San Francisco 49ers Forever

Not much in football-land happening, short of the log-jam at signing 2nd round guys due to the Houstons throwing a wrench into the draft guaranteed money for 2nd round picks they decided to do.

That being said, training camp is less than a month away. Which means the Hall of Fame game is coming up next month.

Woo hoo!

Here’s the schedule:

• Rookies report: July 15
• Veterans report: July 22

Light the fires and kick the tires.

Other than that, it’s all dullsville for the NFL right now. Unless the Aaron Rodgers to Pittsburgh saga thrills you. He says “this’ll probably be my last season” and this glorious tidbit “when I’m done playing, you won’t see me”. We can only fucking hope.

Pittsburgh is awful desperate to be throwing money at Rodgers, as both Juston Fields and Russell Wilson had their moments amid a season that went south for in a hurry. Mike Tomlin may not have had a losing season in 19 years, but they have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season. 8-11 in the playoffs total.

Good luck with that!!

Have to thank the fucking Houston Texans for throwing a wrench into the signing of Alfred Collins by offering their 2nd round pick WR Jayden Higgins a fully guaranteed 4 year, $117 million contract. Thus altering how teams deal with their 2nd round picks.

So much for just the 1st round picks getting guaranteed deals. And so much for slotting money by draft position. Oh well.

Interestingly enough, of the 40 picks that are unsigned, 30 of them are 2nd round picks, and only 2 are 1st round picks. The biggest commotion is around Shemar Stewart, the 1st round pick of the Bengals. The Bengals, who are cheaper than the Oakland/Sacto/Vegas/Oakland A’s, are trying to force Stewart to sign a deal that voids some of the guaranteed money in his contract.

This loophole has been there, but it is something no one else has tried to force a player to sign.

And of course with that happening, the blogosphere is awash in speculation that the 49ers should try to pry him away from the tight-ass Bengals. Something like a 3rd and 5th round pick to get him.

Sounds great, but I don’t think even Cincy is that stupid. I don’;’t profess to know, but really, Cincy’s defense is ludicrously terrible despite Trey Hendrickson and his 17.5 sacks (oh yeah, he’s holding out as well!).

I guess it would be cool to get him for a bag of donuts, but let’s sign our 2nd round pick before going fishing for another, uh, fish.

Yeah, we have Kittle signed, urday signed, and we even may have a viable backup TE in Luke Ferrell. But what about WR? We all know Deebo pouted and dropsied his way off the team last year amid the whining and general ineffectiveness, but who steps up?

And we all know Brandon Aiyuk is in the process of following Deebo’s path of whining stupidity from social media to off the team after holding out last year, playing like shit, and getting hurt. He’s more than likely gonna hit the PUP list, forcing to miss the first four games, and then, well, we will see. Funny thing is, BA is pretty much pissing in the wind given the state of NFL quarterbacking these days. Lots; of newbies and stiffs out there. he had a great thing going with Purdy until he shot himself in the feet. Granted the front office was handing him all the bullets he could fire, but that’s a different story.

Speaking of shooting, Ricky Pearsall is slow to be cleared to practice as he is nursing a sore hammy. If anyone needs to hit the ground running, it’s the guy we spent our 1st round pick on last year. As I’ve said more than a few times, I didn’t get the pick then and I still don’t get it. But if he isn’t full speed by September, we are kinda thin at the WR spot.

Among the rumblings, the guy we got from the Rams, Demarcus Robinson looks to be suspended for 3 games stemming from getting popped for DUI/reckless (luckily wreckless) driving last November while driving over 100 MPH near the Rams team facility. Come on, man. Who hasn’t done that?

That leaves 3rd and Jauan Jennings as our go-to WR. HE’s a stud and very reliable, but who’s next? Jacob Cowing is a nice slot guy who isn’t gonna make anyone forget Trent Taylor, but other than that, we are thin as tissue. At least until Robinson and BA come back. And I really wonder if we just cut BA when he comes back. I’m kidding, kind of, but really.

Hodgins, Gage, and Knowles are fairly nondescript young guys, and Watkins, Bergren, & Neyor are rooks. TO JR would a the feel-good story of the year if he could have an impact, but that is a shot in the darkest dark.

One thing coming out of camp so far is the impact Jordan Watkins is making on teammates and coaches. He’s apparently doing a number on Lenoir in practice, and that is no mean feat. Sure it’s only practice, but hey, if we have a diamond in the rough in Watkins as these guys seem to be good at finding; groovy, baby!

After what seemed like the worst possible offseason in the past 30 years, I have to say I’m pretty happy with how the team looks now.

The 49ers spent most of their draft capital on the defense, and more importantly got rid of Mr. Squishy Nick Sorensen. The defense looks to be vastly improved over last year’s bend/break/die defense with the return of Robert Saleh, and a crop of new young defensive linemen. The trade for Saleh’s DE Huff should also provide a spark.

Special teams got a kick in the ass with the firing of Brian Schneider and the hiring of Saleh’s guy Brant Boyer. The abject ineptitude of the special teams unit last year was painfully obvious by week 4 and it looks to be improved with a new punter, a new long snapper, and some competition for Jake from State Moody.

