Bucs agree to terms with OT Justin Skule on 1-year deal

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are re-signing reserve offensive tackle Justin Skule to a new one-year contract

The Bucs have agreed to terms with offensive tackle Justin Skule on a one-year deal, per source.

— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 15, 2024

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing back a familiar face along the offensive line, agreeing to terms with reserve offensive tackle Justin Skule on a new one-year deal, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine.

A sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Skule signed with the Bucs’ practice squad back in 2022, and was active for all 17 games for Tampa Bay last season.

The Bucs are set at both starting tackle spots with Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, but Skule gives them familiar depth who can fill in if injuries arise.

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13 pending offensive free agents with ties to the Panthers’ coaching staff

Mike Evans, who is set to hit the open market, had his best season in years under new Panthers HC Dave Canales.

With new head coach Dave Canales leading the transition, the Carolina Panthers have completely overhauled their offensive staff this winter. And with new faces comes new connections for the organization.

Here are 13 pending offensive free agents, in areas of particular need, with ties to Canales’ staff:

49ers injury update after rocky start to offseason

A look at the players with availability and injury concerns for the 49ers going into training camp.

The 49ers’ 2020 season was marred by injury and absences due to COVID-19. Turning the calendar to 2021 hasn’t provided much relief so far.

Through just a handful of rookie minicamps and organized team activities, the club still finds itself with injury concerns and availability issues going into training camp.

Perhaps camp and the offseason will see the tide turn in this area, but for now it remains a sizable problem for San Francisco heading into an important season for their coaching staff and front office.

Here’s a list of players with availability concerns going into camp:

Justin Skule clears waivers, reverts to 49ers’ Injured Reserve

Justin Skule cleared waivers and returned to the San Francisco 49ers on Injured Reserve.

The 49ers last year lost a contributor when they waived/injured defensive back DJ Reed with a chest injury, only to see him get scooped off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks. There won’t be a repeat situation with offensive tackle Justin Skule, who was waived/injured with a torn ACL.

Skule, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, cleared waivers and will now revert to the 49ers’ Injured Reserve.

While on IR, Skule will be able to rehab at the 49ers’ facility and stay with the club without counting against the roster limits. Senio Kelemete was signed to replace him on the 90-man roster.

Skule was a sixth-round pick in 2019 and saw action in 31 games with 12 starts across his first two seasons. He figured this year to be in the mix as a versatile reserve who can play tackle and guard. With one year left on his rookie contract after this season, Skule could return to battling for the same role in 2022.

49ers waive/injured OL Justin Skule

The 49ers waived/injured Justin Skule to make room for Senio Kelemete.

The 49ers on Friday officially added veteran OL Senio Kelemeteadded veteran OL Senio Kelemete to their roster, and waived/injured third-year OL Justin Skule to make room on the roster.

Skule was a sixth-round pick by the 49ers in the 2019 draft out of Vanderbilt. He tore his ACL in OTAs, which ruled him out of the 2021 campaign.

The waived/injured designation means Skule will be on waivers, but if he clears them he’ll revert to San Francisco’s Injured Reserve. That’ll end his season officially, but he’ll be able to train and recover at the facility.

Skule’s ability to play tackle and guard should keep him in the mix for the 49ers if he does stick around.

The 24-year-old has played in 31 games with 12 starts in his career.

The great, good, and bad performances from the SF 49ers 26-23 Week 17 loss

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Seattle Seahawks 26-23 in their final game of the season. However, plenty had good performances.

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In their final game of the season, the San Francisco 49ers once again showed exactly why they deserved to be preseason favorites, but ultimately, why when the playoffs start next week, they will be back home watching. A team decimated by injuries has missed many of their most important players on each side of the ball for multiple games.

On Sunday, against the 11-4 Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers were without at least five starters on each side of the ball. Still, their defense played inspired and shutdown Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for three quarters. Head coach Kyle Shanahan had a solid play-calling day, with open receivers throughout, but third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard failed to make the right reads on multiple occasions.

By the fourth quarter, Wilson would not be contained for much longer. Aided by a Beathard fumble, the Seahawks scored three touchdowns in the final quarter and ultimately finished on the better side of the 26-23 score. Football is not the sport for moral victories, but the 49ers played like they were as good as the NFC West champ even without some of their best players.

