San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch was asked if there was a theme to the team’s recent draft after its conclusion last Saturday. His answer was telling. He appeared confident that his club — which made deep playoff runs in two of the last three seasons — was in a good spot.

“I think one of the themes was we didn’t have a whole lot of needs on our roster,” Lynch said. “But we did have some that were there.”

Among the reasons the team didn’t have any pressing needs was one of the biggest developments of draft weekend: The team decided against caving to receiver Deebo Samuel’s trade request. Lynch decided there was no offer from the New York Jets or Detroit Lions that would make moving away from San Francisco’s best player in 2021 worthwhile.

“Losing a player like Deebo, it’s hard to see how that helps your organization,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “You try to look at all the aspects of it and what people are willing to do, and nothing was even remotely close that we thought would be fair for us or fair for the Niners.”

Deciding against trading Samuel signals a few important things. First, Shanahan and Lynch are confident the relationship with Samuel can be mended. For reasons that Samuel and the team are keeping close to the vest, philosophical differences went public space when Samuel made his trade request known to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington making things awkward for both sides leading into the draft.

Second, not trading Samuel indicates the 49ers are willing to pay him the going rate in a booming market for receivers, which means something in the neighborhood of $25 million a year and in the neighborhood of $60 million in guarantees.

Perhaps some clarity came when the Titans shipped star receiver AJ Brown, who shares an agent with Samuel, to the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia signed Brown to a four-year, $25 million-a-year contract with $57.2 million in practical guarantees. That gives an outline for Samuel’s agent Tory Dandy and San Francisco’s chief negotiator, Paraag Marathe.

There’s also context to think about. The 49ers haven’t had problems paying players at the top of their respective markets. George Kittle’s contract extension in 2020 made him the highest-paid tight end, Fred Warner became the highest-paid linebacker when he signed in 2021 and Trent Williams became the highest-paid offensive lineman in history last offseason with his six-year, $138 million contract at the start of free agency. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead is slated to make $24.3 and $25.9 million against the cap over the next two seasons.

The 49ers are flush with cash from Levi’s Stadium and the salary cap is about to skyrocket in 2023 and 2024, when new media rights deals kick in. And the team should be helped by having quarterback, Trey Lance, on a manageable rookie contract. The idea San Francisco’s front office would be unwilling to eventually meet Samuel’s demands never tracked while Samuel’s power grab mostly fell on deaf ears.

That took hold Wednesday of this week when Samuel re-followed the 49ers on Instagram, after his unfollowing of the team’s account drew attention to his unhappiness.

Perhaps the 49ers and Samuel have already started to patch things up ahead of the team’s offseason program with the voluntary portion continuing ahead of mandatory minicamp June 13 through 15. Kittle and Warner’s deals both happened on the even of their respective training camps in late July and Aug.

“It’s part of the business,” Shanahan said of Samuel’s trade request. “There’s certain things that people got to go through. There’s certain things everyone is trying to get and trying to do, and you see what you can and you work from there. I mean you can work out anything. Hopefully when this is all said and done we’ll get the best thing for the Niners, best thing for Deebo, and hopefully that’s the same thing because we’d love to keep going how we’ve been. But we know that’s in front of us right now.”

As things currently stand, the 49ers are projected to have just under $42 million in cap space for 2023, according to Overthecap.com, based on a $225 million cap projection for that season. That doesn’t include the potential $25.5 million in savings if quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s money is moved off the ledger. (Here’s a way-too-early projection from OTC: The 49ers with nearly $115 million in cap space in 2024 with a $256 million cap projection.)

Garoppolo remains one of the big questions through the spring and summer. The Subway pitch man’s money hits the salary cap if he’s on the roster following final cuts. If not, the team could roll that money over into the following season, which would give the 49ers more than enough space to account for Samuel’s new deal and star defensive end Nick Bosa (who is in the same position as Samuel, but hasn’t made a peep about negotiations this offseason).

So the 49ers are in a holding pattern on the Samuel, Bosa and Garoppolo fronts, which isn’t a terrible place to be. They still have time to square things away with three of their most important figures.

In Samuel and Bosa’s cases, those contracts likely need to be done before the start of training camp. With Garoppolo, the team has roughly a month longer. They need him to get healthy and be able to throw before other teams would consider trading for him before the regular season starts. A strong training camp and preseason would likely open that door.

Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine the 49ers carrying Garoppolo’s $27 million unless he somehow beat out Lance. That looks like the most unlikely scenario left on the board. My bet: The 49ers find a trade partner at some point in August or get Garoppolo to take a drastically reduced salary as a backup.

But even then, having Garoppolo around wouldn’t give Lance much room to breathe in his first full season as the starter. If Lance were to falter at all, the dynamic might get complicated, given the team went to the NFC title game with Garoppolo playing mediocre football last season and through the playoffs while he was dealing with injuries.

But that’s a bridge the 49ers will cross when they get there. As Lynch said, for now, the theme of the spring has been about rolling with what the team has. After all, the NFC is wide open and San Francisco finished last season as the runner-up in the conference.

Drake Jackson — the pass rusher from USC the 49ers took 61st overall — was a logical choice. Defensive end is a premium position worth addressing with premium resources. San Francisco went to the Super Bowl in 2019 largely on the strength of its pass rush. Had Jackson had stability with the Trojans, instead of multiple defensive coordinators asking him to shift from defensive end to outside linebacker, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have been available in the second round. He goes to an ideal situation with position coach Kris Kocurek there to help him become a force to complement Bosa.

San Francisco’s second pick was a head-scratcher. Finding running backs has never been an issue with Shanahan as head coach, yet they used a third-round pick on LSU’s Tyrion Davis-Price, a player many projected to go a round or two later. It feels a lot like the third-round pick the team made a year ago to take running back Trey Sermon, who the team doesn’t appear to be overly fond of. Davis-Price better hit, because compounding a possible miss on Sermon would put far too much pressure on Elijah Mitchell to carry the load.

