Increase of big plays has 49ers’ Charvarius Ward playing at an All-Pro level

At the San Francisco 49ers' recent "State of the Franchise" event, tight end George Kittle expressed his desire to play his entire career with the team that drafted him in 2017. Although Kittle has never spent time in another locker room, he strongly believes in the culture the 49ers have built under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. This culture has been pivotal to the 49ers' recent success, with the team reaching four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls over the past five seasons. Kittle discussed the importance of the 49ers' culture and what it has meant for the organization. Despite the team's early struggles, including a 0-9 start during Kittle's rookie

Playing together would be a dream come true for the Bosa brothers. While Nick Bosa remains under contract with the San Francisco 49ers through 2028, Joey Bosa is only signed with the Los Angeles Chargers through 2025. The two brothers may be able to play together in 2026, assuming a trade doesn't unite them sooner, and they have discussed this possibility. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Chargers pass rusher shared that he and Nick still have those conversations, wondering what the future might hold. "It'd be cool at some point," Joey said, per ESPN's Kris Rhim. "I always thought of myself being somebody that will play here and retire here, which I think not

Brandon Aiyuk probably wants to avoid playing on his fifth-year option. Although it would earn him $14.124 million in 2024, it is far below his market value. Similarly, the San Francisco 49ers likely want to avoid approaching the $30 million annual salary that might end the wide receiver's holdout. Last week, Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle reported what was likely the 49ers' latest offer to Aiyuk, stating, "I'm hearing maybe their offer's in the $26 million range, which, you know, it's certainly not Justin Jefferson money, nor should it be, but it's closer to that DeVonta Smith, Amon-Ra St. Brown, that next tier down." Suppose the two sides can't reach a mutually

The "Madden curse" may be overblown. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently examined the history of the video game covers and assessed whether the curse has any validity. He concluded that 58% of the previous cover athletes experienced misfortune during the season following their selection. However, over the past 10 years, that percentage has dropped to 25%. According to Benjamin, the last year a player was cursed was in 2018 when Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was on the game's cover. The following year, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the cover athlete and went on to win his