The big but of course ot the offensive line. Our pass protection win rate was last in the league, and Purdy was often under pressure late in games when the 49ers needed to pass. In what should be painfully obvious, blitzing and constant pressure killed most of our comeback efforts, along with some bad passes by Purdy. He isn’t blameless in this scenario, but the biggest issue facing this team last year was dropping from 3rd to 29th in points allowed. As many QBs before him have proven, it’s hard to win when you are chasing the scoreboard. ANd the points came at the hands of the defense and the poor special teams play.

I still have my issues with how this team managed to blow a lot of games last season, and I really hope that Shanahan has learned a lesson or two in how to score in the red zone. Having a healthy bunch of weapons should help, but I also hope Shanny has learned how to spell his healthy running backs before they break.

Kittle is healthy, CMC is healthy, Jannings is ready to go, Aiyuk? Well, he’s prolly gonna get pupped so he’ll miss the first 4 games, and Pearsall is nursing a hammy, but other than that, it’s full steam ahead. Everyone is signed, sealed, and delivered so the future looks good as of now. And we have a fairly soft schedule to boot.

Bring it on (in September)!

The Niners have nearly finalized a trade w/ the Iggles for Bryce Huff. The UDFA edge rusher that had a breakout season with the Jets, getting 10 sacks without having started a game. The trade if for a mid-round pick apparently. He signed a 3 year deal with the Eagles last year, but wa sidelined by injury and missed the Super Bowl.

Got to say, at least the 49ers aren’t sitting on their thumbs like their counterparts in baseball.

Yeah, I know, big fricking whoop. Still and all, we creep inexorably closer to the season. Yeah, it ain’t even June yet, but the Giants are pulling their June swoon a week early, and they donpth ave any hitters to speak of, so OTAs it is.

I guess the injury watch starts now as well . . .

For once they decided to put the horse in front of the cart by getting ahead of the game and signing Fred Warner to a 3 year, $63 million extension. $21 mill per, and $56 mill guaranteed.

The reason this is noteworthy is because his deal didn’t come due until spring of 2026.

So for once they got ahead of the game and signed someone important a year early. Yes, he’s the highest paid linebacker, but come next season, his price will likely go up.

Get some O line help and I’ll be more than thrilled, but they have made me pretty happy this offseason.

Here are the deets:

Brock Purdy and the 49ers have agreed to terms on a five-year, $265 million deal today.

Purdy will receive $181 million in total guarantees, including $165 million in the first three years of a deal that runs through the 2030 season.

The $265 total value for the extension would rank Purdy fifth in the NFL, while the $53 million annual average is tied for seventh.

So, he didn’t cry for the moon, but he got his bundle. Got to say, as much shit as I’ve been giving this front office so far this year, they got shit done, and had what looks to be a very solid draft.

I’ll post the sched, but it is there in all its glory on the last thread.

Huzzah!

Here we go . . .

WEEK 1 – at Seattle Seahawks, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 2 – at New Orleans Saints, 10 a.m.
WEEK 3 – vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 4 – vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 5 – at Los Angeles Rams (Thurs) 5:20 p.m.
WEEK 6 – at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 10 a.m.
WEEK 7 – vs. Atlanta Falcons, 5:20 p.m.
WEEK 8 – at Houston Texans, 10 a.m.
WEEK 9 – at New York Giants, 10 a.m.
WEEK 10 – vs. Los Angeles Rams, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 11 – at Arizona Cardinals, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 12 – vs. Carolina Panthers 5:15 p.m. (Mon)
WEEK 13 – at Cleveland Browns, 10 a.m.
WEEK 14 – BYE
WEEK 15 – vs. Tennessee Titans, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 16 – at Indianapolis Colts, 5:15 p.m. (Mon)
WEEK 17 – vs. Chicago Bears, 5:20 p.m.
WEEK 18 – vs. Seattle Seahawks, TBD

According to the wonks, we have the weakest sched in the league. Woo hoo!

Thing is, team strength changes like baby diapers in the NFL. Washington was washed up in 2023 and killed in 2024. Chargers were dogmeat and went 11-6. On and on. So this should be good for us, but WE need to take care of shit.

We happily got Saleh back and shit-canned our ST coach so that’s good news. Shanny’s got to get his shit together. Not ride CMC too hard. Come up with better schemes to close out games. Basically do a better job coaching the offense.

You know. His fucking job.

Lot’s of patsies as of now, but as we know, shit changes fast in Jolly Roger’s NFL.

Here’s the entire NFL season in all its glory. Click it and it becomes a little more legible!

I’m talking about Stone Blanton, of course. The part-time hit man, one-time private eye, and whiskey maker extraordinaire has signed a three-year deal. No idea what the money is, and I really don’t care. Just like the guy’s name, and he comes in as a hard-hitting UDFA linebacker who may indeed stick with the team.

Work hard, kick ass, and see what happens.

In other news, uh, I got nothin’. Well, Gabe Davis came a’calling. He of course is a deep threat who tore it up for the Bills in the playoffs a few years ago but has had a lot of injuries. He got dumped out of his 3/$39 mill contract by the Jags recently, and is available.

Do it. We need guys who are bona fide deep threats. I don’t care how accurate Purdy is supposedly not on deep passes, but Davis goes up and gets them.