Fellow third-round choice Danny Gray is intriguing. The SMU receiver ran a blistering 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and played as fast as he tested. He runs away from defenses with the ball in his hands and could provide a superior version to what Richie James Jr. gave San Francisco the last few seasons. Gray should pair well with Lance on deep passes while also taking some attention away from Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

The team believes Spencer Burford (UTSA) has guard and tackle flexibility. My guess is he provides depth and competes for the “swing” tackle role. He started 43 games over four seasons in college. Cornerback Samuel Womack could be the latest fifth-round find for San Francisco. He didn’t go on college recruiting trips during high school because he was playing AAU basketball, which likely cost him Division I scholarship offers. He became a two-time team captain at Toledo after earning a scholarship as a walk-on.

Offensive lineman Nick Zakelj has a tough road to make the roster given the numbers at guard, but could be developmental option for the practice squad. Fellow sixth-round pick Kalia Davis might have been taken a round or two earlier if not for an ACL injury. The nose tackle might use 2022 as a redshirt season. If he comes back healthy, the 49ers think he has a chance to develop like DJ Jones, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal this offseason with Denver. Tariq Castro-Fields was another player expected to round far earlier than Round 6, but the 49ers will gladly give him a chance to compete for a roster spot given his size (6-foot, 195 pounds), 4.38 speed and experience after starting 30 games at Penn State. The last pick of the draft, quarterback Brock Purdy, might be the next Nick Mullens, Shanahan said. Like Mullens, the 49ers are hoping they won’t have injuries to other quarterbacks that would force him into action.

©2022 The Sacramento Bee. Visit at sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The post The San Francisco 49ers’ offseason goes to plan. However have they got plan? | Sports activities appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

The Giants witnessed the departures of several key players this offseason, but made some targeted free agent strikes and filled their rotation with pitchers on short-term deals. The team is banking on veteran depth and a few new diamonds in the rough to recreate last year’s miraculous run to the postseason.

Major League Signings

Options Exercised

Trades and Claims

Extensions

• Signed 1B/OF Darin Ruf to a two-year, $6.25MM extension (deal also includes a $3.5MM option for 2024)

Notable Minor League Signings

• Alex Blandino, Matt Carasiti, Cody Carroll, Raynel Espinal, Luis González, Wei-Chieh Huang, Mauricio Llovera, Carlos Martinez, Luis Ortiz, Corey Oswalt, Taylor Williams

Notable Losses

• Caleb Baragar, Kris Bryant, Tyler Chatwood, Johnny Cueto, Alex Dickerson, Kevin Gausman, Jay Jackson, Scott Kazmir, Buster Posey, Jose Quintana, Donovan Solano, Tony Watson

After winning a franchise-record 107 games that even the most optimistic prognosticators didn’t see coming, the Giants entered this offseason with a straightforward goal: do it again. Any team would be hard-pressed to collect triple-digit win totals in back-to-back seasons, but San Francisco finds themselves in a uniquely odd spot to attempt the feat. In their last full season in 2019 the team won only 77 games and ended 29 games back of first place, and yet when they fielded almost the exact same veteran core two years later they tacked on 30 wins and eked out a division title over the Dodgers, who again won 106 games. Career years from the Giants’ veteran roster made all the difference in 2021, but until the 2022 season is in the books it’s impossible to say if this was a perfect storm or the new normal moving forward. 

Complicating the team’s hope of this being the new normal is that one of their most counted upon veterans retired at the onset of the offseason. Long-time catcher Buster Posey hung up his spikes after a dozen seasons in the league, a decision that has more than just sentimental ramifications for the club. In his 2021 comeback campaign, Posey slugged at a rate not seen since his age-25 MVP season in 2012. The 34-year-old’s production served as a final feather in the cap of the future Hall-of-Famer’s career, but 113 games of a .304/.390/.499 (140 OPS+) slash line will be hard to replace from an organizational perspective. Joey Bart is the heir apparent to San Francisco’s catching throne and a former second overall pick but will have a tough act to follow, particularly considering he had just 35 games of big league experience heading into 2022.

While Posey’s departure caught many by surprise, for reasons ranging from his elite play to the fact that the team held a $22MM club option over his services for 2022, he wasn’t the only retirement party recipient this winter. Left-handed reliever Tony Watson, who spent three and a half of the last four seasons by the Bay, also called it a career after shoulder issues dashed his 2022 ambitions. The 36-year-old reliever was no lock to return to the club even if his health permitted, but it’s worth remembering that in a lights out bullpen last season it was Watson who was the least hittable. 

A pair of retirement decisions were out of the Giants’ control, but they struck early and often to keep some of their top 2021 talents in the fold. On November 7 the team exercised a trio of very affordable club options to keep infielder Wilmer Flores, left-handed reliever Jose Alvarez, and right-handed reliever Jay Jackson under team control. Alvarez racked up ground balls en route to a career season, and should team with fellow lefties Jake McGee and Jarlin Garcia to minimize the blow of Watson’s exit. Jackson, interestingly, was flipped to the Braves for cash or a PTBNL shortly after his option was picked up. Flores, meanwhile, was the consummate utility infielder last season, backing up first, second, and third base while posting a 111 OPS+ across 139 games. His easy retainment proves all the more valuable considering the team’s corner infielders, Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt, have racked up a fair bit of IL time in their careers.

Speaking of Belt, the “Captain” forewent an extended trip into free agency after the team issued him an $18.4MM qualifying offer. He’ll continue to man first base at a high level when healthy enough to take the field, though the universal DH may help keep the longest-tenured Giant fresher than he’s been in years past. Keeping Belt around through his age-34 season carries some risk, as he’s endured heel, oblique, knee, and finger injuries the past couple of seasons. Despite those injury concerns, however, Belt is enough of a force at the plate— he hit a team-leading 29 home runs in just 97 games last season— that his upside far outweighs the risk of a single year pact. Belt is currently on the IL after testing positive for COVID.

