News 49ers Team Notes

[San Francisco 49ers]

49ers should replicate Packers’ approach in addressing key roster issue

The 49ers face a number of dilemmas this offseason, with the situation at the wide receiver position chief among them.

Once a clear strong point of their roster, the 49ers’ receiving corps is a shadow of what it once was. Brandon Aiyuk has played his last snap as a 49er and the same could soon be said for Jauan Jennings. Ricky Pearsall, their first-round pick from 2024, has endured dreadful injury misfortune.

And with Kendrick Bourne and Skyy Moore also bound for unrestricted free agency, the 49ers have a decision to make as to how they rebuild the depth chart.

In Pearsall, the 49ers have a skilled route-runner who can consistently create separation and stretch defenses deep. However, it was obvious late in the 2025 season that, with Aiyuk not returning, the Niners sorely missed an X receiver who could do the same.

Should Jennings depart, the 49ers will also be looking to fill the void left by a high-floor possession receiver with some big-play upside.

The 49ers will try to bring Jennings back at the right price and, with some room for maneuver in free agency, there’s an argument to suggest San Francisco should use the resources it has to attack the open market by bringing in proven commodities. Alec Pierce of the Indianapolis Colts is seen by many as an excellent candidate to fill that X receiver role. Pierce led the NFL in yards per reception (21.3) for the second straight season in 2025.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan would almost certain prefer known quantities at receiver, which is why a return for Bourne on another short-term deal would be no surprise, especially if Jennings leaves.

Indeed, there’s reason to be skeptical that Shanahan will be willing to elevate Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins to prominent roles given the minimal snaps the two fourth-rounders have received to this point in their fledgling careers.

But, with the needs the 49ers have at other positions, particularly on the defensive line, San Francisco would be wise to embrace the youth movement and replicate an approach taken by their NFC rivals the Green Bay Packers.

Since 2022, the Packers have invested consistently in the wide receiver position in the draft — selecting eight players in that span.

While a perceived lack of number one receiver has been viewed as a problem over the years, Green Bay’s process of filling their depth chart with young wideouts has paid dividends. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks have all been productive, while Matthew Golden shone as a rookie after being taken in the first round last year.

The 49ers have three very talented young receivers in Pearsall, Watkins and Cowing. Brock Purdy has already developed an impressive rapport with Pearsall and did the same with Watkins training camp last season. Cowing also displayed some positive flashes in very limited action in 2024.

While the Niners would likely ideally want to lean on proven wideouts, Purdy’s track record of quickly establishing a rapport with his targets since ascending to the starting role in 2022 should be a factor in swaying them towards the opposite path and adding more receivers via the draft.

San Francisco still has Demarcus Robinson under contract and will be expected to bring Moore back because of his upside on special teams. As such, the 49ers will have veteran experience in some capacity. However, if they can add at least one receiver via the draft and allow them to compete for playing time with Pearsall, Watkins and Cowing, the results could be greatly beneficial for the 49er offense in the immediate future and in the long term.

Shanahan has continually proven he can manufacture offense largely irrespective of the weapons available to him. In an offseason in which they need to be smart about how they use their cap room and one in which they need to continue to get younger, it would be a wise play to back him and Purdy to get the most out of a largely unproven group of pass-catchers.

Either way, the approach the 49ers take at wideout will be one of the most fascinating stories to follow in another important offseason.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/san-fr...-packers-approach-addressing-key-roster-issue

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

49ers Draft profile: EDGE Zion Young

JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 27: Missouri Tigers defensive end Zion Young (9) rushes the passer during the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, December 27, 2025 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Well, it’s draft season. So, not profiling multiple defensive linemen would be a mistake for the San Francisco 49ers’ projections. Toss in how unproductive the pass rush was last season, and we could be looking at two or three more defensive linemen added to the fold for whoever the 49ers choose for defensive coordinator. Nick Bosa’s return will help, and Bryce Huff and Keion White are cost-controlled, with Mykel Williams returning. But the 49ers’ philosophy of always drafting defensive linemen isn’t going to change.

Enter Senior Bowl standout EDGE from Missouri, Zion Young. The 6’5 EDGE rusher might have been created in a lab, and John Lynch was on hand in Mobile to watch his practices, which surely turned heads. The things the 49ers look for in EDGE rushers are there for Young. Long arms and is capable of setting the edge against the run. It would be hard to think the 49ers haven’t done their homework on Young.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. His college sack production isn’t high. With 2.5 sacks, production is a concern. Sure, the tools are there, but you have to finish. Again, the 49ers would be betting on traits and their development skills to get the most out of Young.

Matt Holder of Bleacher Report listed his strengths and areas of development in his scouting report.

Where he wins

– Young has a good frame and build, and appears to have good arm length.

– Solid strength at the point of attack and the long arms help him get extension on blocks from offensive tackles.

– Consistently resets the line of scrimmage against tight ends.

– Decent at setting the edge and running his feet to avoid getting reached against the run.

– Solid power and leg drive as a pass-rusher to occasionally collapse the pocket when bull rushing or turning speed to power.

– Active hands as a pass-rusher and has shown improvement with his use of hands from 2024 to 2025.

– Good pass-rusher motor to get coverage sacks.

Areas of Improvement

– Lacks burst/acceleration off the line of scrimmage to threaten offensive tackles with speed around the edge.

– Not very twitchy and doesn’t show high-level athleticism as a pass-rusher.

– Use of hands when rushing the passer is still a work in progress, his timing is off which limits his ability to take advantage of his long arms.

– Subpar bend and angles around the edge, impacting his ability to corner at the top of the rush and leading to inefficient paths to the quarterback.

– Has a habit of occasionally working around blocks.

– Turns his shoulders perpendicular to the line of scrimmage when setting the edge.

– As a freshman at Michigan State, he was involved in a fight in the tunnel after the game against Michigan and pled guilty to misdemeanor assault charges while also serving a suspension. Also, he was arrested for DWI on Dec. 13, two weeks before Missouri’s bowl game, per KOMU 8.

While the physical skills will pique the 49ers’ interest, you have to wonder if character concerns will be the deal breaker for the front office. Also, can the 49ers afford to spend a second-round pick (his current projection) on a player with limited sack production? The 49ers must have instant contributors with their first two picks. Foregoing other positions for Young is a risk, but one that the 49ers will surely weigh during their process.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/general/155827/49ers-draft-profile-edge-zion-young

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Report: NFL Projects 2026 salary cap as high as $305.7 million

Oct. 29, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; An Arizona Cardinals fan wears a costume of fake money in the grandstands against the San Francisco 49ers at University of Phoenix Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 24-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

All that’s left is the Super Bowl, and then football, the greatest sport, ends. That means the second-greatest sport begins:

Waiting for football to start.

And part of waiting is anticipating the 2026 salary cap. The San Francisco 49ers could be a lot more active in 2026 free agency. For 2025, they tried to address the salary cap, which led to departures, trades, and a younger team than we may have been used to. 2026 could be a different beast depending on when the Brandon Aiyuk money shakes out, the Nick Bosa insurance, and other things.

This should help, too: a salary cap upwards of $305.7 million. Tom Pelissero reports that the league informed clubs of a projection in the neighborhood of $301.2 million to $305.7 million.

The cap in 2025 was $279.2 million.

Considering that the 49ers will be active in free agency this year (well, at least more active than last year), having a higher ceiling will certainly help them. The 49ers typically play their contracts into expected salary cap increases. That obviously led to problems during COVID and post-COVID, but things are back to normal.

Per OverTheCap, the 49ers currently have $23,327,521 in salary cap space. That number isn’t factoring in all those escalations mentioned above, so looking at it at the end of January could be a bit misleading. The numbers are based on an OverTheCap estimate of $295.5 million. So, if the actuals go above $305 million, that gives them another $10 million to play with, be it a year’s salary for a veteran, more guarantees, or just having something available for in-season transactions when they need to bring players in.

The actual salary cap is announced at the latest in early March, before the start of the new league year. We’ll know for sure how much money the 49ers can play with around then.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/san-fr...ects-2026-salary-cap-as-high-as-305-7-million

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Eddie DeBartolo on going 31 years without a championship: “I wouldn’t”

Sep 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Over on the feed, you may have seen a snippet from former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo on the team’s 31-year drought to a Lombardi Trophy. When asked how frustrating it would be as an owner to go 31 years without a championship, DeBartolo said it as succinctly as possible:

“I wouldn’t.”

Eddie DeBartolo on how frustrating it would be to go 31 years without a championship as an owner:

"I wouldn't."

Via: @mattblively
pic.twitter.com/IjxjY7r4gz

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) January 28, 2026

Obviously, this has brought many of the York/DeBartolo comparisons back into the fold, and speculation on how much better DeBartolo would have done if he still owned the team.

DeBartolo ceded control of the team after a scandal involving the former governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards. After being barred from controlling the team for a year, he decided to take the other part of the company, while his sister, Denise York, took the 49ers.

Eventually, her son, Jed, took over the team, and it’s the 49ers as you know it today.

Yes, it’s frustrating, and yes, we joke about the team being cursed—or in my case, waiting for something I call “The Great Disappointment” whenever the 49ers are in contention, but it’s also a much different era than it was during DeBartolo’s time. DeBartolo prided himself on getting personal with his players and taking care of them. That includes paying them top dollar and not having to worry about free agency or salary caps.

That’s the difference. The last time DeBartolo won a championship in the salary cap era (well, the salary cap we’re familiar with) with the 49ers was 1994, the first year of its introduction. The years that followed slapped the 49ers with consequences for that loaded team. The veterans hit on a good deal of their incentives, and the team had to do a ton of restructuring that put them on the path to mediocrity.

All I’m saying is that’s an appropriate response from a beloved owner like Eddie DeBartolo, but it also was in an era when he could spend money on players, and free agency wasn’t the thing it is today. Can you imagine all the free agency casualties the 49ers had over the last few years avoided because they didn’t have to worry about hitting a limit? Could they have managed to keep all those players? Who knows. Trades were more prevalent, but there was much more time to develop players and a larger window to win as a result.

I’m not saying DeBartolo is wrong, I’m just providing context that this is a different era, and it’s even harder to win when NFL teams are basically penalized for drafting well.

Then again, the 49ers could just shove all the chips in like other teams do for one year and then spend a few years in mediocrity. Personally, I would rather be in contention every year and not “buy” championships, but maybe that would be the new strategy.

Where do you come off on DeBartolo’s comments?

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/san-fr...ing-31-years-without-a-championship-i-wouldnt

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Golden Nuggets: One more week of this for 49ers fans

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 31: Brandon Allen #17, Sam Darnold #14 and Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers in the locker room before the game against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field on December 31, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. The 49ers defeated the Commanders 27-10. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) | Getty Images

49ers Insider Drops Strong Message on Browns DC Jim Schwartz
“[Schwartz] is a guy who obviously Kyle Shanahan respects a lot,” Lee Chan said in her YouTube video published on Jan. 30. “I don’t know that he’s the best fit for the 49ers and how they’re built defensively. 49ers are built to rush from the line. They aren’t meant to be huge blitzers. They have the safeties be the erasers. You’ve got two linebackers. Fred Warner is your coverage and run stopper. So your defensive line doesn’t have to assess the situation. They don’t have to say, ‘Okay, this is a run play. This is a pass play.’ You know, they don’t have to look at how things are set up. They don’t have to look at the motions. They are just there to go get the quarterback.”

Meanwhile, former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman believes Schwartz would benefit from being the Niners’ defensive coordinator if he has hopes of being an NFL head coach again.

“I think if Schwartz goes to another team, a contender who’s out of a defensive coordinator right now, I think he has a head coach job within the next two years,” Sherman said in a Jan. 30 video from “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “And by contender, I’m thinking of the San Francisco 49ers, and I would imagine Kyle Shanahan is on the phone right now, whatever you need.

“After losing Robert Saleh to a head coaching job and showing a pipeline for his defensive coordinators to be elevated to head coaching jobs, you talk about DeMeco Ryans, you talk about Robert Saleh twice. Even my guy Jeff Hafley, who was on the staff in ’18, is now a head coach right now for the Miami Dolphins.”

Meanwhile, 49ers reporter Grant Cohn for On SI shared his thoughts on the three candidates and sees Morris as the guy San Francisco should hire among the three candidates they have interviewed, given his head-coaching experience and his role as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator when they won the Super Bowl.”

49ers address several needs in new 3-round NFL mock draft
“K.C. Concepcion is a dynamic receiver with tremendous YAC ability and impressive quickness, excelling as a route runner who shoots out of his breaks. Throughout his stints at Texas A&M and NC State, he’s been a reliable underneath weapon with inside-outside versatility. His twitchiness underneath and speed-oriented game would be a near-perfect addition to San Francisco’s offense.”

“Caleb Tiernan is a massive blocker, standing at 6’7″ and weighing 329 pounds, with gap-zone run-blocking versatility,” Infante said. “He has the size, strength, hand usage, and spatial awareness to become a good starter in the NFL.”

“The 49ers saw firsthand that their edge-rusher depth wasn’t up to par as their defense declined in the second half of 2025,” Infante added. “The 6’5″, 275-pound Anthony Lucas is a lengthy, powerful defender with accurate hand placement and good speed-to-power rushing the passer.”

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/san-fr...heem-morris-gus-bradley-electrical-substation

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Kyle Shanahan bringing in old friend to fill 49ers’ defensive coordinator spot

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 19: Head Coach Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers shake hands after the game at Levi's Stadium on October 19, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Falcons 20-10. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The 49ers have settled on their replacement for Robert Saleh and, despite plenty of talk about them staying in-house for his successor, they have decided against going with the continuity of Gus Bradley.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that the 49ers plan to hire Raheem Morris as their next defensive coordinator.

This move comes after Morris missed out on the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job. Morris was a finalist for that role, which will instead go to former 49ers assistant Mike LaFleur.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Morris have crossed paths at several points in their respective coaching careers.

They first worked on the same staff when Shanahan was the offensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004-05. Morris was the assistant defensive backs coach during that span.

Morris was the defensive backs coach in Washigton from 2012 to 2014, spending two seasons with Shanahan once again, whose spell as offensive coordinator with the franchise lasted from 2010 to 2013.

Shanahan and Morris last worked on the same staff with the Atlanta Falcons during Shanahan’s two-season spell as their offensive coordinator from 2015 to 2016. Morris served as the assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator for Dan Quinn in 2015, and then as the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach in 2016.

Morris was unable to make the playoffs in his second go as a head coach with the Falcons, going 8-9 in 2024 and 2025.

But Shanahan will doubtless be delighted to get Morris on his staff, having effusively praised him after he was hired in Atlanta.

“Oh, it’s way past due. Raheem’s one of the best coaches I’ve been with,” Shanahan said following Morris’ hiring.

“I got to work with him earlier in my career in Tampa. When I was young I was trying to get my dad to hire him as a D-Coordinator. He ended up becoming a head coach so fast. Then I got a chance to work with him in Washington. Then Atlanta, he actually was on defense.

“He got to come work with me on offense for a year. The fact that he was on defense his whole career and came to be our receiver coach, it was unbelievable how cool he was. How good he did. Always tried to get him here every single year.”

Now Shanahan finally has Morris in the Bay Area, and he will be tasked with continuing the work done by Saleh and ensuring a young defense makes significant strides in 2026.

Morris does have a relatively recent track record of success as a coordinator during his most recent spell in that role with the Los Angeles Rams.

He coordinated the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning defense of 2021, which finished the year ninth in EPA per play, albeit with Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Jalen Ramsey at his disposal.

Los Angeles endured a severe downturn in 2022, but Morris has experience getting results out of a young defense, having done so in 2023 in Donald’s final season, when the Rams, fielding rookies such as Kobie Turner and Byron Young, finished 20th in EPA per play but 11th in success rate.

The 49ers will almost certainly look to add to their front after an anaemic performance by their pass rush in 2025 and, with Nick Bosa and Fred Warner set to return from injuries in plenty of time ahead of the 2026 kickoff, San Francisco has reason to be confident a coach who has previously leant heavily on the Cover 3 shells that are the foundation of its defense can put this unit on the path to success.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/san-fr...-friend-fill-49ers-defensive-coordinator-spot