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It's not easy being an NFL quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo knows that. Just a year ago, he was in the Super Bowl. Weeks later, he had to watch every sports media outlet talking about the chances of his San Francisco 49ers replacing him with
Tom Brady.
This offseason is no different.
The 49ers looked into
Matthew Stafford, reportedly never officially offering a trade package, but there were probably conversations both internally and with the Detroit Lions. San Francisco has been linked (by speculation) to nearly every trade rumor involving a quarterback.
"I think it's speculation. I think it's rumors. I think it's chatter," Kittle said this week on the
AP Pro Football Podcast. "I think people on social media like to talk about things that I don't know if they have any idea about. Being in the building, being in the locker room, I don't really hear anything in there. So I'm just confident in my quarterback. When he's healthy, he's a hell of a football player."
Those words echo what Kittle has said all offseason, and mostly this week as the All-Pro tight end promotes his endorsements before Super Bowl LV. He has a lot of faith in his quarterback, whom everyone appears ready to replace. Kittle feels Garoppolo is good at blocking all of the outside noise, though.
"I have not talked to Jimmy about it," Kittle continued, "but I think it's his second or third year of dealing with these exact same rumors every single offseason. And he just comes back to work, and he just goes back, and he plays, and I'm not worried about it. I think Jimmy's a grown man, and he can deal with that, and he's a hell of a quarterback, like I said."
Garoppolo remains signed through the 2022 season and has a no-trade clause within his contract for this year. That means, if the 49ers were looking to trade the quarterback, he would have to approve of his destination. However, his team-friendly contract is structured so that trading or even releasing Garoppolo would have little impact on San Francisco's salary cap.
In 2019, Garoppolo started all 16 games for the first time during his pro career, helping guide the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance. He has missed 23 games over the past three seasons, though, missing 10 games this past season due to ankle injuries. That wasn't the only reason for the Super Bowl hangover. Garoppolo wasn't the only injury. Add names like
Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Raheem Mostert,
Deebo Samuel, and Kittle to the list. Each of them missed at least half of the season.
"I feel like we had about 15 guys on [injured reserve] by Week 2 or 3," Kittle said. "When you have that many injuries, especially to key players ... we lost a lot of guys early, and I think it just kind of prohibited us from getting that unity, getting that flow going as an offense.
"Our defense played at a high level all year, despite all the guys that they missed, but we just had so many guys in and out of the huddle early on offense. I think that was a struggle for us, especially because we have a young team on offense as well. So you just got to stay healthy, and really I'm not worried about anything else other than that."
George Kittle recently spoke with ESPN during the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, where he joined other NFL stars for the golfing event. Of course, the conversation shifted toward football, with Laura Rutledge asking Kittle to reflect on the team's 2023 season, its Super Bowl defeat, and the motivation it provides for the upcoming season.
The tight end believes San Francisco maintained a competitive roster this offseason and is gearing up for another run at a championship. He emphasized the importance of maintaining good health and continual improvement for a successful upcoming season.
"Brock Purdy is a fantastic quarterback, and he's only going to get better because he's young," Kittle said. "And we were fortunate enough to be able to keep our entire
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