Belt wasn’t the only captain to have his Giants tenure extended, as the team’s official skipper, manager Gabe Kapler, received a 2-year extension through 2024. The reigning NL Manager of the Year was an integral part of the club’s surprising division title and was credited, along with his fellow coaches, for helping so many of the club’s players reach unexpected heights in 2022. Keeping Kapler atop the coaching pyramid will help keep the coaching staff’s messaging consistent, an important note considering the team lost last year’s hitting coach Donnie Ecker to a bench coach role with the Rangers, denied the Mets a chance to do the same with pitching coach Andrew Bailey, and saw their minor league hitting coordinator Michael Brdar leave for the rival Padres’ hitting coach role.

Several of the team’s reunions had to wait a bit longer, as qualifying offers were not offered to outgoing starters Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani, Johnny Cueto, or Kevin Gausman (who was ineligible after accepting a QO in 2020). President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made it clear in October that he had interest in re-signing all four pitchers, acknowledging that he and his staff would have to offer multi-year deals to do so. Offering expensive contracts of length hasn’t been Zaidi’s M.O. since taking over the club’s front office in November 2018, as evidenced by the modest one-year deals initially used to sign Gausman, Wood, and DeSclafani. However, with a payroll sitting under $100MM after Belt’s QO decision and the team’s competitive window emphatically flung open, the Giants likely felt they could curb their conservative spending to an extent.

Within a few days of Belt’s new contract the Giants began to make good on their rotation plans, as they re-signed Wood and DeSclafani to respective two and three-year deals, at annual rates of roughly $12MM. Those represent fairly sizable commitments to two early-30’s pitchers with checkered injury histories, but if either is able to maintain their mid-3.00 FIPs moving forward then the innings they do provide should be worth it— and may even be a bargain— for the big market club.

Fast forward to December and the team struck a similar deal with free agent starter Alex Cobb, at two years and $20MM (plus a $10MM club option). The 34-year-old Cobb was hardly the paradigm of a dependable starter during his time in Baltimore, pitching to a 5.10 ERA across 210 innings from 2018-2020, but he turned a corner after being traded to the Angels. A wrist injury wiped out a good chunk of Cobb’s summer, but when he was healthy he missed bats at the highest level of his career and posted a slate of sub-4.00 run prevention metrics. What’s more, Cobb entered spring training throwing harder than ever before, which he maintained into his three regular season starts. Health will remain a concern for Cobb, but that’s true of most pitchers following this year’s goofy ramp-up period. Otherwise, this deal is quite similar to the short-term pacts for Wood, DeSclafani, and Gausman, all of which worked out swimmingly so far for the club.

The Cobb addition has upside, but it surely disappointed some fans to see his signing occur on the same week that Kevin Gausman signed a $110MM deal with the Blue Jays. Gausman, after all, had already established his upside in the Giants’ rotation and was coming off a sixth place Cy Young finish in a very competitive NL field. Though the Giants were presumptive favorites to re-sign the right-hander after two successful seasons with the club, they ultimately never made an offer to retain the All-Star. 

Being connected to top free agent talent was a rather prominent theme for the Giants, as their payroll sat under half of their previous $200MM heights entering the offseason. As the non-signing of Gausman demonstrated, however, the Zaidi-led front office likes to spread its money around to limit the impact of any single deal going south. The industry belief during the lockout was that the Giants were unlikely to go to nine figures to sign a free agent, which helps explain the lack of a Gausman reunion and several other non-signings this winter. Other high profile targets of the Giants included Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Seiya Suzuki, Trevor Story, Starling Marte, Steven Matz, and Marcus Stroman, yet they all eluded the team and netted a contract greater than the ones doled out by San Francisco this offseason.

Another free agent who priced themselves out of the Giant’s comfort zone was Kris Bryant, who landed a massive seven-year, $182MM contract with the Rockies. The size of the former MVP’s contract was a shock, but Bryant’s time in San Francisco was thought to be a layover from the moment of his trade deadline acquisition. Accordingly, his non-signing with the Giants was not a surprise, and the front office prepped fans for that outcome before the offseason was even underway. A lack of movement on the Bryant front isn’t the most exciting outcome for a team who certainly could’ve afforded him, but the Giants have veteran incumbents, like Wilmer Flores, and low-cost alternatives, like outfielder Heliot Ramos, to offer cover at every position Bryant would’ve been signed to play.

San Francisco drew a line on contracts it was willing to give out once the free agent market re-opened back in March, but that didn’t preclude them from handing out contracts altogether. Free agent Joc Pederson was signed to a one year $6MM contract— one thirtieth of Bryant’s deal— to roam the outfield corners in a platoon capacity. The team also handed out its biggest contract of the offseason to left-handed starter Carlos Rodon, a two-year $44MM accord with an opt-out clause that becomes available to Rodon if he pitches 110 innings in 2022.

The Rodon signing seems particularly obvious in hindsight, as the lefty’s effectiveness when healthy is undeniable. That “when healthy” caveat though is what drove his contract demands into the short-term sphere that the Giants like to dabble in, at an annual rate that matches departing ace Kevin Gausman’s contract no less. Should Rodon continue his run of 2021 dominance into 2022, then he’s a lock to head back into free agency after the season. As the Giants have shown with many of their recent starters, they have no problems with one-year pitcher commitments, and may even bring Rodon back if his market isn’t overly competitive.  Through his first four starts of the season, Rodon has dominated to the tune of a 1.17 ERA and 43.2 K%. 

An added complication in Rodon’s future with the team is his status as a potential qualifying offer candidate. The lefty didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the White Sox, meaning the Giants are eligible to offer one at the end of Rodon’s contract if the qualifying offer system isn’t done away with entirely by July 25 of this year. Regardless of the Giants’ ultimate interest in retaining Rodon long-term, they’ll have him atop their rotation for 2022 as they try to repeat or better the 3.25 ERA posted by last year’s starting staff.

