2020 Offseason

[Pattersonca65]

The Hawks have zero depth at DE. Yet they had no interest in bringing Ziggy back. That's pretty telling.

Btw Jordan Reed is like one concussion away from being brain dead.

Yeah, but that contract has almost no risk for the Niners, and the only hit would be potentially losing that last player they cut from the squad (and I think new practice squad rules could mitigate that?). The benefit there is clearly worth the risk, as the dude would be absolutely nasty as the second TE, and you aren't going to find that sort of talent just sitting around without the health concerns.

For Ansah, his upside is maybe five sacks. I'd rather give a younger player a shot than bring him in.

The guy just can't stay healthy. That's a pretty big risk.

I agree with you on Ansah. He was washed up years ago. Reed has an incentive laden contract. Even if he gets hurt, it isn't the end of world. There are other TEs that can step in. The upside is worth it for a favorable one year deal.

[CrimsonCrew]

The Hawks have zero depth at DE. Yet they had no interest in bringing Ziggy back. That's pretty telling.

Btw Jordan Reed is like one concussion away from being brain dead.

Yeah, but that contract has almost no risk for the Niners, and the only hit would be potentially losing that last player they cut from the squad (and I think new practice squad rules could mitigate that?). The benefit there is clearly worth the risk, as the dude would be absolutely nasty as the second TE, and you aren't going to find that sort of talent just sitting around without the health concerns.

For Ansah, his upside is maybe five sacks. I'd rather give a younger player a shot than bring him in.

The guy just can't stay healthy. That's a pretty big risk.

Not if you aren't taking a cap hit if you lose him, or giving up on a promising player for him.

The reluctance I would have is that I expect we might keep four TEs in this case (though could Woerner be protected on the PS), which might mean cutting a guy from a different position (WR? OL? DL?) who has upside. Teams get four protected spots on the PS this year, so there won't be as much concern about cutting a guy who might be coveted around the league in the first few weeks.

[wco81]

I'd guess well under that with incentives. He and Ford can help each other stay healthy. My concern is who it might cost the 49ers on the roster. I love the depth everywhere on the line other than pure edge rushers so it makes some sense.

Good luck.

Honestly, the guy needs to hang em up. You'd be better off with an open roster spot.

That's always the issue. Trent Williams hasn't been able to stay on the field, but the team is betting big on him ... Jerrick McKinnon, Trent Taylor, Dee Ford, Jalen Hurd, Kwon Alexander, Jason Verrett, Jimmy Ward, now Jordan Reed, etc ... the 49ers are betting pretty big on a bunch of players with bad injury histories.

Because they have little cap flexibility.

So they have to go with these players with huge injury-risks, give them incentive-laden deals.

But the greater risk is a rash of COVID infections, as we're seeing from baseball. Derek Jeter had to say the infected Marlin players were not being irresponsible, like trying to get ass at the clubs. But even if they're being responsible, they go home to families where their wives or girlfriends, and kids may be risking exposure and risking infecting the players.

So baseball just cancels games if one team has a infected players or coaches or staff.

What happens if before an NFL game, one team has a few infected players? Does the NFL cancel those games or does the one team have to promote a bunch of practice squad players, maybe even sign some players off the street?

Infection risk may be even greater than NFL injury risk, as high as the latter may be.

[Dodub]

According it reports, we hosted both Dion Jordan and Ezekiel Ansah

[Scoots1994]

Good luck.

Honestly, the guy needs to hang em up. You'd be better off with an open roster spot.

That's always the issue. Trent Williams hasn't been able to stay on the field, but the team is betting big on him ... Jerrick McKinnon, Trent Taylor, Dee Ford, Jalen Hurd, Kwon Alexander, Jason Verrett, Jimmy Ward, now Jordan Reed, etc ... the 49ers are betting pretty big on a bunch of players with bad injury histories.

Yeah, despite a lot of injuries, the team ultimately got pretty lucky with injuries last year given that they were relying heavily on guys with a long injury history. Lynch and Shanahan don't seem concerned about that.

I totally get the upside in players like Williams, Ford, and Reed (less so for McKinnon and Alexander, for whom we overpaid regardless of their health issues), but it's dangerous to rely too heavily on guys with a long track record of nagging injuries (I'm actually less worried about serious, more fluky injuries when discussing these guys). We'll see how it pans out this season.

The 49ers were the 4th ranked injured team on PFF's significant injury metric that takes into account the importance of the players to the team ... so they were unlucky in that regard. The fact they made the super bowl was impressive.

Yes it is risky.

Kwon I think is worth it, we have yet to see what McKinnon might do under Shanahan, and I don't blame injuries for "bad" contracts.

[Pattersonca65]

According it reports, we hosted both Dion Jordan and Ezekiel Ansah

Sounds like the 49ers are going to sign Jordan. It is the right call. Ansah is done.

[CrimsonCrew]

That's always the issue. Trent Williams hasn't been able to stay on the field, but the team is betting big on him ... Jerrick McKinnon, Trent Taylor, Dee Ford, Jalen Hurd, Kwon Alexander, Jason Verrett, Jimmy Ward, now Jordan Reed, etc ... the 49ers are betting pretty big on a bunch of players with bad injury histories.

Yeah, despite a lot of injuries, the team ultimately got pretty lucky with injuries last year given that they were relying heavily on guys with a long injury history. Lynch and Shanahan don't seem concerned about that.

I totally get the upside in players like Williams, Ford, and Reed (less so for McKinnon and Alexander, for whom we overpaid regardless of their health issues), but it's dangerous to rely too heavily on guys with a long track record of nagging injuries (I'm actually less worried about serious, more fluky injuries when discussing these guys). We'll see how it pans out this season.

The 49ers were the 4th ranked injured team on PFF's significant injury metric that takes into account the importance of the players to the team ... so they were unlucky in that regard. The fact they made the super bowl was impressive.

Yes it is risky.

Kwon I think is worth it, we have yet to see what McKinnon might do under Shanahan, and I don't blame injuries for "bad" contracts.

I haven't been able to find anything with PFF's injury metric, but I'd be very curious to read it if you can link to it.

The FO took huge risks in terms of players with significant injury histories that we relied on last year. Players we went into last year hoping/expecting to fill big roles with significant injury history in the pros or in college included:

C Richburg
OT Coleman
RB McKinnon
WR Goodwin
WR Taylor
WR Samuel
TE Kittle
DE Bosa
DL Armstead
DE Ford
LB Alexander
S Ward
S Tartt
CB Verrett
CB Witherspoon
CB Sherman (only due to the serious injury a couple years earlier)

Frankly, for a lot of those guys, it would have been a surprise to see them stay healthy the whole season. As far as I'm concerned, we got lucky that most of them did stay more or less healthy.

[CrimsonCrew]

That's always the issue. Trent Williams hasn't been able to stay on the field, but the team is betting big on him ... Jerrick McKinnon, Trent Taylor, Dee Ford, Jalen Hurd, Kwon Alexander, Jason Verrett, Jimmy Ward, now Jordan Reed, etc ... the 49ers are betting pretty big on a bunch of players with bad injury histories.

Yeah, despite a lot of injuries, the team ultimately got pretty lucky with injuries last year given that they were relying heavily on guys with a long injury history. Lynch and Shanahan don't seem concerned about that.

I totally get the upside in players like Williams, Ford, and Reed (less so for McKinnon and Alexander, for whom we overpaid regardless of their health issues), but it's dangerous to rely too heavily on guys with a long track record of nagging injuries (I'm actually less worried about serious, more fluky injuries when discussing these guys). We'll see how it pans out this season.

The 49ers were the 4th ranked injured team on PFF's significant injury metric that takes into account the importance of the players to the team ... so they were unlucky in that regard. The fact they made the super bowl was impressive.

Yes it is risky.

Kwon I think is worth it, we have yet to see what McKinnon might do under Shanahan, and I don't blame injuries for "bad" contracts.

And I'm not considering injury in calling those contracts bad. They were bad when we signed those guys. We overpaid for low priority positions, especially McKinnon who had never been a lead back and was paid like a pro bowler at a spot where we've gotten elite performance from UDFAs.

[Bald Bull]

Read on Twitter

[CrimsonCrew]

Hard for me to see someone "flashing" with two sacks. But assuming it's a deal near the minimum, no real harm.

[Bald Bull]

Coleman joins Travis Benjamin in opting out for the season

Read on Twitter

[CrimsonCrew]

Fair chance he wouldn't have made the team over Skule anyway, but he's a guy I've always been interested to see what he can do on the field.

[Scoots1994]

Yeah, despite a lot of injuries, the team ultimately got pretty lucky with injuries last year given that they were relying heavily on guys with a long injury history. Lynch and Shanahan don't seem concerned about that.

I totally get the upside in players like Williams, Ford, and Reed (less so for McKinnon and Alexander, for whom we overpaid regardless of their health issues), but it's dangerous to rely too heavily on guys with a long track record of nagging injuries (I'm actually less worried about serious, more fluky injuries when discussing these guys). We'll see how it pans out this season.

The 49ers were the 4th ranked injured team on PFF's significant injury metric that takes into account the importance of the players to the team ... so they were unlucky in that regard. The fact they made the super bowl was impressive.

Yes it is risky.

Kwon I think is worth it, we have yet to see what McKinnon might do under Shanahan, and I don't blame injuries for "bad" contracts.

I haven't been able to find anything with PFF's injury metric, but I'd be very curious to read it if you can link to it.

The FO took huge risks in terms of players with significant injury histories that we relied on last year. Players we went into last year hoping/expecting to fill big roles with significant injury history in the pros or in college included:

C Richburg
OT Coleman
RB McKinnon
WR Goodwin
WR Taylor
WR Samuel
TE Kittle
DE Bosa
DL Armstead
DE Ford
LB Alexander
S Ward
S Tartt
CB Verrett
CB Witherspoon
CB Sherman (only due to the serious injury a couple years earlier)

Frankly, for a lot of those guys, it would have been a surprise to see them stay healthy the whole season. As far as I'm concerned, we got lucky that most of them did stay more or less healthy.

It would seem my memory was faulty on 2 counts ... it was Football Outsiders, and they were not 4th but 6th.

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2020/2019-adjusted-games-lost-part-i

[Scoots1994]

Yeah, despite a lot of injuries, the team ultimately got pretty lucky with injuries last year given that they were relying heavily on guys with a long injury history. Lynch and Shanahan don't seem concerned about that.

I totally get the upside in players like Williams, Ford, and Reed (less so for McKinnon and Alexander, for whom we overpaid regardless of their health issues), but it's dangerous to rely too heavily on guys with a long track record of nagging injuries (I'm actually less worried about serious, more fluky injuries when discussing these guys). We'll see how it pans out this season.

The 49ers were the 4th ranked injured team on PFF's significant injury metric that takes into account the importance of the players to the team ... so they were unlucky in that regard. The fact they made the super bowl was impressive.

Yes it is risky.

Kwon I think is worth it, we have yet to see what McKinnon might do under Shanahan, and I don't blame injuries for "bad" contracts.

And I'm not considering injury in calling those contracts bad. They were bad when we signed those guys. We overpaid for low priority positions, especially McKinnon who had never been a lead back and was paid like a pro bowler at a spot where we've gotten elite performance from UDFAs.

The problem is that we don't know what McKinnon would have done had he not been injured when he signed the dal. He could have been all-pro 2 times. It's not likely, but we don't know ... or at least I don't know how he would have performed. I agree that his contract seemed large based on a projection. The same seemed true of Kyle Juszczyk when he signed his deal but he has proven to be critical to the offenses success. That said, his contract seemed high too, but even that has some merit in that when you are at the bottom and you want a rare skill you have to overpay to get it.

[Scoots1994]

Hard for me to see someone "flashing" with two sacks. But assuming it's a deal near the minimum, no real harm.

I'm just hoping they are looking everywhere and they will be quick to move player at the bottom of the roster if they find a younger one who has potential to play the edge.

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

JERICK MCKINNON
RB, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The Mercury News reports Jerick McKinnon has “looked sharp running routes” in the first few days of training camp.

The 49ers have been getting McKinnon first-team reps on passing downs. Despite missing the last two years, he could have a larger than expected role as a third-down complement to Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Even on a crowded depth chart, McKinnon’s $2 million dead money hit likely secures his roster spot.
SOURCE: Mercury News

Aug 7, 2020, 8:20 PM ET

[Cactus Jack]

JERICK MCKINNON
RB, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The Mercury News reports Jerick McKinnon has “looked sharp running routes” in the first few days of training camp.

The 49ers have been getting McKinnon first-team reps on passing downs. Despite missing the last two years, he could have a larger than expected role as a third-down complement to Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Even on a crowded depth chart, McKinnon’s $2 million dead money hit likely secures his roster spot.
SOURCE: Mercury News

Aug 7, 2020, 8:20 PM ET

So who's the RB to take in fantasy?

[Bald Bull]

JERICK MCKINNON
RB, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The Mercury News reports Jerick McKinnon has “looked sharp running routes” in the first few days of training camp.

The 49ers have been getting McKinnon first-team reps on passing downs. Despite missing the last two years, he could have a larger than expected role as a third-down complement to Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Even on a crowded depth chart, McKinnon’s $2 million dead money hit likely secures his roster spot.
SOURCE: Mercury News

Aug 7, 2020, 8:20 PM ET

So who's the RB to take in fantasy?

Mostert is the likely starter, who knows how well McKinnon will return after being hurt the last two seasons. But Shannahan does rotate the RBs pretty often, so he will get touches if he proves he's better than Coleman, which is likely cause Coleman sucks.

[Bald Bull]

Staley already looking thin

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

[CrimsonCrew]

JERICK MCKINNON
RB, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The Mercury News reports Jerick McKinnon has “looked sharp running routes” in the first few days of training camp.

The 49ers have been getting McKinnon first-team reps on passing downs. Despite missing the last two years, he could have a larger than expected role as a third-down complement to Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Even on a crowded depth chart, McKinnon’s $2 million dead money hit likely secures his roster spot.
SOURCE: Mercury News

Aug 7, 2020, 8:20 PM ET

So who's the RB to take in fantasy?

Mostert is the likely starter, who knows how well McKinnon will return after being hurt the last two seasons. But Shannahan does rotate the RBs pretty often, so he will get touches if he proves he's better than Coleman, which is likely cause Coleman sucks.

Depends where you pick them. McKinnon could be a late pick league winner if he's healthy. I'll probably try to nab him late. Mostert will go much earlier, but is the much safer bet to get consistent touches.

Agreed that Coleman is garbage.