So We Really Gotta Get A 5th String QB Huh....2023 49ers Offseason Thread

[Dat916nigga]

And even more potential pressure. If he bombs somehow or even has struggles, which I think he will (struggles that is) because hes still to take his lumps via experience...yeah idk. With Jimmy the floor was low. Brock raised the bar being a rookie.

I hope we don't get to the point where one-armed Brock will be asked to save the season or some bs like that.

I hope not either but unless Trey hits the ground running in 2023, Mike Silver articles with players calling for a damaged-goods Brock to start will continue piling up

 

[Mortal1]

Trey gotta take it. Its put up or shut up young breh
And the locker room gotta stop acting like bytches and stand behind the kid

For sure, Juice was talking about yeah we're playing 49er football after Trey got hurt and Jimmy won the game but buddy you guys haven't won an SB yet that style of 49er football hasn't done shyt but almost win. These vets need to stop flopping as well Deebo fumbling in the fukking chicago game before the monsoon hit. I'm not saying don't hold Trey accountable but these dudes getting paid got to BALL out.

 

[Jmare007]

For sure, Juice was talking about yeah we're playing 49er football after Trey got hurt and Jimmy won the game but buddy you guys haven't won an SB yet that style of 49er football hasn't done shyt but almost win. These vets need to stop flopping as well Deebo fumbling in the fukking chicago game before the monsoon hit. I'm not saying don't hold Trey accountable but these dudes getting paid got to BALL out.

Gawd damn self ether that burns slow

 

[FakeNews]

Kawakami: A Trey Lance rise, a potential Javon Kinlaw exit path and more 49ers offseason predictions​

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Prediction 1: Shanahan won’t seem too relaxed in the next few weeks​

As even Lynch noted during their dual season-ending news conference, Shanahan clearly needed to get a lot of sleep very soon. The 2022 season was incredibly intense with all the QB comings and goings. We all saw the toll it took on everybody in the organization in the minutes after the loss in Philadelphia. And in Shanahan’s blunt answers during the presser with Lynch.

Since then, I presume Shanahan got to Cabo or San Diego and relaxed a bit with his family. But let’s presume that the adrenaline levels shot up again when Shanahan and Lynch heard about the Purdy surgery delay. I think Shanahan might have to dive into some research of potential veteran QB options. I think he and Lynch are due for more long conversations about their QB situation and how it balances against their draft-pick allotment, salary-cap plans and offensive identity.

Alas, I think this might make Shanahan a bit edgy again in his media appearances in the next few weeks, whether they come at the combine next week or the owners’ meetings after that. By the way, I never mind Cranky Kyle. I think we get a lot of information from all Shanahan variants, and the unfiltered version is often the most revealing. I’m just saying that he’s usually more tightly wound when the biggest decisions are tougher to make and that might be the case again this spring.

Again, this doesn’t need to be a transformative period for the franchise. The 49ers are set up nicely. This feels like the months after their trip to Super Bowl 54 — the last time they didn’t necessarily have major QB questions and seemed built to keep going deep in the postseason almost no matter what. And that’s the offseason they seriously considered signing Tom Brady and then stunningly traded DeForest Buckner.

So whaddya know?

This time around, I think Shanahan has been stressed out by running through three very different kinds of QBs in 2022, by a non-warm ending to his six-season relationship with Jimmy Garoppolo and by having to suffer through an NFC Championship Game without being able to call a pass for most of the second half. And now Shanahan has the stress of Purdy’s delayed surgery.

Have the 49ers already checked in with Tom Brady? (Last year, Brady unretired after 40 days. If he follows that schedule, maybe the 49ers give him a call on March 12.) Will the 49ers monitor the Aaron Rodgers situation? Can they gamble 2023 on two young QBs, both coming off of injuries, without a reliable veteran QB alongside them? This is stressful. And very important.

Prediction 2: Lance will have a very strong offseason​

Last offseason, Shanahan and Lynch set up Lance as QB1, then mostly just hoped he’d grow into the role after his relatively short college career and a rookie season sitting behind Garoppolo. It didn’t quite take: Lance has impressed everybody in the organization with his leadership skills, but there were definite struggles to run Shanahan’s offense smoothly during training camp and into the regular season.

