Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
7 players to watch on Saturday in the #49ers 2nd preseason game:
The 49ers on Saturday will suit up for their second of three preseason games. While their preseason opener didn’t go particularly well with a 34-7 loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas, it did give some valuable information about where some key players stood in the hunt for starting jobs and roster spots.
Based on the preseason opener and the trio of practices since, we put together a list of the seven players we’re keeping a close eye on when the Broncos visit Levi’s Stadium on Saturday.
Javon Kinlaw has no time for your dry heat.
It turns out it’s hot in the southern Nevada desert. When the Raiders moved to Las Vegas and built their practice facility in Henderson, Nev. they included a room players could enter to cool off during or after practice.
Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group indicated that around 40 linemen from both teams hopped into the cooling room during practice. 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was not among them.
Despite temperatures north of 90 degrees during the morning practice, Kinlaw was unfazed.
“I didn’t go in there,” Kinlaw said in a post-practice press conference. “This ain’t nothing to me. You know where I’m from. Come on now.”
Kinlaw played his high school and college football in South Carolina where temperatures this week will reach the high 90s with a suffocating humidity turns a low-80s temperature into a low-90s RealFeel per AccuWeather.
Even if Kinlaw was bothered by the weather, he wouldn’t need to deal with it for much longer. The 49ers and Raiders play their preseason opener on Sunday in the cozy indoor confines of Allegiant Stadium where weather won’t be a factor for either club.
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#49ers DL Javon Kinlaw has a pretty simple reason to believe he’s due to bounce back this year, and his confidence is at an all-time high.
The resurgence of 49ers defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw has been one of the biggest non-quarterback story lines of the offseason in the Bay Area. Kinlaw on Friday gave a pretty simple explanation for why he’s suddenly looking the part of a first-round pick.
San Francisco took Kinlaw in No. 14 overall in the 2020 draft. He posted a strong rookie campaign where he started 12 of the 14 games he played and racked up 33 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pick-six. Since then a chronic knee injury has derailed him from building on that rookie year. Kinlaw played only four games in 2021 and six games a year ago.
While availability was a problem, his productivity was virtually non-existent when he did play. In his 10 games he had 12 tackles, one QB hit, and no tackles for loss.
This offseason Kinlaw changed his offseason training regimen to focus on the small muscles in his legs to ensure stability in his knee. Now the former first-round pick feels confident he’s primed for a bounce-back year.
“Playing with one-and-a-half legs is no good,” Kinlaw said in a press conference after Friday’s joint practice with the Raiders. “You think about it every snap, versus when you got two good legs. My body is improving as a whole, just been able to do some things I’ve never been able to do so it gives me superior confidence.”
Kinlaw said he no longer thinks about the knee issues that plagued him during the last two years. His performance in training camp has indicated that a page has been turned in Kinlaw’s career and for the first time since his rookie year he appears ready to take a step forward. There’s nobody more confident than him that a leap is coming.
“I’m really a freak,” Kinlaw said. “The world’s gonna see. Point blank. Period.”
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Javon Kinlaw is finally healthy, and Kyle Shanahan is expecting an improvement with more playing time.
For the first time in a long time 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw will enter training camp in a good space healthy-wise.
Knee issues, including an ACL reconstruction in November of 2021, limited Kinlaw to just 10 games over the last two seasons. In those 10 games he managed just 12 tackles and one quarterback hit with no tackles for loss and no sacks.
It’s been a disappointing start for the No. 14 overall pick in the 2020 draft, but 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday told reporters the team is very optimistic about Kinlaw entering this year’s training camp.
“Yeah, Kinlaw’s been unbelievable,” Shanahan said in his post-practice press conference. “Just in the fact that, I mean, you guys see how he looks, and he’s just gone a full year with no setbacks. And so to get through OTAs with that and then our 40 days away, it continued. And as that happens he just keeps looking better and better and everyone knows the specimen that he is, so now hopefully that can continue through training camp so he can really tie that to football. And if he can do that and stay healthy, with the way he’s worked and the way his talent is and his mindset, I feel it’s a matter of time for him.”
Kinlaw’s talent was apparent in his rookie campaign when he posted 1.5 sacks and four pass breakups, and returned an interception for a touchdown. There were ups and downs during that season, but for the most part he looked like he was on track to becoming a productive defensive tackle.
Then the injuries started setting in and Kinlaw never got a chance to take the step forward the team was hoping he would in 2021. Now Shanahan is hopeful Kinlaw’s health will allow him to stay on the field and take those strides, but the team isn’t going to over do it.
“I mean theoretically, yeah, just because I mean if that guy just keeps playing football, he’s going to get really good,” Shanahan said. “But we don’t go extra because the more you go extra with someone, the higher chance of him getting hurt and that has been what’s held him back. So we’re trying to be as smart with him as possible, but for the first time in a couple years he’s been healthy enough to get himself in a position to where he can be treated like everyone else, just getting normal reps and everything. And if he is able to do that, I think things will work out very well for him.”
A healthy Kinlaw would be a welcome addition to an already loaded 49ers defensive line. The arrival of Javon Hargrave in free agency pushes Kinlaw down the depth chart, but at the rate San Francisco rotates its defensive linemen he should still see plenty of action.
There are several ways the 49ers defense can get better this year. Kinlaw improving with more playing time is one that could be very impactful on the team’s most important unit.
