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Rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis had the best games of his career over the past two weeks. He hauled in five receptions for 129 yards with two touchdowns, all career highs, this past Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Pettis appears to be emerging as the playmaker the San Francisco 49ers envisioned when they made him a second-round draft pick out of Washington in April.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan
joined KNBR on Thursday and discussed his rookie wideout. With Pierre Garçon still dealing with a knee injury, Pettis will likely continue to see his role increase in the 49ers' final four games.
"Dante has played his best two games, starting with Tampa," Shanahan said on the "Tolbert & Lund" show. "That was his best game [up to that point]. Then he played better versus [Seattle]."
Pettis suffered a knee injury during the 49ers' Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He missed the next three games and, after that, was eased back slowly.
"He got healthy here, I'd say a week before the bye week because it was his first real healthy game versus the Giants," Shanahan continued. "He didn't get a lot of opportunities, though. Then versus Tampa, losing [Marquise Goodwin] the day before the game, we felt Dante was ready to go, just looking better in practice and stuff, and doing it a couple of weeks in a row. But then when 'Quise missed a game, it opened up a lot more opportunities for Dante.
"We only played with four (wide receivers), so we left him out there the whole time. He made some plays. By no means was he perfect. There was a bunch of things that he struggled with but what was neat about him, things that we kind of got on him for in the first quarter and stuff, by leaving him out there, not having a guy to rotate with him, he fought through it, and he improved as the game went on, and made some plays. He was much better at the end of the game than the way he started.
"He had the same situation last week in Seattle, and I thought he took another huge step forward. By no means has he fully arrived or (is he) there yet, but he's shown a lot of signs of what we brought him here to do. You expect that, especially through a rookie season, but hopefully, he can finish this strong and be a big part of what we do next year."
Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin has missed the past two games as he dealt with a personal matter. He returned this week, and Shanahan reiterated that he will play against the Denver Broncos. With Garçon ailing, fans could see a starting duo of Goodwin and Pettis on Sunday.
"He's going to play," Shanahan said of Goodwin. "It's been great getting him back in the building. He's been away here two weeks and dealing with some tough stuff [...] He's done a good job in practice. We've had two practices with him. He's hopped right back in, and we expect to get him in there this week."
The 49ers and Broncos kick off on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT from Levi's Stadium.
You can listen to the entire interview with Shanahan below.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
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
