the next step. – Miller, ESPN.

The 49ers bolstering their offensive tackle group with their first selection and perhaps finding Williams’ eventual successor at left tackle has been a common idea among draft analysts.

Doubling down up front hasn’t necessarily been as common, though. Miller came away impressed with what he saw from former NDSU offensive lineman Zabel at the Senior Bowl.

Zabel played left tackle for North Dakota State as he helped guide the Bison to an FCS national championship this past season. The 6-foot-6, 316 pound offensive lineman has played all over though throughout his collegiate career.

Zabel appeared in 62 games with NDSU during his college career and also made starts at left guard, right guard and right tackle.

During the Senior Bowl, Zabel got in a drive at center as well. The center position is where Miller sees Zabel slotting in for the 49ers.

The 49ers could address the offensive line again to try to further fix that problem unit. Zabel has played tackle, guard and center, but I think he fits best inside, where his toughness and awareness could make him a star. He turned heads during Senior Bowl practices. – Miller, ESPN.

Zabel’s positional versatility would certainly be a welcome sight for San Francisco.

Zabel was named the Senior Bowl Overall Practice Player of the Week in a poll by 32 NFL executives for his performances in Mobile, Ala.

Addressing its offensive line to create running lanes for star running back Christian McCaffrey and to help keep quarterback Brock Purdy clean is a draft avenue that most 49ers fans could support.

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How 49ers can get in the mix as NFC West rival parts with star WR

Cooper Kupp in red and gold?

Bringing in additional depth at wide receiver won’t be at the top of the list of offseason priorities for the San Francisco 49ers, but it’s certainly something that should be on their radar while they navigate some of their bigger-ticket issues.

While it’s not a spot they’ll be looking to make a major splash, if the Los Angeles Rams wind up letting go of wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the 49ers should be first in line to try and lure him to the Bay Area.

Kupp announced via Twitter (currently X) that the Rams intend to trade him this offseason. While that may be their goal, there’s no guarantee the 32-year-old who has played in 33 games the last three years will fetch much in the trade market. Los Angeles may wind up releasing the WR, something the Rams Wire managing editor Cam DaSilva mentioned is on the table for the Rams this offseason:

Cutting Kupp might be the simplest and likeliest option for the Rams. That doesn’t mean it’d be easy to do, but it’s often what decisions like this come down to.

Unfortunately, it’s also the worst option financially for the Rams because they would only save $7.52 million by cutting Kupp before June 1. Even as a post-June 1 cut, they’d save $15 million, but only because his total dead cap charge of $22.26 million would be split between the next two years instead of all coming in 2025.

There’s certainly some risk that comes with acquiring Kupp. San Francisco’s hopes of adding him via trade are close to nil given that they’re in the same division as the Rams.

Even if he’s released, the risk of adding him might just be enough to turn the 49ers off to the idea entirely. However, San Francisco would be aiming to utilize Kupp in a lower-volume way that may help him stay healthier.

Despite playing in only 33 games the last three years Kupp has still amassed 293 targets in that stretch, or 8.9 per game. For comparison, the 49ers target leaders the last three years have racked up 332 targets (6.9 per game) in 48 total games.

In eight seasons Kupp has posted 7,776 receiving yards and 57 touchdowns on 664 receptions. He was the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year after winning the wide receiver triple crown, leading the league in catches, yards and touchdowns.

Kupp is an outstanding route runner and blocker who is capable of playing multiple positions in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, so the fit would be seamless while helping bolster a 49ers receiving corps that is suddenly littered with question marks.

Perhaps Kupp will be unaffordable if he hits the open market. He may even be averse to joining the Rams’ division rival. Either way, if the Rams are unable to trade Kupp and release him instead, the 49ers should be first in line to try and land him.

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WR unexpectedly became position 49ers must address in offseason

More pass catchers? More pass catchers.

The San Francisco 49ers after the 2024 draft looked set up in their receiving corps for at least a couple of seasons.

Brandon Aiyuk was coming off an All-Pro season. Deebo Samuel had a strong 2023 campaign and was primed to thrive alongside another All-Pro. Jauan Jennings, an integral if seldom-used piece of the 49ers offense, was signed through 2025. San Francisco also drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round and Jacob Cowing in the fourth round.

That was a receiving corps with a good mix of veterans and young players and a good variance in skill sets. Then the 2024 season played out and now that plan at receiver is full of question marks that may push San Francisco to add another player at the position either in free agency or early in the draft.

Aiyuk is coming off a major knee injury and his status for the start of the regular season is in the air. Samuel is coming off his worst year as a pro. Pearsall flashed when he got more opportunities toward the end of the season, but he’s still a question mark with only 11 games of NFL experience. Cowing is an even bigger question mark going into his second year after struggling to crack the rotation as a rookie.

Jennings is the only player who doesn’t seemingly have any questions hanging over his head after he had his best year as a pro, falling only 25 receiving yards shy of 1,000.

There’s a version of the 49ers receiving corps that’s very good in 2025, but it relies on a lot of things going right. They’d need Aiyuk returning at something close to full strength, Samuel to bounce back in his Age 29 season, Pearsall to breakout in Year 2, Cowing to find his footing as a pro, and Jennings to replicate his career year.