The club’s pitching staff is high in upside, but requires depth as all rotations do. A hallmark of least season’s 107-win club was the emergence of unexpected contributors, and the Giants added some candidates who can fit that bill in their pursuit of more pitching depth. In March, right-hander Jakob Junis was brought aboard for a $1.75MM contract, with left-hander Matthew Boyd joining the team days later on a $5.2MM pact. Junis hasn’t been a particularly effective source of innings since 2018, but he comes with an extra year of team control via arbitration if the team wants it, and given the Giants’ ability to revitalize pitching careers they very well might. Boyd on the other hand has appeared on the verge of breaking out for years, though his end of year numbers always seem to lag behind his evident promise. He’ll likely be recovering from left flexor surgery until the summer, but could follow Gausman’s track and put it all together once he’s healthy and pitching for the Giants.

The Giants went thrift shopping all winter, but some moves that may pay the biggest dividends can come via the minor league contracts they handed out. Longtime Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez joined the club on an incentive-laden minor league deal, and could be a valuable depth option once he’s fully recovered from last year’s thumb ligament issues. Joe Palumbo is another potential hidden gem unearthed by the club. The 27-year-old left-hander ranked among the Rangers’ most promising farm hands through last year, but injury woes sent him to waivers where he was ultimately claimed (and later retained on a minor league deal) by the Giants. Both pitchers increase the team’s depth on minor league contracts with lighter values than departing starter Johnny Cueto’s minor league deal with the White Sox.

Outfielder and Triple-A masher Austin Dean is yet another quiet waiver claim-turned-minor league signee who can make a splash for a San Francisco team that is likely to mix and match its active roster throughout the season. A March trade with the Phillies landed the Giants Luke Williams, a speedy plays-anywhere type who can be stashed on the bench or in the upper minors of a system whose best prospects haven’t reached Double-A. The team’s ongoing habit of accruing as many near-big league options as possible can clearly bear fruit, as evidenced by the two-year $6.25MM extension awarded to slugger Darin Ruf, himself a minor league signee in 2020. 

All told, the Giants signed four legitimate starters to fill their rotation and stockpiled enough depth to cover for the departures of several star players, yet there’s still the faintest whiff of the club being too bashful given its available resources. The team certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt given last year’s tour de force performance, and should have plenty of funds earmarked for trade deadline acquisitions. Time will tell if this winter’s moves were enough to make playoff baseball the new normal in San Francisco, something that will be no small feat given the efforts of all four division rivals.

The post Offseason In Evaluate: San Francisco Giants appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

The NFL offseason is already in full swing. Cap cut season is upon us. The combine is this week. Teams can apply franchise tags.

It’s on.

No matter that the official start of the league year isn’t for two weeks. The business of football is already at the fore. Teams have long decided on their free agent priorities, and which players they are going to cut and which they will ask to take a pay cut. The jockeying for a potential franchise quarterback in the trade market is well underway. Budgets have been set. Many of the most critical meetings – ones that will dictate the tenor and outcome of months of transactions – are already in the past, with the groundwork for those acquisitions hitting another level with the entire league gathered in Indianapolis.

And even for the best teams in football, like the Super Bowl winning Rams, there is abundant work to be done. Getting sufficiently under the cap alone is enough work for some franchises, while others are waiting to try to outpace the market to throw mega-deals around at unrestricted free agents. With that in mind, here is a look at one critical move each organization should make as we head into one of the most fertile roster-aging periods of the year (in order of finish from worst to first):

Rebuild the offensive line. A purge of veteran lineman is underway, and this must be a priority. Get Trevor Lawrence incubated. And with this not being a great OL draft class, the time to start inroads with agents is this week. New coach Doug Pederson saw what a stout unit looked like in Philly … and also what happened to Carson Wentz when things starting falling apart up front.

Complete the purge of bloated contracts (Trey Flowers, etc.), and continue the teardown. Extend TJ Hockenson and resist the urge to do anything splashy in free agency because the timeline doesn’t make sense with how far away you are. Likewise, don’t force a QB selection since you are stuck with Jared Goff for another year, anyway, and next year’s class looks better already.

Prepare as if Mekhi Becton is not the answer at left tackle, and that he just might become a sunk cost. I’d love to see him pick up at the heights of his rookie season, but there’s obvious reason for concern about that at this point.

Move on from Saquon Barkley and shed as many of the excessive recent contracts of the old regime (Blake Martinez, Kenny Golladay) as you can on the trade market. And if there is a market for Daniel Jones, I’d explore that thoroughly as well.

Start having weekly zooms with Josh McCown to keep him apprised of roster moves, philosophies and offseason priorities. He’s gonna be the long-term head coach of this team (unless someone beats them to the punch). Just a matter of when.

Identify a coach in waiting or at least get some back-channeling going early, because this Matt Rhule experiment has an expiration date around Thanksgiving. Resist the urge to trade for Deshaun Watson without full and complete closure on his legal status.

Extend Roquan Smith and try like hell to keep Akeim Hicks from hitting the market. They need that front seven to be an impactful unit to have any chance even in a watered down NFC North.

Washington Commanders

Put together a massive recruitment package together for Ciara. On the down low, of course. No tamping. But if you have any celebrity connections who might know the entertainer, have them pull out all the stops. Maybe create a splashy video she could watch extolling all of the virtues of the greater DC area. Amazing mansions at Mount Vernon. Ridiculous row homes in Georgetown. Just a short train/flight from NYC. World class shopping. A cosmopolitan, international destination beckoning to her and her husband. Oh, and extend Scary Terry immediately.

Trade Russell Wilson. The odds of winning another Super Bowl with him on his current contract are bleak at best. He’s not gonna do an extension. Franchising him in his late 30s is silly. You have no picks and very little talent. It’s time for a reboot.

Check out the suggestion for the Commanders and do the same thing, only for Aaron Rodgers. Let him know how many yoga studios per capita you have, offer to have the new owner do a 12-day cleanse with him if he comes there. Do all of your own research on how amazing the Rocky Mountain region is, and get it into your right hands.

