49ers officially sign Alex Smith, Ray McDonald and Tony Wragge; LaBoy goes to Chargers

It's premature to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on practices in May. That is especially true when you do so based on one practice. The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week, and all eyes were on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold. The two players are battling for that QB2 job behind last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy. One could even start Week 1 if Purdy is not healthy enough to do so himself. Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury but looks completely healthy now. Darnold is trying to turn his career around after never living up to his high draft status. Matt Barrows of The Athletic was on hand for Tuesday's practice, the only one open to reporters so far, and one that Barrows describes as a

Sometimes who is teaching is as important as what is being taught Earlier this week, when the San Francisco 49ers opened up an OTAs session to the media, most of the eyes, in person and online, were on third-year quarterback Trey Lance's new delivery. Lance, of course, had been working with QB guru, Jeff Christensen, and thanks to some leaked footage of Lance throwing with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, along with a very well-timed piece by Matt Barrows in The Athletic, there was plenty of

The San Francisco 49ers finalized their preseason schedule, announcing the dates and times for all three exhibition games, along with the broadcast information. We already knew the dates and times of the final two preseason matchups. The Los Angeles Chargers revealed the details of the preseason finale on May 16. The next day, the Denver Broncos announced the date and time of their matchup against the 49ers. That left the preseason opener against the Raiders, the lone preseason road game for the Niners, as the only unknown. The two teams open their exhibition schedules at Allegiant Stadium in Las

Arik Armstead is looking forward to the upcoming season. There is a lot to look forward to. His San Francisco 49ers have been to the NFC Championship Game three times over the past four seasons. They once again have a competitive roster and look to make another run at a Super Bowl championship. Armstead joined Adam Schefter on the ESPN insider's podcast, discussing several 49ers-related topics. New defensive coordinator Steve Wilks Steve Wilks replaces DeMeco Ryans as defensive coordinator. Armstead had nothing but praise for his former coordinator, who left to be the Houston Texans' head coach, but looks forward to working with Wilks. Wilks isn't expected to make any drastic changes in his first season helming the 49ers defense.