Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
With the current state of the Atlanta Falcons, the struggles of the San Francisco 49ers, and the criticisms of Jimmy Garoppolo, the chatter linking head coach Kyle Shanahan to his former quarterback, Matt Ryan, was inevitable.
One FS1 analyst, Nick Wright of
First Things First, feels a reunion between Shanahan and Ryan makes obvious sense.
"I would be gobsmacked ... if he's traded before the deadline," Wright said. "But whether it's before the deadline or in the offseason, there's one obvious place for Matt Ryan, and it's San Francisco. We know they don't like their quarterback, [Ryan] won an MVP with Kyle Shanahan, he knows the system, and San Francisco can get off Jimmy G's contract at the end of this year, easily.
"If you're the rest of the NFC, and San Francisco has a bit of a setback year, all of the injuries, Super Bowl hangover, Jimmy G doesn't get better, and all of a sudden, it's that system with [
Nick Bosa] back from injury, Solomon Thomas back, and Matt Ryan with those guys, to me, San Francisco goes right back to where they were last year as the favorites in the NFC."
While Garoppolo has struggled this season, he has also dealt with a high-ankle sprain that forced him to miss two games and underperform during his Week 5 return. The quarterback played much better during San Francisco's 24-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Garoppolo's ankle is feeling better this week, and the quarterback didn't appear on the team's injury report on Wednesday.
"It's definitely made some big jumps since last week,"
Garoppolo said Wednesday morning during a KNBR interview, "and it will just keep getting better."
Ryan, on the other hand, had an MVP season and the best year of his career in 2016 under Shanahan, completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He has completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,843 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions through six games this season.
Even if Shanahan and the 49ers were interested, one obstacle for the Falcons might be the cap hit they would absorb by trading Ryan, who has three years remaining in his $150 million contract after this season.
"Action doesn't always happen,"
Shanahan said this week when asked about the possibility of a mid-season trade for some roster help, as they did last season to acquire Emmanuel Sanders and in 2017 to get Garoppolo. "We're not in the mood to just giving up a bunch of our draft picks either. We had to do that last year to make a number of key moves that I think helped us, but we also don't want another draft to where we don't have too many picks."
New San Francisco 49ers cornerback Isaiah Oliver is coming from the Atlanta Falcons. While in the NFC South, he's faced quarterback Sam Darnold, now his teammate.
The 49ers are in their second week of organized team activities (OTAs), and Oliver has had a chance this offseason to get a good look at Darnold and third-year quarterback Trey Lance during practices. So what has he taken away from going against the two former No. 3 overall draft picks?
"I mean, they're both really good quarterbacks," Oliver told reporters on Wednesday. "Obviously, I've played against Sam a few times. I haven't played against Trey before, so just kind of seeing him [for the first time]. But yeah, they're both just real athletic guys. I feel like a lot of people don't respect that
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead joined NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Thursday to discuss the state of the team at the start of organized team activities (OTAs). Armstead is part of a defensive line that includes NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and added former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The question that had to be asked: Does San Francisco own the best defensive line in football?
"Well, on paper, I guess you could say that, but 'on paper' doesn't win any game," Armstead responded. "But we're excited about getting together and starting that journey of
It's premature to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on practices in May. That is especially true when you do so based on one practice. The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week, and all eyes were on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
The two players are battling for that QB2 job behind last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy. One could even start Week 1 if Purdy is not healthy enough to do so himself.
Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury but looks completely healthy now. Darnold is trying to turn his career around after never living up to his high draft status.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic was on hand for Tuesday's practice, the only one open to reporters so far, and one that Barrows describes as a
One of the biggest criticisms about Jimmy Garoppolo has been his availability. The quarterback wins football games but has been available for an entire season just once in his career—in 2019.
Garoppolo's latest injury occurred on December 4 while with the San Francisco 49ers. The veteran left a regular-season game against the Miami Dolphins with a foot injury. It was later revealed that he suffered a broken foot and would miss significant time. However, it wasn't believed to require surgery.
That led to the emergence of Brock Purdy, the seventh-round draft pick that took the NFL by storm. He led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game before suffering an injury himself.
Garoppolo remained on the 49ers' 53-man roster through all that. The 49ers