Try like heck to get Matt Ryan to do a realistic short-term extension as a precursor to a trade. Promise to only send him to a winning team. Of course, he’s been accustomed to being among the very highest paid at his position, so he might not be inclined. And the best time to do this was years ago, anyway.

Don’t triple down on Kirk Cousins. Even if you move on from guys like Danielle Hunter and Adam Thielen and Michael Pierce, there is still enough talent to win the NFC North (especially if Rodgers is gone). Ride it out for one more year, seeking to keep upgrading that offensive line. You’re going to have to outscore people to win, anyway. Take the comp pick for Cousins ​​down the road.

Bring in legit competition for Baker Mayfield. I don’t mean Case Keenum, who at this age could hold it down for a month or so. I’m talking someone who could get you through three months if need be. Not sure if Gardner Minshew or Mitch Trubisky or Marcus Mariota is an upgrade, but I might be inclined to find out.

It’d be easy to say extend Lamar Jackson, but that might be unfeasible this offseason with the QB inclined to gamble on himself on a fifth-year option. So I’ll go with rethinking their contract structures, aversion to voidable years and predilection for doubling-down with extensions for injury-prone players they have already heavily compensated. When new team president Sashi Brown – former Browns GM steeped in cap/negotiation – takes over April 1, much of that might take care of itself, anyway.

Sign Pat Ricard, the best fullback/H-back/tight end/emergency tackle in the NFL. Think about all the great stuff Kyle Shanahan and new Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel did with former Ravens fullback Kyle Juszczyk in San Francisco? Now go get the latest hybrid weapon the Ravens created. The run game needs all the help it can get, and that’s McDaniel’s bread and butter.

Don’t trade Carson Wentz just to trade him. He has significant flaws around the goal line (on both ends of the field), and those brain cramps can be brutal… But you gave up two high picks for him, you aren’t convincing a Rodgers or Wilson to go there, and the other options ain’t great. He also produced 27 TDs to 7 INTs, FWIW.

Franchise tag Mike Williams and be willing to be one of the highest spending teams in this offseason. You are already chasing the Rams and suffering in that market and you only have one more year before Justin Herbert can start making the kind of crazy money he is worth. No time to be frugal. Let’s go!

Re-signed Jameis Winston. ASAP. The familiarity and comfort and understanding if there. He was playing his best ball pre-injury. Other options do not abound.

Commit to Jalen Hurts for one more season. Build around him with that bounty of picks. Maybe take a flier on Carson Strong somewhere on Day Two in the draft. But don’t force a QB selection with this murky class of passers.

Make a run at Winston. Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins are not the answer and this team can still contend with sufficient QB play. Winston would unlock the downfield passing game and create some space for Najee Harris in the box. Regardless, you need a veteran QB who has won some games in the league. I’d also promote from within for GM.

Get something close to a no. 1 wide receiver. Whatever it takes. Embrace it. Mac Jones ain’t Tom Brady and he isn’t going to turn journeymen into superstars.

Would Derek Carr interest the Seahawks at all as part of a Wilson package? I’d certainly want to find out. Pete Carroll is nearing the end and wants a winning veteran QB.

Throw around all the platitudes you want to try to make the Kyler Murray/social media thing look like nothing, but hand out top-of-market deals to him and Kliff Kingsbury at your own peril. Still very much that needs to be earned there. The team has the leverage.

Move on from Zeke Elliott and tell Mike McCarthy to prepare as if he might need to assume play-calling duties at some point to save his job. Because things continue to bog down with Kellen Moore in charge. And I suspect that will become a talking point again in 2022.

Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line.

If there is a Day Two developmental QB you like in this draft, grab him. At some point all the impact will catch up with King Henry. Ryan Tannehill has his limitations, and this could be a team that will be transitioning into offensive identity in the next few years.

Stop it with the Blake Bortle’s hype train. Please! We love Bruce Arians, but this team needs a real starting QB with Tom Brady retired.

A year ago you entered into a pact with a future Hall of Fame player that included a bunch of provisions that were basically poison pills in order to allow him to get out in 2022, and for you to move on with a different team-building exercise , opening up a new window with Jordan Love playing for peanuts. Whether or not he’s a starting quarterback remains to be seen, but it’s time to start finding out. Because putting together a Frankenstein team this year when you know it’s all or nothing, after failing to win with a better roster the last two years, is a risk that will only thrust you deeper to the abyss. Putting this genie back in the bottle won’t work

Hold on to Jimmy G. Unless you are getting two second-round picks from a rebuilding team (and thus those picks are high), be careful here. Trey Lance is still a project at this point. That team can win with uneven QB play, but is Lance ready to give them what Garoppolo gave them a year ago?

Franchise Orlando Brown, get rid of Frank Clark and focus on defensive line and pass catchers beyond that.

Franchise Jessie Bates, sign Brandon Scherff and draft nothing but offensive and defensive linemen. I’m not kidding. For reals.

Los Angeles Rams

Add a “no-media til 2025” clause in Sean McVay’s contract? OK, that won’t fly. But landing a starting caliber left tackle is a must, and I’m not against doubling down on Von Miller and OBJ. Stan Kroenke has the cash.

The post One transfer every NFL staff ought to make in 2022 offseason: Buying and selling Russell Wilson, transferring on from Zeke Elliott appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

FRISCO, Texas — Dak Prescott can’t stop thinking about the Dallas Cowboys’ 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

He entered the postseason believing the Cowboys were ready for a deep run and maybe put to rest the franchise’s 26-season Super Bowl drought. Instead, they were the only home team to lose on the first weekend of the playoffs.

“There’s probably some games, some moments in an athlete’s career that just stick with them forever, and I’m sure that’ll be one of them,” the quarterback said at Ford Center recently.

The disappointment may linger, but the work to renew the optimism he had in January will soon begin.

