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Former San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley, now retired, spoke with former NFL running back Michael Robinson during the latest
NFL Total Access: The Locker Room podcast. Of course, the topic of the quarterback situation came up. Last week, the Niners traded up to the No. 3 spot in this year's draft. It is a given that the team is targeting its quarterback of the future. Of course, that signals the eventual departure of a locker-room favorite—Jimmy Garoppolo.
If the 49ers are to be believed, the transition won't happen this year, though. The plan is to keep Garoppolo for the upcoming season, allowing the rookie—whoever he may be—to sit and learn for a year. The team freed up enough salary-cap space to afford the luxury of holding onto Garoppolo for at least another year.
The 49ers win when Garoppolo plays. He is 24-9 as a starter. Robinson asked Staley about the doubt surrounding the quarterback, and the former offensive lineman provided an honest response.
"He took us to the Super Bowl. He was the quarterback when we went to the Super Bowl," Staley said. "I think one of the things you said was, 'When he plays.' I think in any position, if you miss a lot of games, I think the old cliché is, 'The best ability is availability.' There's a double-edged sword to that because if you're
Tom Brady and Dew Brees, I don't care how often you get hurt, but you're going to still be the starting quarterback. I think maybe that's a little bit [of the reason].
"... I think, two, the way contracts are structured these days in the NFL, you're almost better off having a rookie quarterback on a rookie deal and kind of building a team around him. If you look at the quarterbacks [who have] been in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady's probably the only one that's not on a rookie deal that has been there. ... I think Pat [Mahomes] was on his."
Robinson added that quarterback
Russell Wilson was on his rookie deal when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
"I think it's just the way the NFL works now," Staley continued. "I think everybody's kind of looking for the newest and greatest, and I think the one thing, too, is Kyle. I mean, I think any head coach wants this, especially when you're such an offensive-minded guy, like Kyle Shanahan is, is that he would love to kind of hand-pick his own guy.
"And I think, just looking from my perspective ... there seems like there's a lot of great quarterback options out there this year, in this year's draft. Obviously, they are excited about probably three of them if they're trading up to three. Maybe they've got three guys that they think are hand-picked guys that they could go for the next four or five or six years, be very, very competitive."
Staley adds that the 49ers have to be thinking about the massive contracts that will eventually need to be handed to linebacker
Fred Warner and defensive end
Nick Bosa. That's tougher to do when so much of your salary cap is invested in one quarterback.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Staley below.
Today, NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah spoke to the media during a nearly two-hour conference call, fielding questions about the 2024 NFL Draft. One question surrounded the possibility of the San Francisco 49ers trading up in the first round to increase their chances of landing an impact player.
Depending on the 49ers' priorities, Jeremiah only believes a significant move is necessary if the team tries to target a couple of defensive positions.
"I mean, they've got a nice haul of picks here, so if they want to move up, they absolutely have the ammunition to do so," Jeremiah stated. "I just think when you look at the needs that they have and some of the different areas that they could go, if you're thinking about corners and edge rushers, maybe you miss
Brock Purdy set a San Francisco 49ers single-season record in 2023, throwing for 4,280 passing yards. Many of those yards came on passes to his top target, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who amassed a team-leading and career-high 1,342 receiving yards.
Purdy and Aiyuk have developed great chemistry on the football field, and the quarterback would like to build upon that for years to come. However, that is out of his control, and Aiyuk's future is in the hands of the front office.
RELATED: John Lynch sends clear message regarding Brandon Aiyuk's future
Purdy trusts the process, acknowledging that the 49ers' decision-makers have done a commendable job
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