Candlestick Chronicles: 49ers’ 2019 draft was home run

The 49ers’ 2019 rookies were among the best in the NFL.

The 49ers’ run to the Super Bowl had as much to do with the production of their rookie class than anything else.

Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee and Kyle Madson take a look back at the 49ers’ 2019 draft, and issue grades for each selection with the benefit of hindsight on the 2019 season.

It’s important to remember though that one year doesn’t make a career, and they discuss what each player needs to do moving forward to continue improving.

https://candlestick-chronicles-a-49ers-pod.simplecast.com/episodes/49ers-hit-home-run-in-2019-nfl-draft

49ers 2019 rookie report card

The 49ers badly needed a big-time showing from their rookie class in 2019, and got it from nearly their entire group. Several of the first-year players played prominent roles in San Francisco’s run to Super Bowl 54. Here’s the report card for John …

Here’s the report card for John Lynch’s third rookie class:

DL Nick Bosa

There weren’t many defensive players more dominant than Bosa in his rookie season, and there certainly wasn’t a better first-year defensive player. It’s why the No. 2 overall pick was the runaway winner for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. According to analytics site Pro Football Focus, Bosa registered 102 total pressures and 14 sacks in the regular and postseason. It’s hard to ask for a better showing from a rookie.

Grade: A+

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Studs and duds from 49ers’ 37-8 thumping of Packers

We’re running out of superlatives to describe how dominating the 49ers can be.

We’re running out of superlatives to describe how dominant the 49ers can be. Green Bay never really stood a chance after fumbling on the third play of the game, and never really threatened the 49ers after 57 seconds of game time. The 49ers took their first lead 1:58 into the game and never once looked back on their way to a 37-8 romp. Sunday night was the best win of the season against the best team they’ve played.

There were plenty of studs with a few duds in San Francisco’s victory over the Packers:

Studs: The entire defense

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

There were plenty of individual studs Sunday night, but the defense as a whole deserves the recognition here. They held the Packers, a team that averages 25 points and 356 yards per game, to just eight points and 198 yards. Aaron Rodgers threw for just 104 yards, the fewest yards he’s thrown for in his career minimum 30 passes, and he set a new low with 3.2 yards per attempt. The defense set the tone with a forced fumble on the first drive and never once lost that momentum.

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49ers vs. Packers: 3 things that stood out in the 2nd quarter

The 49ers continued to dominate in the second quarter holding the Packers scoreless through the first half.

The 49ers continued to dominate in the second quarter holding the Packers scoreless through the first half. The offense picked up some of the slack late in the quarter scoring a field goal and a touchdown on their last three drives of the half.

The 49ers took a 23-0 lead into the second half. Here’s what stood out in the second quarter:

Witherspoon back on the field and tested

After Emmanuel Moseley started the game, Ahkello Witherspoon entered in the second quarter and Aaron Rodgers wanted to see what Witherspoon could offer early. On second-and-8 in 49ers territory Rodgers took a deep shot to Davante Adams who was covered by Witherspoon and the pass was incomplete. While the throw was overthrown, it’s important to note that Witherspoon was stride-for-stride with Adams and was tight in coverage. Rodgers was 0-for-3 on balls thrown at Witherspoon in the first half.

Swiss cheese offensive line

What has been a consistently good group the offensive line hasn’t been good Sunday night. Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t been great in large part because the offensive front can’t keep the Packers out of the backfield. Mike McGlinchey allowed a sack right before the end of the first quarter, and Justin Skule allowed one that turned a second down into a third-and-31, essentially ending the 49ers’ drive. The line will need to better if the offense is expected to do anything. Skule was benched in favor of Daniel Brunskill midway through the quarater.

The George Kittle drive

Kittle returned Sunday night after missing the last two games with what was revealed to be a fractured ankle, and Garoppolo found him a few times in the second quarter. After consecutive three-and-outs for the offense, Kyle Shanahan force-fed the star tight end. The first two plays went to Kittle for gains of 18 and 22 yards and led to a scoring drive with Chase McLaughlin’s second field goal of the game. The points were the first scored by the 49ers since the 3:13 point in the first quarter.