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Kyle Shanahan admitted that he was frustrated by missing out on potentially pursuing
Matthew Stafford in March. Instead, the Detroit Lions shipped the veteran quarterback to a division rival. The speed at which the trade went down shocked Shanahan, who thought he would have more time to get his San Francisco 49ers in the talks.
"I was trying to get involved in it,"
Shanahan shared during a recent podcast interview with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and NFL Network's Peter Schrager. "Someone who had knowledge of the situation, I remember us talking to (agent Tom) Condon, just everyone, to find out when it was happening. I remember Saturday, I was so stressed out. And finally, we talked to someone. It was like seven at night, and they're like, 'No, nothing's happening, at the earliest, until tomorrow. You can finish your night.' So I'm like, 'Alright, I'm done.'"
Shanahan was in Cabo San Lucas at that time, not far from where McVay and Stafford were vacationing. Soon after, the quarterback was gone.
"That was frustrating," Shanahan admitted.
While the 49ers coach holds Stafford in high esteem, one of his players downplayed the addition to the NFC West rival.
"I like Stafford, but they still will have the same people who you're throwing the ball to,"
Ward recently told Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated. "Yeah, you can argue and say he's the same quarterback, but he's the same quarterback that's been with the Detroit Lions, and they still didn't go to the playoffs, and you had Megatron (Calvin Johnson).
"What was the problem over there with Detroit? You're just going to blame the city? What was the problem? Is it the money? If the city doesn't have enough money to bring players over there, why are they even having an NFL team? That's a big question mark."
While Stafford has passed for over 4,000 yards in eight of his 12 NFL seasons, he had just four seasons with a winning record as a starter and reached the playoffs just three times. Not once has he made it out of the Wild Card round.
The Rams shipped two future first-round draft picks, a third-rounder, and quarterback Jared Goff to the Lions in exchange for Stafford. Both quarterbacks were No. 1 overall picks — Stafford in 2009 and Goff in 2016. However, Goff helped guide the Rams to a Super Bowl LIII appearance during the 2018 season.
"You went and traded Jared Goff, who went to playoffs several times and went to the Super Bowl," Ward continued. "Yeah, he lost. He went to the Super Bowl, though. I've yet to see that with Matt Stafford. And I'm saying he's still great. I'm saying I believe he's a top 10 quarterback. I'm not going to lie. Maybe top five. I don't know. We'll see. I'm just going off of what I see. And I see Jared Goff end up getting those boys to the Super Bowl."
How much do you feel the addition of Stafford to the Rams complicates things for the 49ers? Leave a comment below.
Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh claims to have recently spoken to Brandon Aiyuk, stating that the star player has no desire to leave the San Francisco 49ers.
Aiyuk and the 49ers are currently negotiating a contract extension, aiming to finalize a new deal. Of course, that hasn't prevented significant media speculation surrounding Aiyuk's future, with many wondering if the delay might hint at a potential trade.
Well-informed 49ers fans know that the team typically finalizes its significant contract extensions closer to training camp, as seen with George Kittle in 2020, Fred Warner in 2021, and Deebo Samuel in 2022. Last year, negotiations with Nick Bosa concluded just days before Week
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
