Tag: SF 49ers

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 create cap space, restructure Fred Warner’s contract

The 49ers are now more than $10 million under the salary cap after restructuring Fred Warner’s contract.

The 49ers quest to create cap space will include a restructuring of linebacker Fred Warner’s contract according to Matt Barrows of the Athletic.

Warner’s base salary has been dropped to just $1.125 million according to Over the Cap, and his cap hit has been reduced to $13,837,750 for this season. The 49ers added one void year to his deal which allows them to spread his cap hit out over the next few years.

In 2025 his cap hit is scheduled to clear $30 million before dropping to $27 million in 2026. He’ll be a free agent after that season.

Warner was one of the bigger contracts the 49ers didn’t restructure last offseason. Doing so now puts them at $10,345,969 in cap space per OTC.

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Brandon Aiyuk’s production is insane compared to his workload

Brandon Aiyuk is having his breakout year. These numbers are wild.

It hasn’t been difficult to see that the predicted ascension for 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has arrived. San Francisco’s fourth-year WR started the year with 129 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. He hasn’t looked back since then, posting 927 yards and six touchdowns on 50 receptions in 12 games. The wild thing is his numbers could be substantially better.

Aiyuk’s 927 receiving yards rank 12th in the NFL through Week 13, but his productivity is ridiculous given how low his volume is. While he sits at No. 12 in receiving yards, he ranks 45th in receptions with 50 and 46th in targets with 72.

The low number of targets makes sense. Not only does Aiyuk share a field with Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, the 49ers also rank last in the NFL in pass attempts. Aiyuk actually holds a team-high 21.4 percent target share, but the target volume just isn’t there in a 49ers offense that relies so heavily on its run game.

Pro Football Focus has Aiyuk with the second-highest receiving grade among NFL WRs, and his 3.8 percent drop rate is the 12th-lowest mark in the league.

Extrapolating out his 21.4 percent target share to somewhere near the middle of the league shows just how productive he’s been. We used target share to help account for the fact that even in a higher-volume passing offense he’d still be sharing the ball with McCaffrey, Samuel and Kittle.

The Jaguars are No. 17 in the NFL at 416 pass attempts. Aiyuk in that instance would have received 89 targets. The math for Aiyuk’s efficiency with this workload shakes out to some elite numbers.

With 89 targets, Aiyuk would be sitting at 62 catches, 1,144 yards and seven touchdowns. This would rank him 20th in receptions, No. 5 in yards and tied for No. 5 in touchdown catches.

While having weapons around him and a quarterback who is accurate in the intermediate and deep areas of the field, Aiyuk is an elite route runner and separator who creates space in all three areas of the field. If it looks like he’s wide open every time he makes a catch, it’s because he typically is.

Aiyuk said before the year he was about to take off. He was right, and he’s done so emphatically enough that even a volume issue isn’t holding him back.

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Brock Purdy’s first 17 starts would be one of best QB seasons in 49ers history

How Brock Purdy’s numbers across his first 17 regular season starts stack up against other great 49ers QB seasons:

Brock Purdy’s outing against the Eagles on Sunday in Week 13 marked his 17th regular season start as a pro. His ability to pick up in 2023 where he left off in 2022 has been a key reason San Francisco got out to a fast start and now sits one game off the pace for the No. 1 seed with five weeks to go.

Purdy hasn’t just produced at a level good enough to help the 49ers win games though. He’s helped them dominate, and his numbers show it. In fact, his numbers would mark perhaps the best statistical season by a QB in 49ers team history.

Through 17 games Purdy is 14-3 as a starter. Here are his numbers:

69.7 percent completion rate
4,283 passing yards
34 touchdown passes
8 interceptions
9.4 yards per attempt
116.9 passer rating

Let’s see where each of those numbers stacks up against other great QB seasons in 49ers history:

Arik Armstead is 49ers Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee

Arik Armstead is the #49ers’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for the 4th year in a row.

In perhaps the least surprising news of the 49ers’ season, defensive lineman Arik Armstead has been named the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. It’s the fourth consecutive year he’s been nominated for the award.

The Walter Payton Man of the Year is an annual award given out by the NFL that rewards players for exhibiting excellence on and off the field.

For Armstead he’s been a steady force on the 49ers’ defensive line while also continuing to do a ton of work in his home community of Sacramento with his foundation the Armstead Academic Project.

The Armstead Academic Project, among other things, aims to provide equity, inclusiveness and fairness in education. His work through the foundation has earned him four WPMOY nominations in a row for the 49ers.

Voting for the award can be done by fans on Twitter by posting #WPMOYChallenge along with the last name or Twitter handle of the player they want to vote for.

They can also vote online using NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.

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Former UGA TE Charlie Woerner impressing for 49ers

Former Georgia tight end Charlie Woerner is looking to have a bigger role for the San Francisco 49ers behind star tight end George Kittle

Former Georgia Bulldogs tight end Charlie Woerner had a fairly modest rookie season for the San Francisco 49ers in 2020. Woerner finished his rookie campaign with three catches for 36 yards.

