Often, you can read the headline of a story and immediately know who the author is. Some headlines by Matt Barrows of the
Sacramento Bee will
include his uniquely fun brand of wit. Tim Kawakami often seems like he is trying to
break records for the most words in a headline. Then there are the headlines from
Pro Football Talk. If it sounds like a negative take on a San Francisco 49ers topic, it will most likely be a Mike Florio article. However, one of his most recent articles was a pleasant surprise.
On Thursday, Brian Baldinger
said on 97.5 The Fanatic, a Philadelphia radio station, "I already hear there's problems in the building between Chip and Baalke." He was referring to new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly and team general manager Trent Baalke. Given the source, which we will get to shortly, most within the media dismissed the quote and went on with their day. When a
story on the topic emerged Friday on Pro Football Talk, fans likely groaned and figured that it was Florio adding fuel to the fire and trying to make a story out of something others had just ignored. Actually, what Florio wrote was the exact opposite and somewhat refreshing considering it was coming from the national media.
Florio started his article by stating that the only reason he was addressing it was because he was receiving so many reader submissions.
"NFL analysts hear a lot of things. And just because they hear things, it doesn't mean those things they hear are accurate," said Florio regarding the Baldinger quote. He went on to say, "So I'll wait until a reporter from
NFL Network or
ESPN or
FOX Sports or
CSNBayArea.com or the
Sacramento Bee or the
Bay Area News Group or the
San Francisco Chronicle reports this before concluding that it's true. Or I'll wait until I've heard the same something from a sufficiently reliable source or sources."
He would end the article saying, "While it may be inevitable that problems arise between a coach and G.M. whose marriage feels like a ceremony that involved a shotgun, it seems too early for problems to arise, especially since Kelly is smart enough to realize that he needs to conduct himself differently than he did in Philadelphia."
On Friday, Matt Barrows of the
Sacramento Bee also
shared his thoughts on the topic when asked by a reader. He had the following to say.
"Well, you have to first consider the source. Brian Baldinger (Fox Sports NFL analyst; Eagles preseason TV analyst) is affiliated with the Eagles, who have been tripping over themselves to undermine Chip Kelly since he left town. One probably should take anything the Hatfields say about the McCoys with a grain of salt.
"Kelly and Baalke were hanging out next to one another during the 49ers' recent pro day – they were watching Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan throw passes to receivers, including Stanford's Devon Cajuste – and seemed to be perfectly chummy."
Barrows would go on to speculate that the Colin Kaepernick situation might be the source of the tension. "Maybe Kelly arrived in San Francisco thinking he would have two former starters in Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert to work with and is dismayed that the 49ers are prepared to trade Kaepernick," said Barrows.
The remark by Baldinger appears to be a non-story for now and the media is treating it as such, which is a refreshing change. It will likely remain as such until someone more objective reports the same thing.
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