It was striking last August, midway through camp, when Lance lined up the first-team offense out of the huddle but actually was in the wrong spot himself. Hey, you’re supposed to be in Pistol here, Kyle Juszczyk had to remind Lance. And Lance quickly realigned, got into the snap count and ran the play. But the timing was all messed up. You can’t have a QB confused about his own spot.

I don’t imagine there will be any more moments like that one this offseason and into camp. If Lance is healthy and relaxed in the offense, I think the 49ers will be very happy with what they see. It’ll take a lot for Lance to get into a true competition with Purdy for the permanent QB1 spot in 2023 after everything Purdy did at the end of last season, but 1) it’s possible if Lance looks great and 2) Purdy obviously might not be ready to practice or play for a while.

We’ll see how well Lance is moving around in OTAs in a few months, but he can definitely throw in most settings and go through all the mental reps he wants in meetings and on the field. And there’s never been a doubt about Lance’s character and work ethic.

Also: Purdy had Christian McCaffrey in 100 percent of his games last season. Lance had McCaffrey for zero percent. Now Lance will have a whole offseason to get in rhythm with McCaffrey and feel how much it helps to have the ultimate bail-out pass catcher on his side. Again, I don’t think Lance necessarily can jump ahead of Purdy on the unofficial QB depth chart this offseason, but Lance can set himself up to be far more than a consolation alternative.

Prediction 3: Garoppolo will sign with an NFC South team (either the Saints or Buccaneers)​

This isn’t exactly a 49ers prediction, since Garoppolo is a free agent, can’t be franchise-tagged by the 49ers and has been sent off publicly by Shanahan. But Garoppolo and the 49ers will always be tied together in some ways, and I think the 49ers executives, coaches and players will have a lot of interest in his next step.

I thought it would’ve been perfect if Garoppolo had ended up with the Steelerslast offseason, and I’ll bet that the Steelers, in retrospect, think that now, too. (One more win would’ve gotten them into the playoffs. They started Mitch Trubisky five times.)

But I’m not guessing the Steelers this time. They had their chance.

This offseason, I’m circling the Saints (remember the best game of Garoppolo’s career? At the Saints, Dec. 9, 2019, threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns in the 49ers’ monumental 48-46 victory) and the Buccaneers as the likeliest Garoppolo landing spots.

It just feels like Garoppolo is the kind of QB that a defensive-minded coach (like New Orleans’ Dennis Allen or Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles) would appreciate, especially since those two teams’ limited cap flexibility might keep them out of the top-market candidates.

Prediction 3: The 49ers will sign Jacoby Brissett as QB insurance​

Due to his strong ties with Shanahan from their Atlanta days, I’ve mentioned Matt Ryan as a potential option here. But I don’t know if, at 37 and coming off that weird one-year stint in Indianapolis, he’d relish walking into the 49ers’ QB room with two very talented young guys already owning key spots.

But the 49ers are going to need a pretty polished guy in there, especially after the Purdy surgery delay. There are simply too many question marks about Purdy and Lance at this point. Yes, I’ve repeatedly suggested that they’ll call Brady and did again earlier in this column. But if he’s really retired this time, the 49ers will need another option.

So I’ll go with Brissett, who is still only 30 but might be fine with a secondary (or third-dary?) role on a good team after he went 4-7 starting for the Brownslast season during Deshaun Watson’s suspension.

The hilarious thing is Garoppolo would be a good fit here again, like he was in 2022, except it’s not happening because it was kind of unbelievable he and the 49ers were willing to do it even last season.

 

[FakeNews]

Prediction 4: The 49ers will acquire a healthy DT to replace Javon Kinlaw, though they won’t announce it that way​

As exhausted as Shanahan and Lynch were with the QB injury effects last season, I can imagine they were almost as exhausted by having to deal with and maneuver around Kinlaw’s persistent knee issues, which have caused him to miss 26 games in his three NFL seasons, including 24 combined in 2021 and 2022.

The 49ers simply can’t bank on Kinlaw anymore, and it already cost a bit to count on him so much in 2022.

Think of this as a massive, multiyear ripple effect from the trading of Buckner, whom the 49ers hoped to replace with the draft pick they turned into Kinlaw. We know that the 49ers did this mainly to get value for Buckner before they had to pay him more than $20 million a year (and to use that saved money to re-sign Arik Armstead and Jimmie Ward). That sounded logical.

