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Richie James. Not, Richie James Jr. We hear you loud and clear. The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver said he prefers the former to the latter.
James had an impressive outing last week against the Green Bay Packers, hauling in a career-high nine passes for 184 yards (also a career-high) with a touchdown. No one was even sure he would play. Under normal circumstances, he might not have. Last week was far from normal circumstances, though. Of course, the same can be said of this entire injury-plagued season.
James was listed as "questionable" to play due to an ankle injury. However, the 49ers had just one other healthy receiver,
Trent Taylor, on the roster before elevating two others from the practice squad hours before kickoff.
"I'd say I'm about 95 percent (healthy),"
James told reporters after the game. "But I'm willing to do everything I could to help my team. So, if I've got to get out there and play on a 95 percent ankle, I will. That's just what I did."
Three of James' nine catches against the Packers went for 40-or-more yards. He became the first player to accomplish that since Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver
Tyreek Hill did so against the New York Jets in 2017. James is the first 49ers player to do it since the legendary Jerry Rice in 1995.
What does James think of the achievement?
"That's why they call him the G.O.A.T. for a reason," James said Thursday on KNBR's
Murph & Mac show. "It's just unreal."
James was also informed that his single-game catches and yards totals put him in the elite company of four other former 49ers players, including Rice. The others are Anquan Boldin, Terrell Owens, and John Taylor.
"Elite company, obviously," James commented. "That's something you want to continue to do. That's my motivation, trying to continue to go on that path of just kind of bringing my game out and being better than I was the week before.
"That's elite company, but you can only do so much, and you can only get better. So, I want to reach my ceiling, keep continuing to try to reach my ceiling. That's my goal."
Speaking of Rice, the Hall of Famer was impressed with James' breakout game.
"I was like, 'Where has this guy been?'"
Rice said this week. "He shows flashes now and then, but just watching him really run his routes, get separation -- he caught one over the middle, and I'm a tough guy. When you catch a ball over the middle like that, you want to get downfield, and you want to put six on the board. I really thought he was going to score that one, but overall, he had a great football game, and maybe this can really boost his confidence and get us going."
You can listen to the entire KNBR interview with James below.
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
Analyst Dane Brugler recently revealed his seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, forecasting all 257 selections in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, set to kick off next week.
"Piecing together a mock like this is time consuming, but I enjoy the exercise, because it allows me to focus on each team's needs, organizational trends and prospect-team pairings that make sense based on '30' visits, league buzz and overall interest," Brugler wrote.
Most expect the 49ers to address the trenches early in the draft, and Brugler has the team doing that. It's just not on the offensive side of the football. In fact, Brugler doesn't have San Francisco
