49ers release Masoli, Scaccia

What will the San Francisco 49ers do with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo? The simple answer is that the team will retain his services, should a perceived upgrade not present itself. If a perceived upgrade is acquired, then the team will likely try to shop the quarterback. "Most presume he'll be traded," wrote Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Tuesday. "But here's the question: If the 49ers don't want to keep Garoppolo at the balance of his current contract, who would trade for the thing?" The New England Patriots would likely welcome back Garoppolo with open arms — for the right price. They have the cap space to absorb his salary.

If the San Francisco 49ers don't make a move for a quarterback in this year's draft, many can envision the team going after a cornerback or adding another defensive end. Several of San Francisco's top cornerbacks are scheduled to become free agents. It's a list that includes Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, and K'Waun Williams. The 49ers didn't have their top two pass rushers — Nick Bosa or Dee Ford — for most of last season. Bosa is rehabbing an ACL injury, while the status of Ford's back and neck injuries remains unclear. If Ford isn't healthy by April 1, San Francisco will be on the hook for a significant portion of his 2021 salary — $11.6 million — regardless of whether he is on the roster. Rather than target one of these positions,

Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic made 10 bold NFL predictions for this offseason, and two of them involved the San Francisco 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo has to be the odds-on favorite to be the team's starting quarterback in 2021, but fans and the media continue to keep an eye on what's happening in Houston with Deshaun Watson. After all, if anything can tempt Kyle Shanahan to move on from Garoppolo, it might be the thought of adding an exciting playmaker like Watson to his offense. Kapadia admits that several things could happen in Houston that keep Watson from being traded. Maybe the two sides reconcile and move forward. Maybe the star quarterback decides to push

Justin Melo of The Draft Network provided yet another intriguing nugget from last month's Senior Bowl. He says University of Minnesota cornerback Benjamin St-Juste named the San Francisco 49ers among the teams that he felt he had a "great connection" with during meetings leading to the annual collegiate all-star game. St-Juste also mentioned the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers, per Melo. 🇨🇦 native &