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On Thursday,
Pro Football Focus gave us a
list of the top targets for quarterback-needy teams. With Colin Kaepernick expected to void his contract and test free agency and no other quarterback signed in 2017, the San Francisco 49ers are expected to be one of those teams. New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was on that list from
Pro Football Focus and the 49ers have long been expected to be one of the teams that might make a push to acquire him.
Another quarterback that has been linked to the 49ers is Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins. Of course, Washington is expected to place the franchise tag on Cousins, making the cost to acquire him two first-round draft picks and likely a blockbuster contract. While money is not really an issue for the 49ers, for a team that is talent depleted, surrendering the draft picks may be. The cost to acquire Garoppolo from the Patriots would likely be less than that of acquiring Cousins, which is why the New England quarterback's name has remained in the rumor mill.
The Cleveland Browns have already been reported as
one of the teams that might show interest in Garoppolo. Jason La Canfora of
CBS Sports has identified
another team that may give the 49ers a little competition should they choose to pursue Garoppolo – the Chicago Bears.
"The Chicago Bears will make a strong, concerted effort to acquire quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots, according to sources with knowledge of the situation," writes La Canfora. "The Illinois native is far and away their top offseason priority."
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Chicago is expected to move on from Jay Cutler, who coincidently has recently been vaguely linked to the 49ers as well. "Many teams view Garoppolo as the best option of all potential free-agent or trade targets, and the Bears will have competition," La Canfora continued. "Teams like the Browns, Jets and 49ers could provide opposition, but the Bears' intent and willingness to complete a trade could not be more serious."
According to La Canfora, the Bears have done extensive homework on Garoppolo and feel he is a quarterback who they can build around. "The Bears are prepared to engage in talks on Garoppolo at the combine later this month, or sooner if need be," writes La Canfora.
The 49ers have a new general manager, hiring former NFL safety John Lynch on Sunday. Soon, they will have a new head coach in Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, but his focus right now is Super Bowl LI. Lynch has promised to be more aggressive in acquiring talent and Shanahan will need a quarterback with whom to work.
Due to the four-game suspension of starting quarterback
Tom Brady, Garoppolo started two games for the Patriots to kick off the 2016 season. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown in New England's 23-21 Week 1 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Garoppolo was supposed to start all four games but was sidelined with a sprained AC joint during the second quarter of the Week 2 contest against the Miami Dolphins.
Garoppolo has a 107.4 career passer rating. Of course, that is just through 93 career passes. He has five touchdowns and no interceptions through a small sample size of 16 games and only two starts. Garoppolo has completed 67.7 percent of his career passes. No 49ers quarterback completed more than 59.2 percent of his passes in 2016.
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