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State of the Roster: The 49ers’ biggest offseason splash, DT Javon Hargrave, aimed to fix perhaps the roster’s biggest weakness.
With 49ers OTAs in full swing, we’re taking a position-by-position look at the team’s roster to figure out the strengths, weaknesses, potential dark horses to make the team and other nuggets about the players who will be competing for jobs on the 53-man roster.
The 49ers made a choice on their defensive interior after the 2019 season when they traded away defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. Since then they’ve had a hard time finding stability in the middle of their very good defensive line. They finally went out this offseason and fixed it by signing former Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
That one move changes the entire complexion of the 49ers’ defensive interior where Hargrave pushes players down the depth chart and into roles likely more suitable for their success.
Despite some injury issues up front, the 49ers still managed to put together a good pass rush and a stout run defense last year. They’ll have an opportunity this year with a reworked DL to have even more success in the trenches, which should help the rest of their very good defensive unit.
Let’s look at how the defensive tackle group on the 49ers’ 90-man roster is shaking out heading into camp:
John Lynch said the 49ers won’t pick up Javon Kinlaw’s 5th-year option.
49ers general manager John Lynch on Friday translated the already clear writing on the wall. The team won’t pick up the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.
This doesn’t come as a huge surprise given how Kinlaw’s first three years have gone. He showed flashes as a rookie, but then had his next two seasons derailed by injury. Kinlaw has played in just 10 games since 2021 with very little success.
Not picking up his option doesn’t mean his time in red and gold is over. The salary for that fifth-year would’ve been a fully-guaranteed $11,665,000. Even if he stays healthy and plays well during the 2023 campaign, re-signing him would cost less than that $11.6 million fully-guaranteed number.
This is a big year for Kinlaw, who appears to finally be healthy going into the offseason. If he can put together a full season and take steps forward he’d help himself while also adding another weapon to a good 49ers defensive line.
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Javon Kinlaw optimism reigns!
The 49ers made a sizable addition to their defensive line this offseason when they added free agent defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. San Francisco is hopeful that won’t be the only boost to the interior of their defensive line this year though.
Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw has struggled to stay on the field during his three-year NFL career. Over the last two years he’s played in only 10 games while dealing with knee injuries. General manager John Lynch on Monday expressed optimism about Kinlaw though after a strong offseason from the 25-year-old.
“JK is doing great. He is really in a good spot,” Lynch said. “He looks tremendous. He’s preparing, he’s excited about his preparation. I think it’s a good feeling when you’ve battled injuries year after year and you’re in a healthy spot and you can see it in the way he’s walking around here. He’s just very encouraged and in a really good place. And I think he’s earned that right. He’s worked really hard to be here I think we’re all really encouraged by it and excited to see what can come.”
It would be a pretty substantial addition to the 49ers’ defensive line rotation to have Kinlaw healthy for 17 games. He may not reach the level the team hoped when they made him the No. 14 overall pick in the 2020 draft, but his talent during his rookie season when he played 14 games was pretty clear. Getting more consistent playing time should help Kinlaw realize some of his untapped potential.
While Lynch did sound high on the DT, he declined to say whether the team would pick up his fifth-year option. They’ll be required to do that by the Monday after the draft. It would appear the team is not on track to bring Kinlaw back on what would be a one-year, fully-guaranteed salary well north of what they’d be looking to pay him.
Still, a fully-healthy season from Kinlaw would be a nice first step in getting his career off the ground. There’s a long road ahead though with offseason workouts, training camp and a preseason to get through first. It’ll be worth keeping a close eye on him because slotting Kinlaw into the DT rotation with Arik Armstead and Hargrave would quickly elevate the 49ers’ defensive front to one of the NFL’s best.
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The Philadelphia Eagles advanced to #SuperBowlLVII and we have all the national reaction from the 31-7 win over the 49ers
The Eagles advanced to Super Bowl 57 with a 31-7 win over the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon.
Jalen Hurts was 15-25 passing for 121 yards, while adding 11 carries for 39 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Miles Sanders had 11 carries for 42 yards and two rushing touchdowns while the Philadelphia defense sacked 49ers passers three times on the afternoon.
With the Eagles awaiting the Bengals-Chiefs winner, here’s the national reaction to Sunday’s win.
The Eagles are headed to #SuperBowlLVII and we have the top 100 photos from Philadelphia’s 31-7 win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game
The Eagles are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years after a 31-7 win over the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field.
The NFC Champions will now await the winner of Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was 15-25 passing for 121 yards passing on the day, as Philadelphia racked up the bulk of their yards on the ground.
Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell both had 40+ yards rushing, while Boston Scott scored a touchdown in his third straight game.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was forced to exit the first quarter with an elbow injury and the NFC West champions saw their offense sputter from theirs.
With the Eagles heading to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, here are the top photos from Sunday’s historic win.
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The Philadelphia Eagles have advanced to #SuperBowlLVII and they’ll face the Bengals-Chiefs winner after a 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers
The Eagles are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years after a 31-7 win over the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field.
The NFC Champions will now await the winner of Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was 15-25 passing for 121 yards passing on the day, as Philadelphia racked up the bulk of their yards on the ground.
Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell both had 40+ yards rushing, while Boston Scott scored a touchdown in his third straight game.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was forced to exit the first quarter with an elbow injury and the NFC West champions saw their offense sputter from theirs.
Purdy was forced back into action after fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson suffered a concussion.
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