Jimmy Garoppolo Targeting July To Resume Throwing
The 49ers excused Jimmy Garoppolo from their minicamp this week; their four-plus-year starter would not have been able to contribute much anyway. Kyle Shanahan said the excused absence stems from the team wanting Garoppolo to continue his rehab uninterrupted, per ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner (on Twitter).
Garoppolo, who is training in southern California, is expected to be ready to throw again in early July, Shanahan adds. This aligns with the veteran quarterback’s timetable from March, when he underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder. No setbacks having occurred is certainly critical for the 49ers, who have attempted to trade Garoppolo for months. His surgery and Baker Mayfield‘s procedure on his non-throwing shoulder have affected the QB trade market.
Calf and thumb injuries also limited Garoppolo last season, with the latter requiring surgery as well. But the shoulder issue has lingered longest. It has led to the 49ers carrying a $26.9MM cap charge on their payroll. Shanahan and John Lynch have said Garoppolo remains a trade asset at this point, though each has backstopped that assessment by offering a reality in which the ninth-year veteran remains a 49er. That will be financially difficult for the team, with Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel up for extensions, but Garoppolo staying also gives the 49ers insurance against Trey Lance struggling to show starter-caliber stuff.
Mayfield has been frequently linked to the Panthers and Seahawks. Both teams are balking at Mayfield’s $18.9MM fifth-year option salary, which is fully guaranteed. The Browns will need to pay most of that to complete a trade. It will be interesting to see what the 49ers are willing to do, salary-wise, to facilitate a Garoppolo deal. One season remains on his 2018 extension.
Garoppolo’s shoulder injury effectively paused his trade market, which was once expected to produce a deal in March. San Francisco once targeted a Day 2 pick in a trade. Barring a major QB injury in training camp, that looks unlikely. It appears the Garoppolo standstill will continue for at least another month. Barring a deal in the next several weeks, Garoppolo suiting up for a fifth 49ers camp is a realistic possibility.
Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa To Report For 49ers Minicamp
The 49ers discussed Deebo Samuel trades during the draft, after the wide receiver made a request to be moved in the days prior. But John Lynch has continued to insist the All-Pro is not available. The sixth-year GM reaffirmed this stance last week.
Samuel is not expected to wage a holdout. He will report for 49ers minicamp this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This does not necessarily mean the 49ers are out of the woods here, but Samuel showing up after missing OTAs represents a positive development for the team. San Francisco’s minicamp starts Tuesday.
Issues from Samuel’s contract to his role in Kyle Shanahan‘s offense to even his desire not to live in California factored into the trade request. The 49ers’ trade talks leading up to and during the draft, however, were not believed to be substantial. For now, Samuel remains a 49er and on track to play a fourth season with the team that drafted him.
Since Samuel’s trade request, the Titans balked at paying A.J. Brown, sending him to the Eagles for a package involving a first-round pick. The Eagles then gave the 2019 second-round pick a $25MM-per-year deal (third among wideouts) that included $56MM fully guaranteed (first). With Samuel having an All-Pro honor on his resume, he can make the Brown AAV his floor. Samuel was asking for around $25MM per year before the Brown contract emerged. That complicates matters for a cap-strapped 49ers team still carrying Jimmy Garoppolo‘s $26.9MM cap number. Garoppolo has been excused from minicamp, but his contract is an issue for a team with Samuel and Nick Bosa extensions on the radar.
The 49ers have not been high on paying wide receivers since Shanahan’s first year, when the team doled out a midlevel Pierre Garcon contract. Garcon did not excel in San Francisco and lasted two seasons with the team. After that, the 49ers turned to the draft at receiver, selecting Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk early. The team said it had a Samuel extension budgeted months ago, but that was before the deals for Brown, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill changed the market. The 49ers’ initial Samuel offer was believed to have come in below $19MM per year.
Bosa looks set to be at minicamp as well. Joining Samuel in skipping 49ers OTAs, Bosa was at the team facility this week, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). The fourth-year defender will, in fact, report to minicamp, Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes. Bosa can aim to surpass T.J. Watt as the NFL’s highest-paid edge rusher. Watt is tied to a $28MM-per-year deal. Although Aaron Donald is now earning more than $31MM annually on his recent reworking, Watt’s contract will likely be more pertinent in the 49ers’ Bosa talks.
49ers Excuse Jimmy Garoppolo From Minicamp
As the 49ers continue to wait on a Jimmy Garoppolo trade developing, they will not fine him for missing minicamp. The team will excuse the veteran quarterback from its minicamp, which is set for this week, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Garoppolo not being ready to participate fully makes this news a formality, but it continues to reveal the 49ers’ plans regarding their longtime starter. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have spoken openly about wanting to trade Garoppolo. While both have offered scenarios in which the ninth-year veteran is not dealt, the 49ers’ goal remains for Garoppolo to be sent elsewhere in order to begin the Trey Lance era. Garoppolo, 30, has done his shoulder rehab away from the team’s facility.