Now, Woerner is looking to have a bigger role for the 49ers behind star tight end George Kittle. In preseason action, Woerner hauled in a 34-yard pass from 49ers rookie Trey Lance.

Woerner is turning some heads in San Francisco and appears to be set to receive more playing time in passing situations. Woerner was primarily a blocker for the 49ers last season.

The San Francisco 49ers drafted Woerner with the 190th pick of the 2020 NFL draft. He appeared in 54 games in four years at Georgia and started 19 games. Woerner tallied 34 receptions for 376 yards and 1 touchdown in his collegiate career.

Woerner has been making plays throughout training camp and should make the 49ers final roster again. The NFL game seems to have slowed down for him some in Year 2.

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49ers LB Fred Warner ranked 20th best NFL player by PFF

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner was ranked the second-best linebacker and 20th best player in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.

San Francisco 49ers fans know well how dominant linebacker Fred Warner can be on the gridiron. One of the cornerstones of the Niners defense since he was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft, Warner has quickly become one of the best linebackers in the league. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus’ recently released rankings, Warner is the 20th best player in the league.

Warner slots in right behind Kansas City Chiefs interior defensive lineman Chris Jones and ahead of Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa. Warner already topped PFF’s list of the top 25 players under 25 and remains among the league’s elite regardless of his age. Seattle’s Bobby Wagner is the only linebacker who ranks higher than Warner on the list.

Over his career, Warner has started all 48 of the 49ers regular season games and accrued 367 tackles. In 2020, he amassed 125 tackles, seven quarterback hits, six passes defended, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one sack.

Defensive end Nick Bosa and left tackle Trent Williams also landed at Nos. 27 and 24 on the list, respectively.

49ers sign WR Bennie Fowler, release recent signing WR Marqise Lee

The San Francisco 49ers signed wide receiver Bennie Fowler as a free agent, releasing recently acquired wide receiver Marqise Lee.

The San Francisco 49ers signed wide receiver Bennie Fowler, according to a team press release on Friday. To create a roster spot, the Niners released recently-signed wideout Marqise Lee.

While Lee has a far longer track record of success as a receiver, Fowler has made a name for himself on special teams. The move suggests San Francisco is confident in its remaining depth at receiver behind presumed starters Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

Fowler was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State by the Denver Broncos in 2014. Over the past seven years, Fowler has amassed 1,101 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 97 receptions while earning significant playing time on special teams.

Report: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was convinced 49ers were acquiring him

The San Francisco 49ers reportedly made calls to the Green Bay Packers to inquire about QB Aaron Rodgers and he believed a deal was close.

There has been plenty of San Francisco 49ers rumors swirling on the day of the NFL draft, but the biggest story has little to do with who they will select with the No. 3 overall pick. Multiple reports Thursday morning revealed that the 49ers made a run at acquiring Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, but were shut down before talks went too far. However, Fox’s Trey Wingo, has now reported Rodgers was told by the team he would be traded during the offseason and that the current Green Bay signal-caller “was convinced” the 49ers were going to acquire him.

Now it appears the Packers have backed out of the idea on trading their starting quarterback.

The saga began in January after the Packers’ NFC championship game loss to the Buccaneers when Rodgers made a cryptic statement regarding his uncertain future. This isn’t liable to end soon and may wind up having an impact on how the 49ers operate with the No. 3 pick. If they want to add Rodgers, it’ll probably mean trading that selection or whoever they choose with it. They may also trade back to acquire more assets to send to Green Bay since they already moved their 2022 and 2023 first-round picks to Miami in their trade up to No. 3 in March.

Rodgers is coming off his third MVP season and second consecutive trip to the NFC championship game. Last year he had a 70.7 percent completion rate, threw for 4,299 yards and 48 touchdowns with just five interceptions.

49ers make trade push for “disgruntled” QB Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reportedly trying to force his way out and the SF 49ers reportedly made a sizable offer.

On the morning of the NFL draft, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reported an unexpected rumor. According to him, the San Francisco 49ers reached out to the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday in attempt to trade for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Of course, the 37-year-old Rodgers is coming off an MVP season, when he completed 70.7% of his passes, 48 touchdown passes, and threw just five interceptions.

While it was not surprising to hear the 49ers interested in the star, Pelissero was clear that Green Bay shut down any talks before they gained momentum. However, Adam Schefter of ESPN had a bomb of his own to drop, reporting that even after his strong 2020 season, Rodgers “has told some within the organization that he does not want to return to the team.”

After trading three first-round picks to move up from 12 to 3, it seems like the 49ers already chose to forego any veteran quarterbacks. Schefter’s report suggests someone in Rodgers’ camp might have sent some signals out to San Francisco, hoping head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch could swing a deal. For now, that’s not in the cards.

Rodgers has had an uncomfortable relationship with Green Bay ever since they selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love of the 2019 NFL draft. Still, the franchise has remained steadfast that Rodgers will be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Even if he were able to force a trade, it’s hard to imagine the Packers sending him to one of their biggest rivals in the NFC.