San Francisco would be taking on a significant risk in hoping all of those things to go right. They can mitigate some of that risk by bringing in another receiver or two in the offseason to help fill out their depth and insulate themselves from one or two seasons from another receiver getting off track.

They shouldn’t use another first-round pick on the position, and they shouldn’t offer a massive contract to a free agent, but they should be diligent in finding a reliable pass catcher they can bring in to help avoid a potential catastrophe lurking at a position that looked set going into last season.

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49ers must get involved after Browns superstar requests trade

Send out all the picks.

The San Francisco 49ers may have an avenue to take a massive swing in the trade market this offseason.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has officially requested a trade according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

This doesn’t come as a huge shock after Garrett floated the idea of “conversations” that needed to be had with Cleveland following a dreadful 3-14 season. The Browns have only been to the playoffs twice since selecting Garrett No. 1 overall in the 2017 draft and now he’s looking for the exit with the franchise heading the wrong direction.

There aren’t many massive trades the 49ers were likely to get involved in, but given their need for pass rush help and the importance of the defensive line to what they want to do defensively, this is a deal where their hat should immediately be in the ring.

It won’t be easy since Garrett will have many suitors around the league. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler, four-time First-Team All-Pro and a Defensive Player of the Year who has 102.5 career sacks and hasn’t had fewer than 10.0 in a season since his rookie year.

Acquiring Garrett will require multiple picks and potentially a first-rounder, but he’s only 29 and still playing at a high level. Finding a player better than him to put across from Nick Bosa is nigh impossible.

Garrett has two years left on a five-year deal he signed before the 2020 season. There’s no guaranteed money left on the deal, so would likely be on the table from the team that acquires the former DPOY.

If the 49ers are going to do anything bigger than sign Brock Purdy to a contract extension this offseason, it should be finding a way to trade for Garrett because pass rushers of his caliber aren’t available often.

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How 49ers should fix major special teams weak spot this offseason

The 49ers can’t just run out Jake Moody again next season.

The San Francisco 49ers tried to make kicking an afterthought for the foreseeable future when they used the No. 99 overall pick in the 2023 draft to select kicker Jake Moody out of the University of Michigan. After two seasons it’s clear San Francisco can’t push the position off its list of offseason needs.

Moody got off to a rocky start his rookie year, but by season’s end looked like he found his footing in the NFL. His second season was a disaster where he missed 10 of his 34 attempts. Five of his misses come from 40-49 yards out, and another five were from 50-plus. His 70.6 percent FG percentage was the lowest for an NFL kicker with at least 34 attempts since the 2012 season when another 49ers kicker, David Akers, made just 69.0 percent of his 42 tries. Moody is one of only four players since the 2000 with a FG percentage of 70.6 or worse on 34-plus kicks.

How the 49ers proceed at kicker will be an interesting offseason subplot to some of the more noteworthy decisions they have to make on offense and defense.

They could just run it back with Moody, but his struggles in two seasons with San Francisco have been so high-profile that he may never be fully comfortable with the 49ers.

Moody did deal with an injury this year that may have hampered him some when he returned. He also saw his holder change when punter Mitch Wishnowsky went down with a back injury.

Still, he missed his first preseason kick and missed his first game-winning try. He had an extra point blocked in the Super Bowl, and then in his second season put up one of the worst seasons for a kicker in more than a decade. Every kick in a 49ers uniform is going to come with added pressure after his rocky first two seasons.

There’s a chance they outright move on from Moody as well. They can cut him and bring in another draft pick or a veteran and try again to find some consistency at the position.

A wiser move in any event would include some level of competition whether it includes, Moody, a veteran, a (late-round) draft pick or otherwise. San Francisco can’t go into another year where head coach Kyle Shanahan can’t confidently roll his kicker out for field goals. Using a high draft pick on the position didn’t work, and just trying to snag a veteran like Joey Slye or Nick Folk could easily backfire. Holding a real competition in camp between a couple of kickers is the way the 49ers should operate this offseason.

They may not be keen on using multiple 90-man roster spots on kickers, but if it ultimately leads to a solution where they don’t have to worry about their kicker it would be well worth it.

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49ers superstar reveals why he’s excited for Robert Saleh’s return

It’s what Fred Warner didn’t say that jumps out.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner didn’t hide his excitement for the return of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, but there were things he didn’t say that illustrate what Saleh’s return means for the 49ers’ defense.

That’s not a huge surprise given the tumult San Francisco has dealt with the last couple of years while cycling through defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen.

Saleh has a proven track record with Warner and the 49ers, and his addition to their coaching staff looks like an early offseason victory for San Francisco. Warner expressed his excitement in an interview with NBC Sports’ Jennifer Lee Chan at the Pro Bowl Games.

“It means a lot,” Warner said. “Obviously Coach Saleh has been amazing for us and for myself as a young player, so it’s gonna be interesting being the old guy now, myself, being with him again. It’s gonna be fun though.”