After the loss to the Niners, Prescott said he would take a little bit of time away to reboot. He passed on playing in the Pro Bowl after a long period of constant rehab due to the dislocation and compound fracture of his right ankle in 2020, the right latissimus strain he suffered in training camp and the right calf injury he suffered in October.

A year ago at this time, Prescott was just getting out of a cast after a second surgery on his right ankle. He was in a walking boot and a month or so away from signing the richest deal in Cowboys history: four years, $160 million, including a $65 million signing bonus.

If 2021 was about Prescott’s return to health, 2022 will be about his ability to carry the Cowboys back to a Super Bowl with a roster that may look a lot different than the one that finished 12-5 and won the NFC East.

“Dak has the skill to make that happen,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas after the season ended.

Unlike last year, quarterback Dak Prescott heads into the offseason without having to rehab back from major injury. Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

History, however, is not on the side of Prescott, who’s entering his seventh season as the Cowboys’ starter in 2022.

Since 1980, only three quarterbacks have made it to their first Super Bowl with their original team after a longer run as the every-game starter than Prescott has had as the Cowboys’ starter. Ken Anderson was in his 10th season with the Cincinnati Bengals when they made Super Bowl XVI. Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan were in their ninth seasons as the starters for the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons in their first runs to Super Bowls XLI and LI, respectively.

Prescott is coming off a season in which he set a franchise record for touchdown passes (37). He completed a career-best 68.8% of his passes. He threw for 4,449 yards in 16 starts, the second-best total of his career. He directed the no. 1 offense in terms of yardage and points.

Yet it wasn’t good enough to get the Cowboys past the first weekend of the playoffs.

It was almost as if Prescott had two seasons inside one season: the first six games before suffering a calf injury and his last 10 after the calf injury.

Before getting hurt on the overtime touchdown pass to receiver CeeDee Lamb to beat the New England Patriots in Week 6, Prescott was an MVP candidate, throwing for 1,813 yards with 16 touchdown passes to four interceptions while completing 73.1% of his passes.

• How Steelers got better with Flores
• Can Panthers make a Bengals-type leap?
• Patriots’ needs include CB and ILB
• Titans in tough spot with Landry

After the injury, he threw for 2,636 yards with 21 touchdown passes and six interceptions and completed 66% of his passes. Those numbers are still good but not at the level Prescott showed in the first games of the 2020 season before his ankle injury and the first six games of the 2021 season.

“I went through a period in the time right there in the season and just didn’t play my best ball, and people tried to say it was the calf,” Prescott said on “The Rich Eisen Show” podcast. “The calf got better. I did everything that I needed to do for it to heal.”

Something happened, be it the ineffectiveness of the running game in part because of the partially torn posterior cruciate ligament Ezekiel Elliott suffered in October, the refusal to give running back Tony Pollard more looks, the inconsistencies on the offensive line or the unavailability of key receivers Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup or Lamb because of COVID-19 or injuries.

At times, Prescott’s footwork seemed out of whack, although coach Mike McCarthy called that a “blanket statement.”

“I don’t think it’s, you know, ‘My god, we’ve got to fix that,’ No, that’s not the case,” McCarthy said. “I think just like anything if he was standing here he’ll tell you there’s some throws or some things we maybe need more reps at or more timing. And I think with the challenge of having multiple perimeter options [out], getting in tune with every guy on every particular route, working through the route tree, we definitely need to continue working on the details of that. So I think it all will be a part of moving forward.”

One other thing changed after Prescott’s calf injury on Oct. 17. His personal quarterback coach, 3DQB’s John Beck, took a job as an assistant with the New York Jets on Nov. 2 to help tutor Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.

Prescott said he was still getting feedback from Adam Dedeaux, Beck’s partner.

“The in-season is not that important, I guess you can say as much as the off-season is,” Prescott said during the season. “But yeah, I look forward to getting back to him [when] the off-season happens.”

Prescott credits Beck and 3DQB as part of the foundation to his success. While his pregame warm-up became a viral sensation, the details of the program helped further Prescott’s game. Last offseason, however, they could not do everything they wanted because of Prescott’s recovery from the ankle injury.

Back in motion! @dak #3DQBTEXAS pic.twitter.com/vPYv94kzCQ

— 3DQBTexas (@DamianDevon) April 7, 2021

“Everything had to involve rehab,” said Beck, who will not return to the Jets. “Like in the beginning there were days that we couldn’t have him on his feet going through a normal work day. We had to do things that took him off his feet and be strategic on how we’d work some rotational abilities, his balance, his mechanics without requiring too much from his leg and ankle too soon.”

Considering the detail involved in the position of the shoulder relative to the hips and the torque required to make certain throws, there was only so much they could do.

“Dak by nature is a pusher,” Beck said. “He’s going to push the envelope. He’s going to try to come back sooner, ‘Hey, I’m feeling good. Let’s go.’ But you’ve got to be smart with it.”

Most of the power comes from Prescott’s right leg, although not every throw requires the same amount of strength. A lot of the work Prescott goes through is to simulate game situations so the unnatural can become natural.

“Dak is wired that way to have great feet and be as clean as possible,” Beck said.

The goal last offseason was to get Prescott back to where he was before the injury. Now the goal is to make him better than he has ever been, “even if it’s by just one percent,” Beck said.

The workouts bounce between the Dallas area, including Prescott’s backyard turf field, and California. The time on field varies. Sometimes teammates will be on hand with Prescott putting together trips to build a better rapport on and off the field.

“I know he’s excited to have an offseason that feels like his normal offseason,” Beck said.

Beck is right.

“Just having a full offseason to be able to go through my training and not worry about getting my leg healthy, all my quarterback drills and everything that I do in a normal, healthy offseason,” Prescott said.

In addition to his health at this time a year ago, Prescott’s contractual future was in question. Would the Cowboys place the franchise tag on him again? Could they justify such a big contract coming off such a severe injury?

Those questions were answered by March when he signed a deal that averaged $40 million per season, topped only by Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes ($45 million) and subsequently topped by Buffalo’s Josh Allen ($43 million).

