The 49ers will open training camp with rookies reporting on July 18th and veterans reporting on July 25th. The team's brass has done a good job of adding talent on all sides of the ball to where this could possibly be a Super Bowl championship squad and does not have a lot of questions. However, we can find a couple of concerns going into the new season.
Nick Bosa's contract extension
Re-signing Nick Bosa should be priority number one for the 49ers.
Bosa has not allowed contract talks to be a distraction, and the 49ers would be fools to let arguably the best defensive player walk at the end of the year. In four years with the team, Bosa was NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 2022 All-Pro, three-time Pro Bowler, and has 43 sacks.
At the NFL annual league meetings, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said the Defensive Player of the Year's contract extension deserves everything.
"We're going to address his contract at some point," Lynch said. "I know that it will take persistence, it will take patience."
Bosa's contract could be on par with Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman TJ Watt and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
Starting Quarterback
The question about who will be the starting quarterback for the 49ers is as repetitive as a Dallas Cowboy or Tom Brady segment of FS1's "Undisputed." This has been a question since Jimmy Garoppolo missed Emmanuel Sanders in Super Bowl LVI. Since then, rumors swirled around with Brady signing when he was a free agent and Aaron Rodgers or Kurt Cousins being traded to the team.
The 49ers made a splash when they traded up to the third pick of the 2021 draft to select Trey Lance to be the quarterback of the future. However, it appears Mr. Relevant, Brock Purdy, has claimed that role. Whoever the 49ers pick to be the quarterback will have to be able to make the big plays and the crucial throws down the stretch outside of their all-star roster.
In every big game the Niners played, the lack of play from the quarterback position has prevented the team from getting over the hump. The last couple of championship teams had a quarterback who was able to make the plays, and if the 49ers are going to win it all, either Purdy or Lance will have to do it.
Is Colton McKivitz the answer at right tackle
A championship team starts up front with the offensive line. Many great NFL teams had a dominant offensive line to lead the way to a Super Bowl victory. The 49ers let offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey walk in free agency to Denver, and offensive line coach Chris Foerster has confirmed Colton McKivitz will start at right tackle. Foerster said McKivitz has done a great job for the 49ers.
"He's (McKivitz) always had to fill in short spells and has done a good job for us," Foerster said. "I think that knowing the job is his coming into it, and it's his job to lose, kind of. Although, there will be guys that are there to compete if it doesn't work out. I think it is also going to help build his confidence. He is good for the position."
McKivitz started the Week 4 victory last season, going against the Los Angeles Rams in place of All-Pro Trent Williams. He kept all-world defensive player Aaron Donald at bay with no sacks and one quarterback hit.
Since being drafted with the 49ers, McKivitz has played either guard or tackle in 28 games, starting five.
Watch out for Spencer Waege
Running back Jordan Mason was an instant fan favorite who made the team with his hard running and averaging 4.3 yards per game in the 2022 preseason and during the regular season.
This year's fan-favorite could be undrafted free agent rookie defensive linemen Spencer Waege from North Dakota State. Waege, who was projected to be a late pick in this year's NFL Draft, went undrafted but was picked up by San Francisco. Despite playing in the Missouri Valley football conference, Waege could benefit from the strongest defensive line in the NFL with Bosa, Arik Armstead, and free agent signings Javon Hargrave and Clelin Ferrell.
In his five years with the Bison, Waege's intensity would line up inside and on the edge. As a three-year starter, he had 138 tackles and 20.5 sacks.
Spencer Waege (NDSU)
Played on the edge in college but bulked up for his pro day. These numbers are insane
6'5
295 lbs
4.91 40
1.66 10 yard split
32" vert
7.19 3 cone
9.58 RAS scoreI am willing to take a flyer pic.twitter.com/neA3NbGJtt
— Chicago Football Connection (@CFCBears) April 27, 2023
Is the Super Bowl window closing?
This is the billion-dollar question, as 49ers fans do not want to ask this. Is their championship window closing? Despite making three NFC Championship appearances in four years with one Super Bowl loss, it could possibly be a waste of a talented roster. Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano said the 49ers are in win-now mode since trading 2022 and 2023 first-round picks for Trey Lance and trading this year's second, third, and fourth-round picks for Christian McCaffrey and adding Hargrave in free agency.
"49ers general manager John Lynch has been aggressive, and the results have been three NFC championship game appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl in the past four seasons, but that's not the end game," Manzano wrote.
The 49ers are talented on all sides of the ball, but this team is Super Bowl or bust. 49ers greats Jerry Rice and Steve Young said the championship window would close, so they might as well win it now.
"We're going to win it now," Rice said. "You don't want to come out and say that, but you've got to have the confidence. We have all the pieces right now. I don't want any more years just getting to the championship. I want to see them win the whole thing."
"We've had a window for four or five years now where we have it all," said Young. "Let's go get it."
If the 49ers do not win with these players, they could have wasted one of the best rosters ever assembled next to the 90's Buffalo Bills, 1998 Minnesota Vikings, 2000's Philadelphia Eagles, and the 05 Chicago Bears.
