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The San Francisco 49ers are far from the best team within the NFC West. At 4-6, they sit at the bottom of the division, looking up at the slugfest for first place between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks. The Arizona Cardinals are in a close second-place spot.
Of course, injuries have been a significant part of the 49ers' storyline this season. The roster has been decimated unlike any in recent memory, and the defending NFC champions look almost unrecognizable on the football field.
A healthy 49ers team probably would be in the thick of things. That's what Peter King of NBC Sports believes. In fact, a healthy Niners squad may have once again been the measuring stick of the division.
Unfortunately for head coach Kyle Shanahan and his squad, this season's high hopes may have to wait until 2021.
"They definitely could be the best team in the division next year. Absolutely," King said on the
Damon, Ratto & Kolsky show. "I'm not saying they will be, but they could be if they get
(Jimmy) Garoppolo straightened out."
King believes Shanahan and the 49ers will have to at least discuss the quarterback situation during the upcoming offseason but feels Garoppolo will probably return next year. Much of that might depend on San Francisco's draft position next April, but the veteran writer sees offensive tackle and cornerback as two of the team's top draft needs.
"I think this is a very important offseason, as weird as it may be because of COVID and those other restrictions about how much you can work with players, but this is a really important offseason for the Niners at that position," King noted. "You also have to say it's important to get these guys who were such vital players back healthy.
"Look, I don't know that it's realistic to expect that Richard Sherman can give you one more top-six or -eight cornerback year, but the Niners need that. And I think if Sherman and
(Nick) Bosa come back -- Bosa, I would expect, would be every bit as good as he was (last year).
"If Richard Sherman can come back next year, and be very close to what he has been as a Niner, there's no reason to think -- and add in
Fred Warner and the other talent that they have -- there's absolutely no reason to think that they can't be and won't be the best team in that division because if they were uninjured right now, if they had the sort of physical balance sheet of a team like, let's say the Rams, I mean, really, who would be better right now? The 49ers or the Rams?
"The Rams would be very, very competitive. But if the Niners had Sherman, Bosa, Garoppolo,
(George) Kittle right now playing, I'd take them over the Rams."
The 49ers and Rams are set to clash on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
You can listen to the entire conversation with King below.
Rohan Chakravarthi and Marco Martinez discuss the San Francisco 49ers Week 2 win against the Los Angeles Rams and how good they truly are in comparison with teams in the NFL.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
Are the 49ers the best team in the NFL after Rams
This week's focus remains on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The team has a short week to prepare for its next opponent—the New York Giants on Thursday night at Levi's Stadium. The matchup comes just four days after the Niners' 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Aiyuk suffered a shoulder injury on his first catch, a 13-yard reception during San Francisco's opening drive. He was in and out of the lineup throughout the game and was limited during the 49ers' light Tuesday practice.
On Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the decision will come down to how Aiyuk feels and the evaluation from the training staff. It sounds like the receiver may end up being a
The San Francisco 49ers have now won 12 consecutive regular-season games, just three games shy of tying the 15-game record set between the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Sunday's 30-23 win against the Los Angeles Rams may not have been the prettiest of victories, but Kyle Shanahan's squad improved to 2-0 on the season and sit alone atop the NFC West.
The 49ers managed to beat their division rival despite quarterback Brock Purdy having arguably his most unimpressive game as a starter. He finished the game 17-of-25 for 206 yards and a passer rating of 93.1, a new regular-season career-low as a starter.
Meanwhile, running back Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL with 268 rushing yards and ranks second only to wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings in
The San Francisco 49ers plan to keep the band together for a long time. The team announced that it has agreed to multi-year contract extensions with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
Details of the contracts are currently unknown. Before the new deals, Shanahan had been signed through the 2025 season, while Lynch was locked up through the 2024 season. They will now remain with the team longer than that.
The 49ers Communications staff provided the following rundown.
The duo joined the 49ers in February of 2017 and have since led the organization to the postseason three times, claimed two NFC West division titles (2019 & 2022), reached three NFC Championship games (2019 & 2021-22) and a trip to Super Bowl