But three seasons later, the 49ers’ defense, as mentioned here by Matt Barrows, is lacking at multiple spots on the interior line. Kinlaw hasn’t been able to come close to replacing Buckner and never will. Which forced the 49ers to move Armstead off of the end and into a quasi-Buckner spot and Kinlaw to nose tackle (which meant letting good nose tackle D.J. Jones go to Denver as a free agent last offseason) — but oops, Armstead also isn’t as good as Buckner and got hurt in 2022. And even when he’s reasonably healthy, Kinlaw isn’t as good as Jones.

So the 49ers have a hole in the middle of their defensive line. It’s amazing they were the No. 1 defense in almost every big category (and No. 2 in yards allowed per rushing attempt) last season. Call that a tribute to Kris Kocurek’s ability to find journeymen and coach them up. But the 49ers need more pressure up the middle. And I don’t think it’s ever coming from Kinlaw. To that point, the 49ers aren’t likely to pick up his fifth-year option for 2024, also reported by Barrows. Which puts Kinlaw’s status for 2023 into some question, I’d think.

I don’t think the 49ers will consider releasing Kinlaw before training camp, but if he’s still not healthy enough to get through most of the practices or if he’s just getting beaten out by a few other DTs, it might be time to call this one as a sunk cost.

And I think the 49ers will target a very good defensive tackle in free agency, the same way they successfully targeted Charvarius Ward as a lead cornerback last offseason.

I’ve written that the lesson of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory is that winning titles now is all about offense, offense, offense. I think Shanahan and Lynch should definitely spend some money on the offensive line. But I think they might be ready to move on from Kinlaw, and if they do, they could use a talented big body as a replacement.

Could they do something wild like go after the Eagles’ Javon Hargrave with a mega-deal? He had 11 sacks in the 2022 regular season (11 more than Armstead and Kinlaw combined, FYI) and one in the playoffs against the 49ers. Hargrave isn’t young (30 years old) and probably would cost a ton, maybe more than Armstead’s $17 million per. If you combine that with Armstead’s current contract and Nick Bosa’s expected new monster extension, that would be a lot of money committed to three defensive linemen. But it’s also exactly how I’d guess Shanahan and Lynch would want to spend any excess cap space gained by their young QB situation.

The 49ers currently have about $8 million in cap space (via Overthecap.com), which isn’t a lot, but there’s always maneuverability with NFL payrolls. Also, a new Bosa deal would drop that considerably because long-term deals almost always spread the money out in a way that sets a low cap number for the first few years.

Prediction 5: The 49ers will re-sign Mike McGlinchey and Robbie Gould, but not Jimmie Ward​

Of course, I’m the guy who predicted they’d re-sign Laken Tomlinson, Raheem Mostert and Jones last offseason. Wrong! I’m consistently amazed by the dollars teams are willing to spend on veteran free agents every March, and I should also always remember that Lynch and Shanahan often won’t meet market price for their own guys, if they don’t think they’re difference-makers. That’s probably what the 49ers thought about Tomlinson (crazy money from the Jets), Mostert and Jones (solid money from the Dolphins and Broncos, respectively) last offseason.

I just can’t see McGlinchey getting $15-17 million a year from anybody, but I seem to be in the minority on this one. I sure didn’t think Tomlinson would get $13 million per last year. McGlinchey’s young (28), he’s great in the locker room, he can move. Maybe some other team really will throw huge money at him. Young starting tackles don’t hit the market very often. If that happens, I don’t think the 49ers will go that high. They’ve also got Colton McKivitz, who could move to right tackle.

But I’ll stick to my initial thoughts: The 49ers will value McGlinchey more than any other team and will get him back for something in the $9-12 million-per-year range (a lot higher than I estimated earlier this season, I admit). I think Robbie Gould will, as he usually does, flirt with retirement or leaving, but will re-sign for one last year with the 49ers. And I think they already made the long-term decision on Ward once they kept him at slot corner last season even though he loudly let it be known he’d rather play safety. Some team will be happy to pay him top safety money, Ward will leave and the 49ers will have to find a new slot corner.