While not perfect, Prescott answered questions about his ability to return from the injury during the course of the season.

Now Prescott, who turns 29 in July, needs to answer another question: Can he take the Cowboys to a Super Bowl?

“I’m a worker. That’s all I know,” Prescott said from the AT&T podium after the loss to the Niners. “I’ll take maybe a week or so to get away I guess you could say, clear my mind. But that’s kind of hard for me, especially after a season like this, having a chance, having the people that we have, I think this is a season that will probably stick with me and motivate me throughout the rest of my career, not just this offseason. I’ll be back at it pretty quick.

“I’m looking forward to getting better, becoming a better player, and doing whatever I can to help the team to get back to this position, but more importantly win.”

The post Transferring previous 2021, Cowboys’ Dak Prescott welcomes offseason targeted on development, not restoration – Dallas Cowboys Weblog appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

While it’s little more than a talking point, the idea of ​​the 49ers trading right tackle Mike McGlinchey this offseason has been tumbled.

The grass is not always greener on the other side.

A year ago, San Francisco 49ers fans regularly pointed out Mike McGlinchey’s shortcomings. Playing under ideal weight perhaps, McGlinchey wasn’t always a full commitment in pass protection. But when he was beaten, he was badly beaten. Just looking at some of these puffs can indicate that.

So it might have come as a surprise when the Niners exercised McGlinchey’s fifth-year option for 2022, fully guaranteed $10.88 million according to Over the Cap last offseason, with full intentions that he still at least another year remains.

While fans might not have had total confidence in McGlinchey’s abilities, San Francisco clearly did.

Not nearly as strong as the 49ers’ perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, McGlinchey nevertheless looked much better during his 2021 season before suffering a serious quadriceps injury that ended his season after eight games.

However, amid all the speculation about what they might be doing this offseason, an idea was raised that the Niners might be trading with McGlinchey in 2022:

Trading Mike McGlinchey would save the 49ers $10.8 million this season. Should the 49ers consider moving it?

— Leo Luna (@LeoLuna93) February 3, 2022

The overwhelming response to the poll was “yes,” which isn’t too surprising.

But as is usual with things like this, who would be McGlinchey’s replacement if he were traded? And would a team even want to trade for him?

Mike McGlinchey is far from perfect, but not bad

Again, McGlinchey looked better in 2021 than he did in 2022, and his efforts to block running haven’t exactly let up since his 2018 rookie campaign.

It’s not a perfect assessment. But Pro Football Focus gave McGlinchey a 70.0 pass blocking rating in 2021 compared to 58.3 the season before, and he was on track to concede just four sacks and six quarterback hits versus the five and six quarterback hits, respectively .eleven allowed last season.

While Tom Compton managed to close the gap in McGlinchey’s wake in the second half of the year, and with only so-so results, it’s pretty obvious that San Francisco trusts McGlinchey as a vital cog on the offensive line. particularly in support of the running game, where he was already successful during his college days at Notre Dame.

Would any of this be enough to prompt a trade?

More importantly, the team must have a contingency plan in place. Center Alex Mack is aging, the 49ers need to consider an upgrade for right guard Daniel Brunskill, and left guard Laken Tomlinson is a pending free agent this offseason.

Would creating another need on the O line be a smart move?

The 49ers might struggle to trade Mike McGlinchey even if they wanted to

True, the Niners could settle all of McGlinchey’s $10 million+ in 2022 if they traded him.

It’s rare, however, that other teams are willing to offer much in return for year-long “loan” players, unless those teams have plans to create a long-term renewal following a trade.

That shouldn’t be a problem for the 27-year-old McGlinchey, who is still awaiting his first free-agent deal after his rookie contract expires.

Read more: 49ers 2022 Free Agency Tracker: Who’s Coming and Going?

But the guaranteed nature of this 2021 deal could certainly act as a distraction, and the fact that he’s picked up a serious injury that could easily affect his ability next season will almost certainly act as a deterrent as well.

Put simply, any team interested in O-Line help this offseason probably won’t want to offer more than an early third-day NFL draft pick in return for their services, especially given their risk of not making it on time to recover.

And since San Francisco doesn’t exactly have a high-quality backup plan to replace McGlinchey, it seems a lot more likely that he’ll see through at least the final year of his contract.

The post No, San Francisco will not commerce Mike McGlinchey this offseason appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Phase 3 of the 49ers offseason workout program is slated to begin on Monday. While the entire squad was allowed to participate in phase 2, attack and defense could not work against each other.

That will change when the team takes to the field on Monday. While much attention is paid to the quarterback position, let’s take a look at three more battles to look forward to as the off-season progresses.

1. Run back

The 49ers typically have five running backs on their active roster. One of them will be Kyle Juszcyk, which means that one of the halfbacks – Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Trey Sermon, Elijah Mitchell or JaMycal Hasty – will look inside from the outside.

The running back room has moved a bit this off-season, with the focus on larger backs. It will be interesting to see how this talented group develops over the coming months.

2. Ambry Thomas & Deommodore Lenoir versus Brandon Aiyuk & Deebo Samuel

The 49ers put in a draft pick for Thomas and Lenoir in the third and fifth rounds. One of the strengths for both newbies is their ability to play close man-to-man coverage. Thomas and Lenoir did well during the 49ers Rookie Mini Camp, but this will be their first real test.

Aiyuk has the potential to be a true # 1 recipient, and Samuel is one of the most physical recipients in the NFL. If the newbies are able to hold their own, it could be a good sign of depth in secondary school.

3. Aaron Banks versus Arik Armstead

The 6’5 ”, 338 pound banks were dominant during his tenure at Notre Dame. Banks are rarely pushed back into passport protection and Armstead is very strong, especially when rushing into it. If you watch these two play one on one you will likely have to wait for the pads to light up during training camp, but it will be a fun struggle to watch.

The post San Francisco 49ers Battles to Look Ahead To This Offseason appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the San Francisco 49ers’ position groups and seeing which players should keep the team and which ones to release. Going through this process has shown that there are some position groups that have much greater needs than others.

