All articles tagged with #san francisco 49ers
McCaffrey says workload should be managed between games—through practice rhythm and training—since players face a 17-game season, with game days about winning and between-game prep setting the pace. After a 2024 injury-plagued stretch, he played every game in 2025 and remains focused on sustaining peak performance, eyeing a potential 1,000-yard rushing and receiving season.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, still recovering from last season’s Achilles tear, sprang into action in the early hours to rescue his wife from a spider in their bathroom. He struck the arachnid on the first attempt and, after hugs and kisses for bravery, got back to rest. PETA responded, saying spiders deserve a good day and offering a humane bug catcher. With his injury sidelining him for now, Kittle remains focused on Week 1 prep.
In this week’s mailbag, Matt Barrows explores how the 49ers might stack a six‑man WR group (Evans, Pearsall, Kirk, Stribling, Cowing, Watkins), who dresses on game days, and whether Bergen could factor in as a returner; he argues the team’s heavy travel schedule is overstated in its impact, weighs after‑Dallas/altitude prep plans, and considers a potential veteran edge add like Joey Bosa with pros and cons. The piece also discusses defensive plans against 12/13 personnel, and highlights young players such as Jaden Dugger and Khalil Dinkins as potential sleepers.
San Francisco’s third-place schedule features an international opener, frequent road trips, and a demanding late-season stretch against multiple playoff teams; while a favorable early slate could help build momentum, the overall slate is tough enough to test the 49ers’ title aspirations.
The NFL’s 2026 slate opens midweek with a Wednesday Week 1 to accommodate Labor Day and an Australia game, featuring Seattle at New England on NBC and a Netflix Week 1 matchup (Rams vs. 49ers) in Australia. San Francisco and Los Angeles will log substantial travel (roughly 38,000 miles for the 49ers and 35,000 for the Rams) plus a Mexico City game, while five teams go without prime-time games, renewing rest-disparity debates that the league says aren’t a true competitive edge.
The Athletic’s Jayna Bardahl and Saad Yousuf ranked all 32 team-produced schedule-release videos for the 2026 NFL season, from the Chargers’ Halo-themed standout to the 49ers’ Substation gag that drew the most chatter; the list highlights inventive concepts (Titans’ street-style approach, Seahawks’ fragrance theme, Colts’ Simpsons homage, Browns’ Street Fighter angle) and a few entries that missed the mark or felt overlong, with many teams delivering creative social-media moments around the league.
The 49ers signed six rookie draft picks to four-year contracts and assigned jersey numbers: De’Zhaun Stribling No. 15, Romello Height 94, Kaelon Black 26, Gracen Halton 93, Carver Willis 74, Ephesians Prysock 41, and Dugger 53 and Enrique Cruz Jr. 69; the team also added seven undrafted rookie free agents.
San Francisco drafted Indiana RB Kaelon Black with the 90th pick, drawing backlash, but coach Kyle Shanahan defended the selection as a rightful evaluation. Black says the criticism fuels him to prove the coach right, coming off a 1,040-yard, 10-TD season in 2025, and he’s expected to push for a role behind Christian McCaffrey, potentially earning more early-down work if he proves his value.
The Indianapolis Colts released nine-year veteran Kenny Moore after he requested the move, making him a free agent with a track record as a slot nickelback and some safety experience. San Francisco could be interested as a cost-efficient, versatile addition to their secondary, potentially at safety if Moore is willing to change positions. Key questions include whether he can earn a starting role in a crowded safety room and how well his coverage and run-support would translate to the 49ers’ scheme; Moore, 32, has 649 tackles, 21 interceptions and 68 pass breakups across 132 games with 111 starts, and the 49ers have cap space to consider the move if the fit scenarios align.
San Francisco selected Indiana running back Kaelon Black in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft; despite broad skepticism that the pick was a reach, Black says he’ll use the backlash to motivate himself and prove coach Kyle Shanahan’s evaluation correct, praising the 49ers’ system and teammates as he prepares to contribute alongside a loaded offense.
Vinod Khosla, billionaire cofounder of Sun Microsystems and a recent investor in the San Francisco 49ers, has submitted a letter of intent to bid for the Seattle Seahawks. A successful bid would require him to shed his 49ers stake. The Seahawks, valued around $6.59 billion, are being sold by Paul Allen’s estate, with other contenders like Aditya Mittal and Wyc Grousbeck reportedly forming bids. NFL ownership rules limit debt and minority ownership, and a deal would trigger Khosla’s exit from the 49ers if he wins.
The 49ers’ three non-division tests for 2026 are San Francisco at Kansas City to face the Chiefs, Philadelphia at San Francisco for a high-profile home showdown, and San Francisco at Los Angeles against the Chargers, with an honorable mention to San Francisco at Dallas.
San Francisco used its “gold helmet” designation on receiver De’Zhaun Stribling after a Judgment Index assessment at Ole Miss yielded a 968 score—the best the tester had seen—suggesting high self‑confidence, coachability, and composure under pressure. The 15‑minute test measures values and decision‑making to reveal strengths and hidden weaknesses, a tool proponents say tracks leadership and football intelligence. While the 49ers’ leadership and scouting staff embraced Stribling’s leadership and pro mindset, the Judgment Index remains more established in college and other sports than in the NFL.
Trent Williams signed a two-year, $50 million extension ($48.5M guaranteed) with a structure including void years to spread a $56.27M signing bonus over five years, plus potential 2027- and 2028-related guarantees and roster bonuses. Post-draft, the 49ers hold the NFL's top cap space (about $71.27M in cap space; effective space ~ $67.8M), but they'll be in the red in 2027 and only mildly solvent in 2028, making rollover space critical to their long-term balance sheet rather than a big free-agent splurge next year.
The 49ers are projected to have one of the NFL’s easier 2026 schedules, ranking eighth in strength of schedule with a 10.5-win projection, aided by last season’s soft second half that produced 12 wins. The full schedule release is anticipated in May, though the exact date is still being discussed; the top of the easy-SOS list includes Lions, Saints, Bengals, Browns, Jets, Ravens, Eagles, and Chiefs, while the Seahawks and Rams are farther down the list and the Cardinals are projected to have the toughest slate.