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The San Francisco 49ers acquired Marqise Lee on Monday after the veteran wide receiver did enough during a tryout over the weekend to impress the team. NFL trade rumors continue to surround another veteran wide receiver — Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons. The San Francisco 49ers haven't been directly linked to Jones, but the team is almost always discussed as a potential landing spot whenever a talented player becomes (or potentially becomes) available.
Quarterback Matt Ryan doesn't want to imagine what the Falcons offense might look like without his future Hall of Fame receiver.
"He's probably impacted my career more significantly than any other player," Ryan said this week
via The Athletic.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is very familiar with Jones. He had the opportunity to work with the seven-time Pro Bowler during his two seasons as the Falcons offensive coordinator. Jones obviously made an impression on the coach.
"If there's a Julio Jones available and you have the opportunity to get him, you go get him,"
Shanahan said in 2018. "It's worth it. Whatever the price is, whatever the draft pick is, go get him."
Does Shanahan feel the same way three years later? Jones continues to be productive. Before this past season, when he was limited to nine games due to a lingering hamstring injury, the wideout posted six consecutive seasons of 1,394-or-more receiving yards. He ranks No. 20 all-time in accumulated receiving yards.
There is little question that San Francisco would probably welcome the opportunity to acquire Jones. Any team would. The question is whether it has anything enticing enough to pry away the receiver from Atlanta. The team doesn't have a first-round pick in either of the next two drafts, thanks to the trade to draft quarterback
Trey Lance. San Francisco has some talent on its roster but probably wants to hold on to its young cornerstones.
Jones is also scheduled to earn $15.3 million in 2021, per OverTheCap.com. That is a significant chunk of change. However, if the 49ers feel adding an All-Pro receiver significantly increases their chances of winning a championship, EVP of football operations Paraag Marathe could probably work some salary-cap magic.
Shanahan spoke with Michael Irvin on the former NFL receiver's podcast last week and was asked about San Francisco always being linked to potentially available players, and more specifically, about Jones. The 49ers coach was careful with his words after Irvin was done praising the receiver. After all, Jones is on another roster, and the league has rules against tampering.
"Julio Jones, for everybody, especially if you had a chance to coach him, he's what you're saying and more," Shanahan said. "I mean, the dude is one-of-a-kind. He makes coaching a lot —
a lot — easier. That's why everyone feels the same about Julio. That's why I don't worry about saying that. That's like common knowledge. Everyone knows Julio is on a different level. That's why he's a special guy.
"And I don't know what their situation is, but I do know everyone feels that way about Julio. ... Watch him, and any person will see for themselves that he is a different dude."
Shanahan added that he is fortunate to have worked with two receivers like that over his coaching career, which intrigued Irvin. Who could the 49ers coach possibly be comparing to Jones?
"Julio is different than everyone, but the guy that I had closest to him was Andre Johnson," Shanahan shared.
Irvin agreed.
"I was a receiver coach with Andre. I was 26," Shanahan continued. "He and [Eric] Moulds. It was an awesome group. I got to coach [Johnson] for a couple of years. Dre is my guy. Dre was the first 'Julio' that I had been around, and now you've got Julio. You look at guys like DK (Metcalf) and stuff, and you're like, 'How many more of these guys are coming?'"
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below. It begins at about the 26-minute mark.
The San Francisco 49ers are entangled in yet another quarterback controversy, with Brock Purdy at the forefront of the talk due to a UCL injury that he sustained during the team's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Given the rarity of the injury to a quarterback in the NFL, the 49ers have stressed caution on Purdy's recovery timetable, while expressing optimism about his return by the beginning of the season.
Speaking with former NFL offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, respected sports medicine doctor Jess Flynn, who has worked with NFL teams, shared that the 49ers should expect Purdy to return to his former self once back from injury.
"When he does come back, studies show that you should expect a similar level of play compared to before the
Brock Purdy is trending towards being the Week 1 starter for the San Francisco 49ers when they open their season at Acrisure Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers—and Purdy isn't even practicing yet. The second-year player is still recovering from his March 10 surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow and may not get on the practice field until late August.
That leaves third-year quarterback Trey Lance to compete with another former No. 3 overall pick, Sam Darnold, for the QB2 job and maybe the Week 1 starter should there be any setbacks in Purdy's recovery. Lance started the 2022 season as the 49ers' starting quarterback but suffered
You've heard stories about San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan installing a play and breaking down exactly how he expects the defense to react. Then, when the players execute the play, everything occurs as the coach explained, as if he had a crystal ball to predict the outcome.
Shanahan is a confident play-caller, emphasizing execution by his players to ensure everything goes as planned. The 49ers acquired a big-time playmaker last season, trading for star running back Christian McCaffrey, who had already established himself as one of the most versatile players in the league.
Even McCaffrey marvels at the things his play-caller comes up
The San Francisco 49ers had a significant change this offseason, letting go of several key starters, such as Mike McGlinchey and Jimmie Ward, who earned lucrative multi-year deals elsewhere.
That left the 49ers with a void at the right tackle position, where the team didn't add any significant talent in free agency or the NFL Draft, meaning that Colton McKivitz is the odds-on favorite to be the starter at the position.
Speaking to the media for the first time this offseason, offensive line coach Chris Foerster praised the swing tackle, pointing out his value in spot duty and that it's McKivitz's job to lose, which should help build his confidence in a crucial year.
"Colton, he's done a great job for us through the years he's been here,"