Here I’m going to rank the off-season needs of the 49ers from largest to smallest. As I work through this, you will find that there are some areas that need new talent that you did not expect, or that you have already felt like the team has to go through a series of upgrades and nothing is going to get you to surprise. In any case, your ranking may look different than mine. If so, please share your thoughts with us.

11) Linebacker

Fred Warner is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and, along with Dre Greenlaw, the best linebacker tandem in the league. Azeez Al-Shaair, a vacant free agent from the Florida Atlantic, has emerged as the third linebacker, nearly doubling his performance in each statistical category in 2020 from his rookie season. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has continued to evolve into an NFL linebacker after strong security in Arizona.

10) Defensive tackle

Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens and Kentavius ​​Street give the 49ers a heavy rotation in the middle of the 49ers defense line. Taking advantage of the 14th draft 2020 election for this position, San Francisco picked Javon Kinlaw, who proved a strong run defender during his rookie campaign. If he can add a few moves to his pass rush repertoire, he could become an inner force.

Givens is a little too small, listed at 6’1 ”and 285, but his speed and leverage allow him to be internally disruptive. Last season, Givens had five tackles for the loss, the second most common defensive tackle among the 49ers.

9) Narrow end

George Kittle is one of the best bottlenecks in the game. Behind Kittle are the 49ers Charlie Woerner, who scored a draft pick for the former Georgia Bulldog in the sixth round. Woerner was mostly used in blocking situations at the start of the season, but saw his role evolve as the season progressed and eventually be put in a role similar to Kyle Juszczyk. Ross Dwelley is a restricted free agent who has shown great promise and should be among the lower-cost free agents bringing the 49ers back for 2021.

However, do not rule out an addition to this group. Last off-season, the 49ers showed an interest in Austin Hooper during the free agency before settling on Jordan Reed. With Kyle Juszczyk likely to move on, there could be two more sets with tight ends in the future of the 49ers.

8) Security

San Francisco plays with Jimmie Ward, and with the wage cap situation tight, it’s likely that Tarvarius Moore will be his partner in the back of the 49ers Secondary. Marcell Harris is a restricted free agent who could likely be brought back at a bargain price and has improved throughout his time on the team as well.

7) Wide receiver

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk deliver a nice 2-1 strike for the 49ers offensive, but once you get those two behind you the closet is pretty empty. Richie James has shown the ability to play games when he gets the chance, but for some reason Kyle Shanahan doesn’t call his number often.

Behind these three is River Cracraft and a number of other journeymen. Travis Benjamin, who dropped out of 2020 due to Covid-19 concerns, is a veteran option the team could take, and its cap is a little over $ 1 million.

6) Run back

Despite other needs, the 49ers should try to add a rewind for depth. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson are both very good defenders but cannot count on them to play a full 16-game schedule. JaMycal Hasty and Austin Walter will also be at training camp with the team, but there isn’t the type of back you want to play on a down-in-down-out basis either.

A rookie with the ability to be a three-down defender would help solidify the position for 2021 and beyond, as Wilson is only signed for 2021.

5) Defensive ending

Nick Bosa is expected to be back after a knee injury that kept him off for up to five quarters in 2020 and Arik Armstead will start at the other final defensive position.

This group is at the top of the list as at least one pass rusher needs to be added. While Armstead does a good job in the base defense in the end, he tries to throw the passerby off the edge. Adding a free hand or draft defensive end would allow Armstead to move into where he is much more effective. This was seen in full in 2019, and it showed towards the end of last season when Dion Jordan and Jordan Willis got more playing time.

4) quarterback

The 49ers were noncommittal with Jimmy Garoppolo as starting quarterback, which means his days in San Francisco may be numbered. Does that mean he won’t be the center of attention when the 49ers open the season in September? No, but what it does mean is that the 49ers will have to spend resources on the position this off-season.

Adding a quarterback through the design is a necessity. The 49ers haven’t invested in the future of the position since Garoppolo was acquired in mid-2017. Yes, they added Josh Johnson and Josh Rosen in 2020 but that was out of necessity, the former being added after Garoppolo’s injury and the latter joining the team after Nick Mullens was injured in week 15.

3) Inside offensive line

The only constant in this group in 2020 was Laken Tomlinson on the left. The veteran has played almost every snap over the past season.

With Weston Richburg unable to recover from a knee injury in late 2019, the 49ers had a revolving door in the middle in early 2020 before opting for Daniel Brunskill in the second half of the season. Brunskill did an admirable job, but he’s more of a tackle or guard than a center.

The instability in the middle position also affected the right guard point. At the start of the season, Brunskill was expected to be the starter, but as he jumped back and forth between center and guard during training camp and the first half of the season, the pitch could never be consolidated.

The 49ers spent a fifth round with Colton McKivitz in 2020. The rookie started three times on the right and will fight for the starting place in 2021.

There are a few names in the free agent market that could pique San Francisco’s interest: Alex Mack and Corey Linsley would both be strong additions to the center, and Austin Blythe would be for his versatility to play both center and center. guard also a good choice.

2) Offensive tackle

With Trent Williams going to be a free choice and Mike McGlinchey struggling with pass protection throughout 2020, the 49ers will have to try to create an attack by draft or free action. Even if they are confident that Justin Skule can take the left attacking position, it would be wise to get someone who can be cared for to replace McGlinchey once his contract expires after the 2021 season – one year option would change given the level of play , which we saw from the first selection of the first round, turn out to be too expensive.

1) cornerback

This one is a breeze. The 49ers currently have no cornerbacks starting a game for them under contract for 2021. To make matters worse, all starters except Emmanuel Moseley will be unrestricted free agents as of 2020, which means the 49ers will have to outbid other teams for their services.

Look for the 49ers to add at least one cornerback by free agency and another by the early part of the design.

The post Rating The San Francisco 49ers Offseason Wants appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.