49ers release Nate Davis, sign Troy Smith

Retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith will forever be remembered for the courage it took to return to the league after suffering a horrific leg injury that nearly cost him his life. While with Washington, Smith sustained a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg. Many assumed the injury was career-ending. Smith returned to the football field in 2020, earning NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors before retiring last offseason. On Saturday, Smith shared the story of his family's latest struggle. In May, his daughter, Sloane, had to undergo brain surgery to remove a large and rare type of cancerous tumor. The good news is that neurosurgeons removed the entire tumor, and it sounds like Sloane is recovering well. Smith

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was a hot pick last year as a candidate primed to have a breakout season. Instead, it was third-year wideout Deebo Samuel who emerged as one of the best in the game. Aiyuk was slow out of the gate, hauling in just one pass for six yards in the Niners' first two games. He played just 51 percent of the offensive snaps through Week 2. Aiyuk finished the season strong, playing at least 90 percent of the offensive snaps in each game starting in Week 9. He amassed 43 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns during that span. Can Aiyuk have a Samuel-like breakout season in his third year—minus the running back snaps. One thousand, four hundred five of Samuel's 1,770 all-purpose yards came as a receiver. In 2021,

The good news? We're about five weeks away from 49ers training camp. The bad news? We're about five weeks away from 49ers training camp. We are now in the slowest, most boring time of the year for football fans. But we have you covered. We asked San Francisco 49ers fans for their hot takes or predictions regarding the team. Several responded. And now we're going to expose them (sorry—I meant "respond to" them). Let's get to it! Michael Arbios: Hot take is shouldn't have passed on Brady twice and keep Garoppolo, as Lance isn't ready to be the starter as proven by his poor play in the two games he started last season. I'm not sure how 'hot' this take is, due to its age, but I agree that the 49ers should have traded Jimmy Garoppolo

The San Francisco 49ers have come close to hoisting the franchise's sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy. They fell just short during the 2012 season, losing 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens. Seven years later, they fell short again, collapsing in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl and watching as the Kansas City Chiefs celebrated a championship. Last season, the 49ers were a play or two away from returning to sports' biggest stage, falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game. San Francisco can't get over the hump. On Monday, the Bay Area celebrated the Golden State Warriors' seventh championship as thousands of fans swarmed Market Street for the parade. It's an inspiring sight for the championship-hungry 49ers. "Yeah,