A clearer indication of what Saleh brings to the 49ers defense came from something Warner did not say.

Chan asked the All-Pro LB about Saleh’s energy and how it lifts up the 49ers defense. His response was telling:

“I mean, it’s contagious,” Warner said. “You see it. Him, DeMeco (Ryans), that was a big part of why we were so successful. And obviously the teaching portion of it all and making sure we’re all on the same page. It’s gonna be good to get him back.”

Saleh and Ryans were both high-energy coaches on the sidelines. That was not a quality possessed by Wilks nor Sorensen, and Warner omitting them both is telling.

Overt displays of excitement on the sideline aren’t the only requisite quality for a good defensive coordinator, but it’s been clear the last couple of years the 49ers edge has been lacking on that side of the ball. There have been other problems, too. Warner alludes to them when talking about teaching and being on the same page. Personnel has also been an issue that goes beyond the scope of a DC’s responsibilities.

Warner’s excitement and his reasons for it are good signs for the immediate future of the 49ers’ defense. They’ve got a handful of other tweaks to make, but just getting Saleh back on the sideline should help San Francisco right away.

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49ers land injured OT who may be perfect fit for OL in mock draft

A short-term RT and long-term LT would be a nice 1st-round pick for the 49ers.

It would be a fairly significant surprise if the San Francisco 49ers don’t select either an offensive lineman or defensive lineman with the No. 11 pick in the 2025 draft.

While a defensive lineman may be more likely given their past team-building philosophy, they land a potentially perfect fit on the offensive line in the latest seven-round mock draft from Pro Football Network.

PFN has the 49ers skipping the defensive line in favor of injured Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons. Simmons, despite suffering a torn patellar tendon in early December, looks to be exactly what San Francisco would be looking for in an offensive tackle.

He’s listed with NFL size at 6-5, 310 pounds, and he has really high-quality movement skills that should allow him to operate in a 49ers offense that requires athleticism from its offensive line.

What makes Simmons perfect for the 49ers in particular is that he has experience at both tackle spots.

At Ohio State he started 13 games on the right side during his sophomore season, before flipping to the left side as a junior where he started 19 games over his final two college seasons before his knee injury. That’s almost the exact route the 49ers would want him to take.

He could slide in at right tackle to provide an upgrade over RT Colton McKivitz, then jump over to the left tackle spot when LT Trent Williams decides to retire. Simmons could also flip over to the left side as a rookie if Williams misses time, which he has in each of his five seasons with San Francisco.

It’s hard to envision the 49ers using the No. 11 pick on a player who’ll eventually play guard in the NFL. That wouldn’t be the case for Simmons who has a real chance to be the best OT in this year’s class.

The other picks for the 49ers from PFN

Round 2, Pick 43: LB Jihaad Campbelll, Alabama
Round 3, Pick 75: DE Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College
Round 3, Pick 99: DT JJ Pegues, Ole Miss
Round 4, Pick 111: G Earnest Greene, Georgia
Round 4, Pick 137: CB Upton Stout, Western Kentucky
Round 4, Pick 138: TE Luke Lachey, Iowa
Round 6, Pick 188: WR Nick Nash, San Jose State
Round 7, Pick 227: OT Jalen Travis, Iowa State
Round 7, Pick 231: K Caden Davis, Ole Miss
Round 7, Pick 254: S Craig Woodson, Cal

It’s unclear why they gave the 49ers an 11th selection. General manager John Lynch said the team is expecting 10. It appears this mock includes an additional seventh-round pick for San Francisco.

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Full list of 49ers projected picks in 2025 NFL draft

10 picks for the 49ers, including 7 in the top 150.

The San Francisco 49ers are on track to enter the 2025 draft with 10 picks at their disposal.

Some of the urgency to connect on multiple picks in this year’s draft subsided thanks to what looks like a strong 2024 class. However, if the 49ers are going to restock some of their depth and insulate themselves from injuries and future free agent exits, they can’t afford to whiff on the 2025 class.

They have obvious needs in the trenches, starting jobs open in the secondary, and some injury question marks up and down the roster.

The good news for general manager John Lynch and the 49ers front office is that they should have plenty of capital to make an impact in late April when the 2025 draft begins.

Since compensatory picks haven’t officially been awarded, here’s a projection of the 10 selections the 49ers are set to own:

Round 1, Pick 11
Round 2, Pick 43
Round 3, Pick 75
Round 3, Pick 99 (Compensatory)
Round 4, Pick 112
Round 4, Pick 138 (Compensatory)
Round 4, Pick 139 (Compensatory)
Round 6, Pick 189
Round 7, Pick 228 (via Carolina)
Round 7, Pick 255 (Compensatory)

They won’t have a fifth-round pick because of a penalty for an accounting error. They also had a compensatory fourth-round pick moved back last year.

San Francisco is projected to land four comp picks, and their seventh-round choice via the Panthers came in a trade last year that landed kicker Zane Gonzalez with the 49ers. It’s unclear what the conditions of the pick swap were, so there’s a chance San Francisco actually holds onto its own pick, which is slated for No. 229.

The three-day NFL draft is scheduled to begin April 24.

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