Podcast: 49ers Mini-Camp & The Football Movie Draft →

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell gives 49ers a C grade on offseason

May 19, 2016 at 9:40 AM--


Bill Barnwell of ESPN has been going through each NFL division and handing out grades for all 32 teams. Today, he went through the NFC West, which he states arguably contain the two best teams in the NFL heading into the 2016 season. No, the San Francisco 49ers are not one of those two teams. They are the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.

How did the 49ers fare? They earned a C grade for their offseason so far, which includes free agency, the NFL Draft, and more.

So what did the 49ers do right according to Barnwell? They held on to QB Colin Kaepernick for one. "As toxic as the relationship between Kaepernick and the San Francisco front office appears to have become, there wasn't a real reason for the 49ers to trade their former starter at quarterback. They have plenty of cap space and didn't use most of it this year," says Barnwell. "If the whole thing goes south, they can cut Kaepernick next year and not feel guilty -- nobody's expecting the 49ers to win this year, anyway."

RELATED Barrows: Colin Kaepernick should be cleared to practice in the next few weeks

Barnwell also applauded the fact that the 49ers built up their offensive and defensive lines during the draft, including DE DeForest Buckner and OG Joshua Garnett. He also liked the hiring of head coach Chip Kelly. "Kelly isn't a safe bet, and his run as a personnel executive was disastrous, but he managed to get a lot out of Eagles teams with some pretty bad quarterbacks, and nobody doubts his X's and O's acumen," said Barnwell.

Among the negatives for the 49ers offseason, Barnwell pointed out the team's failure to upgrade the rest of the team via free agency despite having a significant amount of salary cap room to do so. "This feels like a team that isn't actively trying to get better, which seems bizarre," he says.

You can read the entire division analysis, including the 49ers, here.

Grades for other NFC West teams are as follows.

Arizona Cardinals: B+
Los Angeles Rams: C
Seattle Seahawks: B



LISTEN

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News



ESPN: 49ers have 'no choice' in Nick Bosa contract negotiations

By David Bonilla
Jun 3

Nick Bosa isn't stressing over his contract negotiations. Why should he? The pass rusher has built an impressive resume since the San Francisco 49ers made him the No. 2 overall pick in 2019. Bosa's nine sacks in 2019 helped him earn NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. His 2020 campaign was cut short by an ACL injury, but it wasn't enough to slow down the talented defensive end. Bosa led the 49ers with 15.5 sacks the next season. Bosa racked up a league-leading 18.5 sacks last season on his way to being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The 49ers bought themselves some time by exercising the 25-year-old's fifth-year option, ensuring he remains with the team through the upcoming season. Ideally, though, the Niners would like to get a long-term deal done,



John Lynch: 49ers QB Trey Lance having a 'really, really quality offseason'

By David Bonilla
Jun 1

During an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch once again called Brock Purdy the "leader in the clubhouse" when it comes to the team's starting quarterback job. Purdy earned that with his superb play last season as a rookie, helping guide the 49ers to eight consecutive wins before an NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Purdy suffered a UCL tear in that game and will miss most or all of this offseason. That opens the door for Trey Lance or Sam Darnold to impress coaches and potentially climb the depth chart. Lance opened last season as the 49ers' starter but suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2. The 49ers haven't lost faith in their former No. 3 overall draft pick. They still see a lot



49ers Notebook: George Kittle raves about Trey Lance; Time to expect even bigger things from Brandon Aiyuk; Shanahan assesses Sam Darnold; Nick Bosa's offseason tweak

By Kirk Larrabee
Jun 6

The 49ers began their annual mandatory minicamp Tuesday, which as always will mark the end of the third and final phase of the team's offseason workout schedule. The team will break for the summer following Wednesday's session, so Tuesday was an opportunity for reporters to catch up with a number of 49ers players as well as head coach Kyle Shanahan to get some final updates before the team departs. Among those who spoke with the media Tuesday were wide receiver Deebo Samuel, defensive end Nick Bosa, and tight end George Kittle. 49ers Webzone posted updates earlier on some of the most newsworthy moments from those media sessions, but that was far from the only thing discussed Tuesday. Here's a recap of what the players and Shanahan said, including some praise for Trey Lance



49ers Notebook: Javon Hargrave's first 49ers thoughts; Trent Williams' weird late-night workout schedule; Wilks on DBs; Deommodore Lenoir wants to be elite

By Kirk Larrabee
1 hr

The 49ers ended their offseason workout program on Wednesday with their final session of mandatory minicamp. But before they made their way out the door for the summer, the team gave fans and reporters one last dose of info in the form of the final media sessions of the spring. Among those speaking to reporters on Wednesday were defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, as well as defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Each session produced some interesting tidbits, which we'll review in this version of 49ers notebook. Hargrave speaks Despite being the splash free agent addition of the offseason for the 49ers, Javon Hargrave had not met with the team's beat reporters in person before Wednesday.


Featured

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone