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Trent Taylor

49ers Notes: Pettis, Taylor, Coleman

August 11th, 2019 at 11:33am CST by Rory Parks

49ers wideout Dante Pettis was a second-round pick last year and showed some flashes of promise in his rookie campaign, picking up 27 catches for 467 yards (good for an excellent 17.3 yards-per-reception) and five touchdowns. But he has consistently failed to come up with contested catches in training camp, and he was the only first-stringer from the 49ers’ initial depth chart to play in the club’s preseason opener Saturday.

The consensus has been that Pettis is a surefire starter for San Francisco this year, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said Pettis is not guaranteed a starting job, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Shanahan acknowledged that Pettis has a great deal of room for improvement, and he said he put Pettis in the game because he wanted the second-year pro to compete and to start elevating his game.

Rookie wideouts Jalen Hurd and Deebo Samuel played well in their NFL debuts, while Pettis had one target and no catches.

Now for more from the 49ers:

  • We heard yesterday that receiver Trent Taylor underwent surgery on a broken foot and would miss some regular season action. As Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter), Shanahan says that Taylor sustained a Jones fracture but that the team caught the injury before he suffered a complete break, so he may miss only four to six weeks. There is some hope that Taylor will be able to suit up for Week 1, but that still seems unlikely.
  • We have conflicting reports on the severity of the injury that OT Shon Coleman suffered Saturday night. Colemean suffered a lower right leg injury, and Matt Barrows of The Athletic says that while Coleman will get an MRI Monday, the injury is expected to be a season-ender (Twitter link). Branch hears the same (via Twitter), but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Coleman’s recovery will take several months. RapSheet classifies the injury as a dislocated ankle.
  • Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Areas says the 49ers will need to look for another swing tackle in the wake of Coleman’s injury, and he suggests that the team could re-sign Garry Gilliam to fill that role (Twitter link). Gilliam served as San Francisco’s swing tackle in each of the past two seasons, and though he remains a free agent, he has received interest from other clubs.

Trent Taylor Undergoes Foot Surgery

August 10th, 2019 at 9:21pm CST by Micah Powell

49ers wide receiver Trent Taylor underwent surgery on a broken foot on Friday and is expected to miss the early part of the regular season, NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco writes. 

Though an official timetable has not been announced, the Niners are hoping the pass-catcher will not miss more than a few games at the beginning of the season. That’s a big blow for the Niners, as Taylor was expected to be the team’s top option from the slot.

A fifth-round selection from Louisiana Tech in 2017, Taylor flashed potential as a rookie by logging 43 receptions for 430 yards. He showcased a strong connection with Jimmy Garoppolo down the stretch, logging 19 catches for 226 yards after the Niners acquired the quarterback from New England.

After undergoing offseason back surgery in 2018, Taylor struggled in his second campaign, tallying just 26 receptions for 215 yards in 14 games.

After Marquise Goodwin, the team features plenty of promising, if unproven performers at the receiver position, including Dante Pettis, Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd, who tallied a touchdown catch in his preseason debut on Saturday night.

NFC Notes: Manning, Taylor, Falcons

February 24th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Rory Parks

Paul Schwartz of the New York Post examines some of the difficult decisions facing the Giants as the 2019 draft approaches. The Scouting Combine gets underway this week, and when New York GM Dave Gettleman speaks on Wednesday — which will mark the first time he speaks publicly since the end of the 2018 season — Schwartz expects he will formally commit to Eli Manning as the team’s starter for 2019.

After that, though, the picture gets a little fuzzy. Gettleman would of course love to find Manning’s successor in the draft, but he eschewed high-end collegiate QB talent last year, and the quarterbacks in this year’s class are not as heralded. Gettleman has long maintained that he will not grade quarterbacks on a curve just because there is pressure on him to pick one, and the Giants have plenty of other needs to fill, so they will be one of the more interesting teams to follow in the next couple of months.

Let’s take a look at a few more NFC items:

  • In a separate piece, Schwartz looks at three players the Giants will be monitoring closely at the Combine, all of which fill one of their above-referenced needs: QB Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State), LB Devin White (LSU), and OT Jonah Williams (Alabama). Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com says the team’s top priority this offseason should be adding defensive playmakers, and he takes a deeper dive into some of the collegiate prospects that Big Blue should thoroughly examine.
  • The 49ers will certainly add a receiver or two to the top of their depth chart this offseason (like Antonio Brown, for instance), but there should still be plenty of opportunities for third-year player Trent Taylor. Taylor underwent back surgery in June, and while he ended up playing 14 games last year — compiling 26 catches for 215 yards and a touchdown — he says he never felt fully healthy. But as Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area writes, Taylor believes he is finally back to normal, and he thinks a regular offseason of work will prime him for a breakout campaign. He is also looking forward to working with his new position coach, Wes Welker, who certainly knows a thing or two about making hay as an undersized wideout.
  • The Falcons recently re-signed linebacker Bruce Carter and defensive end Steven Means to one-year pacts, and D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution passes along the contract details. Carter will earn $930K (making his contract a veteran minimum deal), while Means will earn $895K. The minimum salary for a player with Means’ service time is $805K, but Atlanta gave him a $90K signing bonus. He will carry a $735K cap hit, while Carter’s cap number is $645K.
  • It appears that Cardinals pass rusher Markus Golden will be allowed to hit the open market next month.

NFC West Rumors: Marshall, 49ers, Sherman

June 17th, 2018 at 2:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks signed Brandon Marshall only two weeks before their minicamp, but they will have to wait until training camp to see how much the 34-year-old wide receiver has left. Due to a hamstring injury, Marshall did not participate in any team drills at the remaining Seattle OTA sessions nor at the team’s minicamp. Marshall was already coming off an injury, with his 2017 season ending early thanks to ankle surgery, but Pete Carroll said the 13th-year pass-catcher should be ready to go by the time the team reconvenes for training camp.

“We’re just making sure that we don’t have a setback on a hamstring that’s recovering,” Carroll said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “We talked about it today – he’s got a solid six weeks; he’ll be well. We need to do a really good job as we re-introduce him back into our tempo and speed and all that, that we don’t overdo it early in the excitement to see what he can do and all.”

Marshall only signed for one year and $1.1MM. Although plenty of incentives are included, only $90K of that pact is guaranteed.

Here’s what’s new out of the NFC West on Sunday afternoon.

  • 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said he experienced Achilles issues during his final offseason workouts with the Seahawks, and the problem worsened in last year’s training camp. Once the regular season began, Sherman said he knew this was a significant issue. “We just kind of babied it as long as we could,” Sherman said, via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “But you can’t baby it in a game.” The eighth-year corner did not participate in team drills yet with the 49ers but is expected to in camp.
  • Laken Tomlinson has the left guard spot secured, but the 49ers look to have a three-man competition going for their right guard position. And thus far, 2016 first-round pick Joshua Garnett has seen the most time there, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Garnett, who spent all of last season on IR in a partial effort to adjust his body to better suit Kyle Shanahan‘s zone-blocking scheme, split time with the recently signed Mike Person. However, Jonathan Cooper did not participate in San Francisco’s minicamp because of left knee surgery and will be a threat to start opposite Tomlinson this season.
  • Second-year San Francisco slot receiver Trent Taylor is recovering from back surgery, Branch notes. He underwent the procedure several weeks ago to remove bone spurs, per Branch, but Shanahan expects him back by camp.
  • While Josh Rosen is the Cardinals’ quarterback of the future, it doesn’t appear likely he’ll play ahead of Sam Bradford to start this season.

49ers WR Trent Taylor Suffers Broken Rib

November 6th, 2017 at 7:08pm CST by Ben Levine

49ers rookie wideout Trent Taylor may not finish his first NFL season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed earlier today that the receiver broke a rib on a non-contact play, although the team is hoping he’ll see the field again this year (via Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee on Twitter). Meanwhile, the team is preparing to place three players on the injured reserve (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter), including safety Jaquiski Tartt, tight end Cole Hikutini and offensive tackle Garry Gilliam. We heard yesterday that Tartt was likely done for the season.

Trent TaylorTaylor, who was selected in the fifth round of this past year’s draft, has gradually climbed the 49ers depth chart throughout the season. The rookie had appeared in all nine games, hauling in 24 receptions for 204 yards and one touchdown. The Louisiana Tech product had also returned 17 punts for 167 yards. The team signed wideout Louis Murphy earlier today for some reinforcement at the position, as they were previously rostering only four healthy wideouts in Marquise Goodwin, Aldrick Robinson, Kendrick Bourne, and Victor Bolden.

While Hikutini and Gilliam are headed to the IR, there is some optimism, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that the players injured their MCLs instead of their ACLs. Gilliam joined the 49ers this past summer following three seasons with the Seahawks, and he proceeded to appear in eight games (one start) for his new team. The team could theoretically be in the hunt for another tackle, as their reserve options (which include Zane Beadles, Erik Magnuson, and Darrell Williams Jr.) mostly have experience at offensive guard. Hikutini, an undrafted rookie out of Louisville, saw the field for four games this season, hauling in a pair of passes for 15 yards. The team will presumably look for some depth behind George Kittle and Garrett Celek.

49ers Sign Five Draft Picks, 16 UDFAs

May 4th, 2017 at 6:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 49ers are making quick work of their 2017 draft class, as the club announced today that they’ve signed defensive back Adrian Colbert, defensive lineman D.J. Jones, tight end George Kittle, defensive lineman Pita Taumoepenu, and wide receiver Trent Taylor to rookie contracts. San Francisco also confirmed the previously-reported signing of fourth-round running back Joe Williams.

Additionally, the 49ers have announced the signing of 16 undrafted college free agents: