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[San Francisco 49ers]

What will make the 49ers’ 2025 season a disappointment? A nightmare?

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Hard to say what counts as disappointing. Brock Purdy regresses? Brandon Aiyuk misses the season? 49ers fans have lived through worse. They don’t do average years—it’s either “almost there” or “burn it down.”

Around these parts, many fans may tell you the season is a trainwreck if the 49ers don’t win every game (including their preseason contests). You can be a bit more modest and say not making the Super Bowl is an abysmal failure. In 2024, that was true—the 49ers were a Super Bowl team, but then Dial-A-Injury came to collect interest from 2023, along with a defensive coach in over his head, and a special teams coach that had been on the staff a few seasons too long.

It’s an understatement to say the 49ers' 6-11 record in 2024 was a disappointment. That was a nightmare. A nightmare to endure week after week of watching the team get a lead, someone get injured, and the lead gets blown in a variety of ways.

Ok, so let’s look to 2025: What would you say is a “disappointment” this year? Things are a lot different. Do you still think the 49ers not making the Super Bowl is a disappointment? The playoffs?

What would you say would be a nightmare of a season? For 49ers fans, they may only know what nightmares are given how ridiculous the bad seasons go.

Bleacher Report’s nightmare scenario for the 49ers centers on Brock Purdy and the team being financially handcuffed together:

Just after landing a big-money long-term contract, Brock Purdy continues to regress significantly with a depleted supporting cast, and the 49ers find themselves handcuffed for years to come.

That’s the suggestion for a nightmare? Given what fans have gone through, that sounds pretty tame. An ideal nightmare for this would be all of those things, but Purdy also goes down halfway through the season and doesn’t return until 2026. Even then, I don’t see Purdy taking that much of a step back. He wasn’t the problem in 2024. He certainly has some share of the blame, but his kicker was hit or miss, his receivers couldn’t catch, and the defense couldn’t stop Geno Smith. And Purdy had a lot of week-to-week changes in his supporting cast in 2024.

So, what do you think defines “Disappointment” and “Nightmare” for 2025?

I know the first thing everyone is going to say is that without a Super Bowl win, the season is disappointing. I’ll pump the brakes here and try to be real: I don’t think that’s happening with all the roster churn. We could say that not securing a playoff berth is disappointing; I agree there. The 49ers have the easiest schedule (on paper), and there shouldn’t be any excuse for the blown games last year to happen again.

Going deeper, I think what makes 2025 disappointing is if the second-year players don’t develop further. The rookies stole the show multiple times last year when everyone else was sidelined by the injury bug. Hopefully, a full offseason and that experience will make them ready to take the team further, and the 49ers can retain some young stars.

2025 will be disappointing if we see a significant step back from Brock Purdy. He won’t have the offense this year that he had during the 2023 campaign, again, but he will have a more secure-functioning defense. I won’t say more talented, because that 2023 defense was darn good, but without the coaching hoopla we came to love with Steve Wilks, the defense will be less dysfunctional.

This is coming from someone who has criticized Robert Saleh for miscommunications that have plagued his defenses for critical moments (one being the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs a few years back).

I’d be elated to see the 49ers win a Super Bowl, but not getting there wouldn’t be a disappointing season. There’s been a lot of roster attrition and a youth movement of sorts on the 49ers. I’d like to see the second-year players take another step to solidify their play, and I’d like to see a display from the rookies not unlike last year’s mess (now that season WAS a disappointment).

Thing is, the 49ers don’t really do disappointing seasons. They either hand you an A or drop a full-blown F. The 49ers either have a good season that ends with disappointment (because, 49ers) or their seasons are so far from anything positive, you’d have to buy into several GPUs to crunch all the numbers necessary to prove positive data.

Which leads me to what a nightmare is. 49ers fans know what nightmare seasons are. 49ers fans are desensitized to nightmare seasons. When you ask a 49ers fan what a nightmare season is, several examples can be provided with little trouble. At this point, 49ers fans would like anything other than a nightmare. If things go wrong, they go off the rails. What’s a nightmare? If Dial-A-Injury returns yet again. That roster has too much youth on it and contracts with 1-2 years left, which can be disrupted by season-ending injuries in August and September. Everyone remembers 2018 and Dial-A-Injury showing up to claim Jimmy Garoppolo. Then more came from there. How can offensive players get better when their quarterback is out for the season?

What do you think makes the 49ers' season disappointing? What would make it an absolute nightmare?

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...9ers-2025-season-a-disappointment-a-nightmare

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Former first-round pick’s recent extension could give 49ers a blueprint for next contract negotiation

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The 49ers’ next contract negotiation could be with Jauan Jennings, and the recent extension for Rashod Bateman may be what they have in mind for the wideout.

The 49ers are done with their significant business in terms of contract extensions after quickly moving to get George Kittle, Brock Purdy and Fred Warner tied to long-term deals.

Though Trent Williams and Kyle Juszczyk are set to be free agents in 2027 — with both potential candidates for retirement following the 2026 season — the 49ers don’t have a prospective contract saga with a star player on the horizon.

However, they do have a decision to make regarding one of their most reliable weapons on offense.

Jauan Jennings signed a two-year extension last offseason coming off a hugely impressive performance in Super Bowl 58 and subsequently produced the best season of his career, with only a bizarre ejection in the Week 18 finale robbing him of a 1,00-yard campaign.

Jennings will be a free agent in 2026 and, while the 49ers probably won’t be focusing on getting him signed to a new deal in the immediate future as they concentrate on getting ready for the 2025 season, they will eventually need to decide whether to get out in front of his pending free agency and enter negotiations with his camp.

San Francisco last November signed Deommodore Lenoir to an in-season extension, signing the cornerback to a long-term deal before he had a chance to hit the market.

Set to turn 28 next month, Jennings’ 2026 free agency would represent his first and probably last opportunity to cash in and earn a lucrative contract following his hugely impressive rise from seventh-round pick to a now very dependable WR2.

The prospect of Jennings doing as Lenoir did and signing an extension in season likely hinges on three factors. The first two are his desire to do so, and his play on the field. These are obvious and they are linked. If Jennings wants to learn his value on the open market, then he won’t have any interest in signing an extension during the season, and his value in free agency will be much higher if he thrives again as he did in 2024.

But the third factor doesn’t concern the performance of Jennings, but that of his teammates. The 49ers have invested heavily in the wide receiver position in recent drafts, taking Ricky Pearsall in the first round last year and taking Jacob Cowing (2024) and Jordan Watkins (2025) with fourth-round selections, with the latter already receiving hype from Purdy for his performance in OTAs.

Pearsall, Cowing and Watkins are of a different mold to Jennings. They are smaller and shiftier, with the latter duo possessing the speed to take the top off defenses.

But if Pearsall and one of Cowing or Watkins shines and make prominent contributions in 2025, it could decrease the 49ers’ motivation to make a concerted effort to keep Jennings around.

Still right now it is difficult to see the 49ers not wanting to re-sign Jennings, given his prowess in clutch situations and his outstanding play as a blocker.

And they received a potential blueprint for another Jennings extension this week when the Baltimore Ravens signed 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman to a new three-year deal.

Bateman inked a deal worth $36.75 million with $20 million guaranteed. The average annual value of his extension is $12.25 million.

Having underwhelmed a first-round pick, Bateman’s numbers are markedly similar to those of Jennings.

A 2024 season in which he went for a career-high 756 receiving yards and racked up nine touchdowns inflated Bateman’s numbers through the first four seasons of a career that has endured several injury-related disruptions to 1,923 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The yardage number is slightly below the 1,938 receiving yards recorded by Jennings, who also had 13 regular-season touchdowns in his career. Bateman, however, has been the slightly more efficient receiver in terms of yards per reception, averaging 13.9 to Jennings’ 12.5.

With their close proximity in terms of numbers, the 49ers could consider an offer of $12.25 million a year to be a fair one for Jennings. It would not see him earn anywhere close to top of the market money, but it would still represent a considerable increase on the two-year, $15.4 million extension he signed last year.

On the other hand, Jennings could point to advanced numbers that point to him being superior to Bateman. He averaged 2.5 yards per route run to Bateman’s 1.9 last year and finished 20th in total Expected Points Added among wide receivers last season. He was eight spots ahead of Bateman despite running 372 routes to Bateman’s 387.

With his added value in the blocking game and his previous history of coming up huge in clutch moments in both the regular season and the postseason, a strong first half of the 2025 season may put Jennings in a position to command a good deal more than Bateman’s average annual salary.

Still, if and when the 49ers come to the negotiating table with Jennings’ representatives, Bateman’s contract could be the one they seek to work towards.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...ion-49ers-blueprint-next-contract-negotiation

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Golden Nuggets: Not so mini for a minicamp

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Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Monday, June 9th, 2025

49ers relish Navy SEALs’ visit, workout as they seek new bond this offseason (paywall)

“Kittle found it “absolutely crazy” to hear stories such as SEALs cramming into “little clear fishing boats that were supposed to hold like 200 pounds, (they) had five guys packed in them, fully packed and are going up a river in the middle of a day, and (they) somehow came back from that.”

Shanahan estimated this was the third time in his nine years that the 49ers have signaled for the SEALs to “just come in and give some classroom work. We do an activity, a kind of paintball-type thing, it wasn’t paintballs though. It’s just Navy SEALs stuff.”

Purdy marveled at the presentations and absorbed how meaningful it is to uphold a standard and culture among peers.”

Will the 49ers Trade for Miami Dolphins Cornerback Jalen Ramsey?

“And they probably could get him for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick — he’s currently holding out of mandatory minicamp and he’s 30, so he’s slightly past his prime. They should take a flyer on him. If he’s no good, they can cut him next year.”

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...s-robert-saleh-navy-seals-training-team-brock

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

What’s the biggest reason for optimism for the 49ers in 2025?

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There are many reasons, but is it just health?

The San Francisco 49ers have plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of the 2025 NFL season. Robert Saleh has returned as the Defensive Coordinator and helped revamp the 49ers' defensive line and run defense. Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Fred Warner signed massive contract extensions before training camp, and Kyle Shanahan gets Christian McCaffrey back at full health with Brandon Aiyuk returning eventually.

You can add the easiest strength of schedule, as the 49ers finished 6-11 in 2024. The development of Malik Mustapha, Ricky Pearsall, Renardo Green, and Dominick Puni will be exciting to see in their second seasons. All of these factors have the 49ers as the betting favorites to win the NFC West.

Should the optimism around the team be based solely on the bounce-back injury luck in 2025?

Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus believes so.

One of many reasons the 49ers missed the postseason last season was a slew of injuries to their star players. Only four of their offensive starters played in all 17 games last season. Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk both played fewer than 400 snaps. Trent Williams didn’t play after Week 11. The defensive line was decimated by the end of the season, as well.

San Francisco should see improvement simply due to their star players returning to full strength.

Health is the biggest factor facing any NFL team, but the 49ers have faced some extreme circumstances in recent years. The 49ers' offense was able to move the ball in between the twenties last season, but struggled in the red zone and settled for far too many field goals. McCaffrey’s return should help solve the red zone woes.

Of course, the 49ers' defense struggled last season and will improve under Saleh. Stopping the run will allow the 49ers' “Nascar” package to get after the quarterback and end drives on third down. The secondary was excellent last season, and that should continue in 2025.

There are many reasons for optimism in 2025, but health will be the determining factor for success with the 49ers.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...-optimism-for-the-49ers-in-2025-injury-health

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Golden Nuggets: Last practice til camp

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Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Wednesday, June 11th, 2025

Kyle Shanahan speaks at 49ers mandatory minicamp

“San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed reporters following the team’s first practice of mandatory minicamp. Here’s everything he had to say.”

49ers’ Trent Williams on his future: ‘Not going to retire with something left in the tank’ (paywall)

“You wouldn’t think that this is a team that went 6-11 last year,” Williams said Tuesday. “The confidence, the way the kids are flying around. … The new draft class to me looks like it has several steals, several great picks that are going to contribute.

“I was really pleased to see how the confidence and how the atmosphere is coming back and kind of being around the guys for the first time.”

Wednesday’s session is the last practice before the team parts ways until training camp in six weeks. Williams, who turns 37 next month, had mentioned last year that he would like to play until he is 40 years old, and pooh-poohed any talk of retirement.”

49ers rookie returner Junior Bergen has big goals, out to prove he has the ‘it’ factor (paywall)

“Besides Boyer, Bergen had another big fan on the 49ers staff. New assistant special teams coach Colt Anderson once played safety at Montana and also watched Bergen from the stands.

While there were a lot of teams making Bergen free-agent offers late in the draft, general manager John Lynch said both Boyer and Anderson were campaigning hard for the 49ers to go ahead and take him in the seventh round.

“He just has great awareness,” Hauck said. “He catches the ball clean — in any kind of weather — and secures it, which is very important, but it’s his point-guard awareness that makes him special. He knows where everybody is, and he has great feel and acceleration.”

Bergen did play point guard for the basketball team at Billings (Mont.) High, along with football, baseball and wrestling. He was the sixth of nine kids growing up and wore oversized football cleats around the house as a toddler, earning him the nickname “Cleatus” from his grandfather.”

What the 49ers see in Mykel Williams gets into who he is, not just what he can do (paywall)

“Wherever the event was — for the elderly, kids, children with cancer, people with disabilities — Mykel pops up all over the video,” Schumann said. “When there were opportunities to give back, he always did. And he genuinely enjoyed it.”

Asked about his philanthropy, Williams, the oldest of five siblings, points to his background. He has four sisters, ages 17, 16, 12 and 5, and his protective older-brother role is part of what’s made looking out for others reflexive.

Williams has a close relationship with his mother, Shemekia, a three-sport college athlete who is in the Fort Valley State University Hall of Fame. But he was primarily raised by his father, John, who declined to take much credit for his son’s generosity.

“A lot of that is just him,” John Williams said. “I tell him all the time, ‘You’ve got a bigger heart than I did.’ He’s a good-spirited kid who has no ill will for anyone. It’s just a blessing to be part of his life. I’ve learned from him as much as he’s learned from me.”

49ers minicamp report: Brock Purdy throws picks, Jacob Cowing garners praise (paywall)

“While a smattering of established veterans like Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy have taken part in all of the spring practices so far, the bulk of the work has gone to newcomers. Shanahan said he wants that group to learn the system, take advantage of the 40-day break, then hit the ground running — and competing — when training camp opens late next month.

Shanahan said he’s been pleased with the spring period. Unlike the 2024 offseason that was marked by a Super Bowl hangover — “One of the most traumatic events you can experience in sports is losing the Super Bowl,” tackle Trent Williams said — and contract disputes, this one has been lively and drama-free. Shanahan had strong attendance when the offseason program opened April 22 and perfect attendance Tuesday.”

Brock Purdy Throws Three Interceptions on Day 1 of 49ers Minicamp

“Winters was playing zone coverage over the middle and Purdy threw the ball right to him. Winters is playing too well to lose his starting spot to rookie Nick Martin. I predict Winters will start next to Fred Warner in the season opener.”

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...y-interceptions-dee-winters-watkins-aiyuk-nfl

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Shanahan wants his QBs to ‘let it rip’ in practice and not worry about stats on social media

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49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan seemed a little annoyed at the thought of practice stats impacting how his players practice.

When you’re watching practice, the goal of the media member is to provide as much information as possible to those who are unable to attend. Throughout the years, charting and sharing practice statistics have become increasingly prevalent.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan believes these stats are messing with his player's heads. Just like in real, meaningful games, stats rarely tell the whole story. A receiver can impact a game without having 10 catches. A quarterback having a completion percentage north of 70 doesn’t necessarily mean he made a difference.

For example, Jalen Hurts completed 15 of his 20 passes in the NFC Divisional round, but he only threw for 128 yards. Shanahan shared why he’d rather see his quarterbacks let it rip in practice and explained why.

Kyle was explicitly talking about Mac Jones and rebuilding his confidence after Jones said he needed to relearn a few things when it comes to playing quarterback in Shanahan’s system. “Trying to get them to trust what they do and let it rip. That’s all I want in practice,” Shanahan said. “You go through all these practices, and you never throw a pick; you’re probably not getting better.”

We all remember when Jimmy Garoppolo threw five interceptions during training camp in 2019. Garoppolo’s job was never in jeopardy. Trey Lance made several mistakes. Shoot, Brock Purdy threw multiple interceptions during Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice.

Practice is about the process. It’s the ideal time to make mistakes and test what you can and can’t get away with. Unfortunately, in the eyes of Shanahan, having media members around to share those perceived mistakes is a detriment to the progress a quarterback can make.

“I think that’s one of the biggest challenges having you guys around, no offense to you guys,” Shanahan said. “But they used to not report people’s stats every day and say who’s ahead, who’s back, who’s whatever. You could just practice. And when guys play to practice that way, they don’t get better at anything.”

You can see where Shanahan is coming from. You would also think that a professional football player wouldn’t let social media influence how he plays. They’re the ones in these meetings daily. They know that quarterback coach Mick Lombardi isn’t talking about being 14-for-24. Lombardi cares about quarterbacks making the correct decision, playing on time, going through his reads, etc.

Still, it was interesting to hear Shanahan reference practice stats. It’s a sign that perhaps social media does matter, regardless of what we think.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...shanahan-mac-jones-brock-purdy-practice-stats

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Golden Nuggets: Six weeks until the next practice report

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Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Thursday, June 12th, 2025

Robert Saleh speaks at 49ers mandatory minicamp

“San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh addressed reporters following the team’s final practice of mandatory minicamp. Here’s everything he had to say.”

Can running back Corey Kiner follow blueprint of 49ers’ undrafted success stories? (paywall)

“Turner, 75, the NFL’s oldest position coach, does exhaustive research on college prospects. And the old-school taskmaster evidently found a kindred spirit in Kiner during their pre-draft conversations. Kiner said his football mentality was shaped by his father, Clifton, who served in the Army and instilled discipline that included a belief that “if you’re early you’re on time.”

Kiner began showing up early for practice when he was at Roger Bacon High School in suburban Cincinnati to run laps and do ladder drills, pushups and situps. He said he’s been among the first to hit the field with the 49ers.

“A lot of people have problems and (Turner) doesn’t care about the problems,” Kiner said. “His thing is to get up and go to work every day. Sometimes you need that. I feel like today you can get caught up in ‘I’m not feeling good. I deserve this. I deserve that.’ Coach Bobby T.’s approach to everything is ‘I don’t care what I deserve.’ I’m going to get up and go to work every day.”

49ers believe Bryce Huff, ‘speed demon’ with an undrafted motor, can be next Dee Ford (paywall)

“Prior to Bryce Huff’s 10-sack breakthrough with the New York Jets in 2023, he played well into fourth quarters during the preseason. In 2022, the Jets added multiple free agents and rookies at his position. And ahead of the 2021 season, Huff added 20-plus pounds of muscle just to secure his roster spot as a defensive end after entering the league in 2020 as a linebacker.

Robert Saleh, his head coach and defensive coordinator in New York, never saw Huff discouraged. He gladly played every preseason snap he could get in Year 4 as if he were still an undrafted rookie, noting: “If (Saleh) thinks I need to get these reps, I’m going to go out there and get these reps. I just keep it pushing.”

Kawakami: Trent Williams is the 49ers’ 2025 outlier — and most irreplaceable presence (paywall)

‘Williams currently has zero money guaranteed for next season. (He held out through training camp last year to get a guarantee for this season.) He’s definitely not in his prime. But he’s unique because even if he’s not at his best, he’s by far the 49ers’ best option at an extremely vital position. And to underline that, the 49ers once again didn’t draft a tackle this year — they haven’t drafted a tackle since they took Jaylon Moore in the fifth round in 2021, and they just lost Moore to free agency in March.

Teams show what they’re thinking by their actions — or, in this case, in the 49ers’ lack of action at left tackle. They’ve looked at resetting almost every part of the roster, but they’re still banking on Williams like they banked on him since they acquired him from Washington in an amazing trade in April 2020.”

Mac Jones finding his footing in 49ers’ QBs room after fall from grace as a first-round pick (paywall)

“In his first media availability as a Niner after the fact, he admitted to being “a little bit shaky” while “drinking from a (fire) hose.”

The former first-round pick found himself on his third team in three offseasons when he signed with the 49ers in March. It was also the first time Jones as a free agent had the freedom to pick where he wanted to play. The Patriots traded the Alabama alum three seasons after selecting him No. 15 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft — before the end of his rookie deal — to the Jaguars, where his confidence seemed to only worsen with the subpar play he stumbled into after being pressed into action for a concussed Trevor Lawrence last season.

Jones said he has carried the “scars” which marked his fall from grace with him to Santa Clara, a place for him to reset.

Tuesday may have been one of his cleanest practices to date. His back-shoulder pass to Demarcus Robinson for an explosive gain was an encouraging highlight for a quarterback who admitted some of his past tape revealed a timidity that held him back.

“Sometimes, when you watch my film, maybe it wasn’t a full commitment throw,” Jones said. “I want to get better at that, and I have when I’ve been out there. That’s the whole point of football is to try those throws, learn from them, and then when you get to the game, you can say, ‘Hey, I can do this,’ or, ‘I’m going to check this one down.’

“I learned the hard way.”

After painful season, 49ers’ Trent Williams sees playing into 2026 and beyond (paywall)

“Williams was asked Tuesday how he summoned the necessary enthusiasm for a 15th NFL season. He indicated the process wasn’t easy, terming it a “good question,” before he referenced the adversity he overcame earlier in his career.”

The Good and Not So Good from Day 2 of 49ers Minicamp 2025

“Attended practice but didn’t watch it. Instead, he stood next to the weight room and listened to a long, passionate speech from Terrell Owens. Frank Gore and Patrick Willis also listened. So that was one Hall of Famer lecturing the highest-paid wide receiver in franchise history while two other Hall of Famers listened respectfully. I have no idea what they were talking about, but I do know that Aiyuk has been a bit disgruntled for the past year, and Owens is arguably the biggest diva wide receiver of all time. If he’s now the voice of reason for Aiyuk, what an irony that would be. To Aiyuk’s credit, he listened intently.”

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...illiams-mac-jones-robert-saleh-bryce-huff-nfl

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

John Lynch makes emphatic statement on Brandon Aiyuk amid promising signs from 49ers young receivers

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It’s not clear when Brandon Aiyuk will make his return, but there’s cause for optimism around the 49ers’ receiving corps.

With Brandon Aiyuk coming off a devastating knee injury and the 49ers otherwise largely reliant on inexperienced players at wide receiver, it would be reasonable to have some concerns about the position going into the 2025 season.

However, thanks to a combination of developments on the field at spring practices and some emphatic comments from general manager John Lynch on Thursday, there’s cause for optimism that the 49ers’ situation at receiver is better than it might seem.

It remains to be seen whether Aiyuk will be ready for Week 1, but, asked about his recovery on The Pat McAfee Show, Lynch spoke very positively of his progress.

Lynch said:

“Brandon’s doing a tremendous job coming back. These guys that are incredibly skilled athletes, they tend to heal a lot faster. It’s kind of incredible how well he’s healing, and he’s putting in the work. We’re proud of Brandon, and we’re looking forward to him being part of this team moving forward. We made a big investment in him. We’re proud to have him part of our franchise, and looking for big things from him. And we’re gonna let him get right before we get him back on that field. But he’s an important part of this team.”

Lynch’s words suggest there is confidence the 49ers can get Aiyuk back on the field early in the season.

Of course, Aiyuk may need some time to knock the rust off when he does get back on the field having torn two ligaments and suffered meniscus damage in Week 7 last season.

As such, the 49ers will need others to step up and help mitigate the impact of an absence that extends into the regular season and any early struggles following Aiyuk’s return.

Outside of tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey — likely to be the focal points of the offense — much of the burden will fall on Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, who have each developed an impressive rapport with Brock Purdy.

Beyond that pair, though, the 49ers have also seen encouraging signs in OTAs and minicamp from 2024 fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing and rookie fourth-rounder Jordan Watkins.

Cowing has received widespread praise for his performances in practice after making just four catches on six targets as a rookie. Shanahan said of Cowing on Tuesday: “Jacob, I thought put in some of the most work that anyone did over the offseason.

“Just as far as doing it before Phase One started and then continuing it through One, Two, and Three. And I think it’s really transferred over into those OTA practices.”

Shanahan was reluctant to lavish the same praise on Watkins, but Purdy did not hesitate to do so when asked about the former Ole Miss wideout.

Said Purdy:

“Jordan Watkins has been balling from day one really. He’s come in and he’s done everything pretty right and he’s been on point. He’s had a lot of explosive plays down the field. Obviously, the short game, the intermediate, he’s making plays all around. So, I’m excited for him. Obviously, we know it’s a process throughout this whole thing, from OTAs, to the 40 days away, to camp and I know he knows that. I’m really excited to keep working with him and for him to keep learning our offense and how we do things. But definitely a rookie that has popped out in front of everybody.”

There is obviously a huge difference between flashing promise in OTAs and minicamp and doing it when the real football starts but, with free agent signing Demarcus Robinson also said to be taking little time in developing chemistry with Purdy, the 49ers seemingly have reason to be upbeat about their Aiyuk insurance.

San Francisco will want to see a return on their $120 million investment in Aiyuk’s second contract in the near future. The words from Lynch suggest Aiyuk is edging closer to being ready to do that, and the evidence from the practice field indicates the 49ers might have enough depth at receiver to get at least sufficient production from that spot during the final weeks of his long road to recovery. It is wise to take everything with a pinch of salt at this time of year, but the early signs for the 49ers’ receivers are encouraging.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...uk-amid-promising-signs-49ers-young-receivers

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Golden Nuggets: It’s a beautiful Friday to overreact to minicamp reports

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Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Friday, June 13th, 2025

Steve Young praises 49ers offseason, still sees Super Bowl path

“I’m very happy with how they handled the offseason,” Young told Rich Eisen this week. “They had a clear plan. It was a plan that was retooling. It wasn’t a complete restructure, but it was retooling. And every move was tactical and smart and fast, and then signing everybody, and getting everybody on board. I just thought they handled the offseason perfectly.”

Ten 49ers who stood out in spring practices: ‘He’s due for a heck of a season’ (paywall)

“That said, Watkins stood out in the spring the way Pearsall did a year ago. He was a regular part of the receiver rotation and took a number of snaps with the first-team group.

Watkins’ strengths are speed and fluidity. He doesn’t break stride when catching the ball, which makes him an asset on the crossing routes that are such a big part of Shanahan’s offense.

He also seemed bigger in person than he appeared on tape — thick legs, big lower body — which signals the potential for breaking tackles and gaining yards after the catch.”

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...leh-praise-training-camp-practice-reports-nfl

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

The 49ers have only one member from their 2025 draft class unsigned

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C.J. West signed his four-year deal on Friday afternoon

The San Francisco 49ers announced they have signed the 113th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, C.J. West, who was the first of the 49ers pair of fourth-round picks this past draft.

West practiced with the second-team defense during the 49ers’ offseason program, as was the case with every other rookie. West will compete with veteran Jordan Elliott and undrafted free agent Evan Anderson from the 2024 draft class for playing time.

West, like most of the 2024 49ers’ draft class, has plenty of collegiate experience. He started 48 games over five seasons at Kent State and Indiana. This past year, he started 13 games for the Hoosiers, where he registered 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks that earned him Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors.

West’s deal is worth $5.21 million over four years during his rookie contract, including a signing bonus of $1.01 million. West’s cap hit is just over $1 million in 2025.

Now that West and Mykel Williams have signed, second-rounder Alfred Collins is the lone draft pick from the Niners 2025 draft class that remains unsigned.

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6/13/24448821/49ers-cj-west-mykel-williams-alfred-collins

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Can you guess this 49ers lineman in today’s in-5 trivia game?

Think you can figure out which Niners player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game!

Hey Niners Nation! We’re back for another day of the Niners Nation in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form.

Today’s Niners Nation in-5 game​

If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article.

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Niners Nation in-5 instructions​

The goal of the game is to guess the correct 49ers player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form.

Enjoy!

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6/14/24449133/sb-nation-49ers-daily-trivia-in-5

 

[San Francisco 49ers]

Which 49ers rookie drafted after Round 1 could play a key role in 2025?

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

CJ West? Alfred Collins? Connor Colby? Who do you see picked from round 2 on getting a key role?

The San Francisco 49ers have finished up mandatory minicamp, and now the wait for training camp begins. That’s when we can see the players in pads and really make some conclusions.

As far as the 49ers’ rookies, first-round pick Mykell Williams has been good, but his defensive line coach, Kris Kocurek, has said “good’s not good enough. It’s safe to assume that with all the issues the 49ers have had on the defensive line, he’ll have a significant role in 2025, if not a starting role.

But who else in that draft could earn a starting role in 2025?

Over at CBS Sports, Chris Trapasso listed fourth-round pick CJ West as the player most likely to earn a key role in 2025. Last we heard about West was when he signed his four-year rookie deal on Friday:

West was as advanced of a run-stuffer as there was at defensive tackle in the 2025 class. He’s ready to go in that area of the game, and based on the 49ers’ other selections, improving the run defense was the club’s core philosophy in the 2025 draft. The former Indiana star is an ascending pass-rusher, too, because along with the heavy hands he deploys to toss blockers ahead to halt the run, he has twitch when attacking upfield.

The 49ers don’t have a primary interior rusher who can stay on the field for three downs and routinely win. Well, they didn’t. They do now with West, whom they stole in the fourth round.

I really can’t argue with West as the guy. As Trapasso says, the 49ers’ run defense was atrocious in 2024. With that said, I think I can make a case for the second-round pick, defensive tackle Alfred Collins. Given the 49ers’ issues on the line since DJ Jones left, Collins wouldn’t have any issue stuffing up the run. West very well could fill that role as well.

Either way, it will be an interesting battle to watch in training camp to see where both West and Collins would fit. It’s fair to say both West and Collins are the future of the interior line. I’d be elated if both found a starting role and are key pieces in the 49ers' defensive line.

But there are other players that you think could make a starting role in 2025. Wide receiver Jordan Watkins has been turning heads and catching everything thrown at him so far. Perhaps guard Connor Colby can help solidify the offensive line?

What pick after the first round do you see carving out a key role on the 49ers?

Source: https://www.ninersnation.com/2025/6...d-after-round-1-could-play-a-key-role-in-2025