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On Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers hit the practice field together for the first time since mid-June. Several players are talking Super Bowl. Now, you may be thinking, "This team isn't quite there yet. Why are they talking Super Bowl?"
As quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo told
Tyler Dunne of Bleacher Report this offseason, "If you don't have that on your mind, you have no chance of getting there."
Cornerback Richard Sherman, in his own unique fashion, elaborated on his quarterback's statement.
"If you don't believe you're going to win it, why play?" Sherman asked. "What the f--k is the point of playing if you don't think you're going to win it? Like, there's no point. Why go out there if, 'How do you think you guys will do?' 'Oh, I think we'll be middle of the road.' Like, what the f--k are you going to play for in the middle of the road?"
So, how close is this 49ers team? After three straight offseasons of rehauling the roster, they believe they are on the cusp of being something special. The players are a confident bunch. And that's really what you want to hear in late-July.
"We're just trying to try to get to .500," would be very disheartening for fans to hear.
While the team has adopted a Super-Bowl-or-bust mentality, NFL insiders believe San Francisco is still two years away from contending for a championship,
according to a recent survey by ESPN. The sports media conglomerate asked 52 unnamed NFL insiders to vote on when each NFL team could realistically be considered a Super Bowl contender.
Not "most improved." Not playoff contender. A
Super Bowl contender. As in walking away from a season with a Lombardi trophy in hand.
ESPN then put each team into tiers with distinct time frames, based on the results. Two more years for the 49ers is what the consensus was.
San Francisco sits in the same tier as the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, and four other teams.
ESPN's 49ers reporter, Nick Wagoner, says the 49ers' placement is based on the assumption that Garoppolo, who signed a then-record five-year deal worth up to $137.5 million last offseason, develops into a top-10 or top-12 quarterback and lives up to his contract.
Wagoner also wrote the following:
"There's an intriguing supporting cast in place and plenty of young potential. But it figures to be some time for all of that to come together, with gradual steps still to be taken to get to the middle of the pack and playoff contention before realizing any Super Bowl dreams."
Around the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams are seen as clear-cut contenders right now. The Seattle Seahawks are viewed as being a year away while the Arizona Cardinals are four or five years away from contention.
The Cincinnati Bengals, by the way, were the lone team in the lowest tier of "At least five years away." The 49ers play the Bengals in Week 2.
Click here to read the entire ESPN feature.
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, ESPN contributors have highlighted some prospects who have seen their draft stock rise throughout the evaluation process. Jordan Reid and Matt Miller pinpointed players who could hear their names called at the end of the first round.
Interestingly, both of the prospects identified by Reid and Miller play in the trenches but on different sides of the ball. The San Francisco 49ers are widely expected to draft an offensive lineman with their first selection—No. 31 overall. The team mostly ignored the group in free agency. However, it wouldn't surprise many people if the
According to Sports Illustrated contributor Noah Strackbein, who writes for "All Steelers" on the network, there's a level of confidence within the Pittsburgh Steelers organization that they can strike a deal for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk—and at a bargain rate.
"According to a team source, the Steelers and 49ers trade talks are real," Strackbein wrote. "While nothing is imminent, they 'would be surprised if it didn't happen.' But it all comes down to compensation, and Pittsburgh isn't willing to budge much on price."
While it seems unlikely that the 49ers would part ways with Aiyuk for anything less than a first-round draft
Matt Miller, a longtime San Francisco 49ers fan and ESPN analyst, recently conducted a mock draft using ESPN Analytics' mock draft simulator. Proud of his projections, Miller shared the results on social media.
Basically DOMINATED this mock draft for the 49ers.https://t.co/j7ag09VRAY pic.twitter.com/COOE0M1eku— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April
The news of Arik Armstead's departure from the San Francisco 49ers after nine seasons with the team shocked linebacker Fred Warner. Armstead, a former first-round pick, was an impactful force on the football field. However, his availability over the last two seasons forced the 49ers to reevaluate his contract, and when his salary could not be significantly reduced, the two sides parted ways.
"Huge surprise," Warner said of learning that Armstead was being released. "Ever since I've been here, we called him the blueprint for how to be a Niner. That was the longest-tenured Niner that's been here and a guy that's done it right through and through."
Warner has been in the NFL long enough to understand how the league works. Over the years, he's watched several