Prediction 6: The 49ers will draft several offensive linemen in their first few picks​

It seems like he can play forever, but Trent Williams will turn 35 in July, and left tackle is not a position that can be filled by just anybody. Maybe the 49ers can count on interior linemen Spencer Burford, Aaron Banks and Jake Brendelinto the future, but maybe not. They’ll know about McGlinchey and the right-tackle spot before the draft, but you can always use depth at tackle or depth anywhere on the offensive line, really.

Also, teams can get solid offensive linemen in the middle of the draft, which is good for the 49ers, since they currently don’t have a pick until No. 99, the first of their three third-round compensatory picks.

The 49ers probably will take a defensive end with one of their top picks, but I think they’ll select at least two offensive linemen over the course of their 10-pick allotment.

​

 

[FakeNews]

Prediction 7: The 49ers won’t seriously consider trading Deebo Samuel, but they might do some groundwork for next offseason​

There was a recent burble of speculation that the Patriots were looking into a trade for Deebo. Who knows. Teams are supposed to explore everything, and even if the 49ers have very little intention of trading Deebo this offseason (and it’d be a large dead-cap hit if they do), you can’t control what other teams think or gossip about. Brandon Aiyuk is due for a new contract relatively soon, and the 49ers might not be interested in having two WRs near the top of the pay scale into the future.

But nobody offered the 49ers enough for Deebo after last season, when he was asking for a trade (before he got his large new deal) and he was coming off of a career season. He’s still very valuable to the 49ers — why would they even consider trading him unless they’re getting back something even more valuable? Which I don’t think is possible after Deebo missed four games and caught 56 passes for 632 yards and ran 42 times for 232 yards (down from his 2021 totals of 77 catches for 1,405 yards and 59 rushes for 365 yards).

At some point, though, it’s going to be tricky to keep all these expensive offensive players on the payroll for too much longer, as they all head into or past their prime playing years. Williams, McCaffrey, George Kittle and Juszczyk are at or near the top of the NFL pay scale at their positions in salary. Deebo is top 8 at WR. Aiyuk is due to be top 10-15 or so whenever he gets his new deal.

I think the 49ers might view McCaffrey and Deebo as slightly duplicative. It’s great to have them both, but do you want to be paying them both at the top of the market beyond next season, given the potential for injuries, a drop-off in performance or both for such heavy-duty playmakers?

The 49ers have already budgeted for them both in 2023. McCaffrey’s cap number is $12 million in 2023. Deebo’s is only $8.6 million. But Deebo’s cap number jumps to $28.6 million in 2024, when he’ll be 29. The 49ers can knock that number down with an extension that guarantees him more money, but would the 49ers really want to commit more to him heading into his 30s?

They’re not trading Deebo this offseason. But we’ve heard one little peep and might hear more of them because I think teams are testing out the 49ers’ thinking now to set up for something potentially bigger next offseason.

 

[Bryan Danielson]

Well damn to this page

 

[Bryan Danielson]

 

[Bryan Danielson]

This is crazy and about to drive @jwonder and VP @yseJ crazy



Not gonna lie, for a moment I was about to tag JW and our other J breh together to continue to build that bridge and repair that relationship.

But now not the time with this post.

Stay tuned though

 

[Bryan Danielson]

This is finna be like this in here in a couple of months

 

[Rekkapryde]

Trey gotta take it. Its put up or shut up young breh
And the locker room gotta stop acting like bytches and stand behind the kid

If Kyle gonna call the same fukkboi plays for Trey instead of the shyt he called for Brock, it won't matter.

 

[Mortal1]

Gawd damn self ether that burns slow

Its been a decade plus of almost winning with Harbough and Shanahan I'm sick of it breh.

 

[jwonder]

More Tom Brady rumors.

 

[FaTaL]

More Tom Brady rumors.

Really? I wouldn’t mind it for one year

 

[Dat916nigga]

Its been a decade plus of almost winning with Harbough and Shanahan I'm sick of it breh.

I get it. It's frustrating to get so close to winning the whole thing only to lose in the Title Game or the SB. But it can always be worse

I'd rather watch the Niners in the Harbaugh/Shanahan eras than the Erickson/Nolan/Singletary/Tomsula/Kelly eras. We had no shot of winning with those coaches and it was just boring to watch