Lance has had the first-team reps to himself this offseason and stands to keep growing in Shanahan’s system during minicamp. The former one-and-done Division I-FCS starter struggled as a rookie but recently detailed his issues overcoming a finger injury — one that did not fully heal until the season ended.
The prospect of Garoppolo resurfacing as a competitor in training camp would complicate San Francisco’s blueprint — both financially, considering the $26.9MM cap figure attached to Garoppolo, and in terms of Lance’s future — but that scenario remains in play the longer the incumbent starter stays on the roster. The team’s most recent step continues to show that will not be the goal.
Garoppolo’s surgery on his throwing shoulder did not take place until March, delaying his return to action and halting meaningful 49ers trade talks. As a result, Baker Mayfield has been more frequently connected to other teams than Garoppolo. But the four-plus-year 49er starter’s presence in the background here still affects Mayfield’s status. Once both are ready to participate fully, trade talks involving the passers stand to intensify and increase in complexity.
Latest On 49ers’ Offensive Line Situation
Last year saw the 49ers advance to their second NFC Championship game in the last three years, but the offensive line that took them there is set to look a bit different as San Francisco readies for the 2022 NFL season. The 49ers’ left guard for the last five seasons, Laken Tomlinson, is now a Jet, Tom Compton, who started seven regular season games and all three playoff games at right tackle for the team when Mike McGlinchey went down with an injury last year, is now in Denver, and last year’s starting center, Alex Mack, officially announced his retirement this week. 
San Francisco should be set at left tackle and right guard with 12-year veteran Trent Williams manning the blindside and Daniel Brunskill starting just right of center for the past two seasons. Though Compton, who played well in his time as an injury-replacement last year, is gone, the 49ers do return McGlinchey from injury to fill the right tackle spot. McGlinchey is heading into a contract year and will try to earn himself a solid second deal with his production this season. He’s been strong while run-blocking in his career, but started off with some struggles in pass-protection. McGlinchey was showing some improvement in his pass-pro before his injury last season, and the 49ers will likely give him a chance to show he can be the whole package.
With those three spots manned, the conversation now turns to left guard and center. The favorite to fill in at left guard is 2021 second-round draft pick Aaron Banks. Banks was slowed in his rookie-season by a preseason shoulder injury, leading to him appearing in nine games but only seeing five offensive snaps last season, getting most of his playing time on special teams. McGlinchey’s former-teammate at Notre Dame made tremendous progress throughout the season, though. Head coach Kyle Shanahan even said that Banks could have replaced Brunskill in the lineup late last season, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. The team held off on making that switch as they surged into the postseason with plenty of success, but with an opening at guard this year, it’s hard to imagine Banks not getting his opportunity.
At center, the options are much less clear-cut. With Mack gone, the only player on the roster with an NFL start at center is former undrafted free agent Jake Brendel, who started three games for the Dolphins in 2018. Brendel has been taking first-team snaps at center in practices, according to another article from Branch. General manager John Lynch claims that the team has “a lot of confidence in (Brendel’s) ability,” despite Brendel not being “a household name.” The 49ers also brought in their own undrafted rookie this year in Dohnovan West, who was Arizona State’s starting center all three years of his collegiate career.
Unless San Francisco plans to try some other rostered offensive line reserves at center this year, they may need to go to the free agent market. This would continue a trend that Lynch and the Niners have followed over the past few years of signing an impact free agent interior lineman in the weeks after the Draft. 2017 saw the addition of eventual starting right guard Brandon Fusco in early May, 2018 saw the addition of eventual starting right guard Michael Person in early May, and 2019 saw the addition of part-time starting center Ben Garland in late April.
Available free agent centers include NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, former Broncos and Panthers center Matt Paradis, former Bengals starting center Trey Hopkins, and former Texans lineman Nick Martin. Lynch may mean what he says and Brendel may be their man in the middle, but it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 49ers act on some of the available experience out there on the market.
With three spots filled with experienced starters and two very real options to fill the other two spots, San Francisco is on their way to building their offensive line for next season. Whether the five lineman running with the first team now will be the Week 1 starters is yet to be seen, but Lynch and Shanahan are aware of their options and may not be done addressing the position group just yet.
Kyle Shanahan: Aaron Banks Was Ready To Start Late Last Season
With Alex Mack retiring, the 49ers have now lost three of their 2021 offensive line starters. After five years in San Francisco, Laken Tomlinson joined the Jets in free agency. Although Tom Compton worked as a Mike McGlinchey fill-in, he played well; San Francisco’s primary 2021 right tackle is now in Denver.
These exits magnify this position group, which still returns McGlinchey, Trent Williams and Daniel Brunskill. The 49ers are aiming for 2021 second-round pick Aaron Banks to take over for Tomlinson at left guard, with Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle noting the Notre Dame product is the heavy favorite to start at that position. The 49ers considered making a late-season change at right guard last year, citing Banks’ development.
Kyle Shanahan said Banks had progressed to the point he could have replaced Brunskill in the lineup late last season. While the 49ers held off on making a change due to their second-half surge that ended in the NFC championship game, Shanahan certainly seems to have confidence Banks can man one of the team’s guard spots this year. Without Tomlinson and Mack, Banks’ progress becomes more important in Year 2.
A preseason shoulder injury stonewalled Banks’ potential path to the starting lineup, and the team did not pull his de facto redshirt henceforth. Banks played just five offensive snaps as a rookie. The 49ers ended up giving their first- and second-round picks from 2021 developmental seasons, with Trey Lance not threatening an injury-riddled Jimmy Garoppolo‘s job security. Lance detailed his own 2021 injury struggles recently and is still on track to replace Garoppolo in September. While that is not a lock, the 49ers are planning for Lance and Banks promotions to become official soon.
McGlinchey’s former college teammate, Banks would have played left tackle had he stayed for his 2021 senior season. He finished his junior year as an All-American guard. With Brunskill going into a contract year, Banks has a clear path to succeeding Tomlinson as San Francisco’s long-term guard option. The 49ers will count on 2021’s 48th overall pick shaking off his rookie-year no-show, or else they will need to start over on their interior O-line.
49ers Sign Entire 9-Man Draft Class
In the middle of their second week of OTAs, the 49ers managed to sign all their draft picks in a day. Each of San Francisco’s nine draftees agreed to terms on their four-year rookie contracts Thursday.
Because no first-rounders were part of this class, because of the 49ers’ Trey Lance trade-up, none of this group has a fifth-year option in his contract. While second- and third-rounders’ deals occasionally cause issues, this year being a moderately interesting one for Round 2 choices due to guaranteed years, each of the three 49ers Day 2 choices is locked in.
The 49ers began their draft by taking USC edge rusher Drake Jackson at No. 61 overall. Jackson, who recorded 12.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in three Trojans seasons, will be expected to play at least a rotational role for the 49ers this year. Jackson received $3.14MM of his $5.8MM slot deal guaranteed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
San Francisco’s Dee Ford bet largely did not pay off. Ford is expected to be released soon. The team brought back Kerry Hyder, after his one-and-done Seattle tenure, and signed ex-Colts second-rounder Kemoko Turay. Ex-Ram Samson Ebukam also remains on the 49ers’ roster, after signing last year. But Jackson will certainly be expected to be part of the 49ers’ Nick Bosa-fronted edge mix as a rookie.
San Francisco added third-round skill-position players Tyrion Davis-Price (No. 93) and Danny Gray (No. 105) as well. Davis-Price, a 211-pound LSU-produced running back, joins 2021 third-rounder Trey Sermon, starter Elijah Mitchell and veteran Jeff Wilson in San Francisco’s crowded-looking backfield. Davis-Price left LSU after his junior season — a 1,003-yard slate. A 5-foot-11 wideout, Gray played a prominent role in SMU’s pass-happy offense. A former Texas 3A 100-meter champion while in high school, Gray caught 49 passes for 803 yards and nine touchdowns as an SMU senior.
Here are the draft picks the 49ers are set to take into minicamp and training camp:
Round 2: No. 61 Drake Jackson, DE (USC) (signed)
Round 3: No. 93 Tyrion Davis-Price, RB (LSU) (signed)
Round 3: No. 105 Danny Gray, WR (SMU) (signed)
Round 4: No. 134 Spencer Burford, OL (Texas-San Antonio) (signed)
Round 5: No. 172 Samuel Womack, CB (Toledo) (signed)
Round 6: No. 187 (from Broncos) Nick Zakelj, OT (Fordham) (signed)
Round 6: No. 220 Kalia Davis, DT (Central Florida) (signed)
Round 6: No. 221 Tariq Castro-Fields, CB (Penn State) (signed)
Round 7: No. 262 Brock Purdy, QB (Iowa State) (signed)
49ers C Alex Mack To Retire
After a lengthy stretch of contemplation about retirement or playing a 14th season, Alex Mack looks to have decided on the former. The decorated center is set to retire, Michael Silver of Bally Sports reports (on Twitter).
This will cap Mack’s 49ers tenure at one year and give the team another interior offensive lineman to replace. Mack started all 20 49ers games last season, rejoining Kyle Shanahan after the two previously linked up in Atlanta and Cleveland. Joining Ryan Fitzpatrick as a Thursday retiree, Mack finishes his career as a seven-time Pro Bowler.
Mack’s seven Pro Bowls are tied for sixth all time among pure centers, and although the Pro Bowl alternate era factors into this count, that number ranks behind only Maurkice Pouncey and Hall of Famers Jim Otto, Jim Ringo, Mike Webster and Kevin Mawae. Mack joined Pouncey on the 2010s’ All-Decade team at center.
The 49ers have had extensive time to prepare for this outcome and gained around $4MM in cap room Thursday by reducing Mack’s contract and moving $500K up to a June 2022 payment. Mack, 36, signed a three-year deal worth $14.85MM in 2021. That telling transaction will allow the 49ers more flexibility to potentially sign a Mack replacement, though Jimmy Garoppolo‘s $26.9MM cap hold has clogged San Francisco’s payroll for a while. It does not look like that lofty figure will come off San Francisco’s books in the near future, and the team entered Thursday ranking 31st in cap space. Mack’s adjustment still stands to help.
The Browns drafted Mack in the 2009 first round, and he delivered three Pro Bowl seasons in six Cleveland years. The Cal alum enjoyed an interesting offseason in 2014, when the Browns transition-tagged him and Jaguars submitted an offer sheet. The Browns matched the five-year, $42MM offer, but that deal gave Mack the right to opt out after two seasons. He did, doing so in 2016 en route to rejoining Shanahan — his Browns OC in 2014 — with in Atlanta. The Falcons handed Mack a five-year, $45MM deal, giving Matt Ryan a quality center ahead of a key season.
Atlanta’s Shanahan-conducted 2016 offense scored 540 points, which still ranks eighth in NFL history. Mack earned the second of his three second-team All-Pro nods, helping Ryan claim MVP honors. This season ended infamously in Super Bowl LI, but Mack made the Pro Bowl in his first three Falcons campaigns. He only missed two games during his Falcons years, playing out that five-year accord ahead of his return to the Bay Area. Mack earned his seventh Pro Bowl invite, albeit as an alternate, for his 49ers work.
Mack’s arrival helped the NFC West squad, which saw a severe Weston Richburg injury alter its center plans previously. This marks another belated retirement announcement on the 49ers’ O-line, which lost Joe Staley to an April 2020 retirement. The team responded by trading for Trent Williams. If the 49ers have a similar mindset two years later, some experienced snappers are available.
NFLPA president J.C. Tretter remains on the market, after the Browns made their five-year center a cap casualty in March. Former Broncos and Panthers starter Matt Paradis is also a free agent, with ex-Bengals starter Trey Hopkins and former Texans pivot Nick Martin available as well. The 49ers, who lost five-year left guard Laken Tomlinson in free agency, have some young internal options. None resides in the experience ballpark compared to the aforementioned UFA contingent.
Alex Mack Restructures Deal; Retirement Decision Still Looming
While the 49ers await the ultimate decision made by center Alex Mack regarding his playing future, they have some added financial flexibility. The veteran agreed to a re-working of his contract, as detailed by ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). 
Mack’s base salary will drop from $5MM to $1.12MM this season, creating some immediate cap space for San Francisco. In 2023 — the final year of his contract — his salary will decrease from $3.35MM to just under $1.2MM. Perhaps the most telling aspect of this move, however is the matter of the guaranteed money in the deal.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that $500K (the only guaranteed compensation Mack was due this year or next) has been converted to a roster bonus. That is significant, as it means the 36-year-old will receive the money this month, something which wouldn’t have happened if he had retired and it had remained a part of his base salary. Garafolo posits that the move represents a “parting gift” from the 49ers.
That makes today’s news another sign that Mack has played his final game in the NFL. When it was first reported that he was considering hanging up his cleats – despite having only played one season in the Bay Area on a three-year pact, suiting up for all 17 games and being named a Pro Bowler for the seventh time — team personnel made it clear their expectation was that he would return. Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently struck a much different tone on the subject, however.
“I’ve talked to him here and there,” Shanahan said last week. “I’ve been in touch with him throughout the offseason… I’ve got a pretty good idea of what he’s doing… I’m going to leave that up to Alex, but I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
If Mack does indeed retire, the 49ers would be forced to add a veteran at the center position for the second straight season. Some of the remaining options include J.C. Tretter, Trey Hopkins and Billy Price. The team now has more money to work with should it become necessary to sign one of them, but his retirement would leave another significant hole needing to be filled on the interior of their offensive line.
49ers’ John Lynch Confirms Deebo Samuel’s Short-Term Future With Team
The largest question looming over the 49ers right now remains that of Deebo Samuel‘s future with the team. In the aftermath of a trade request which did not lead to him being moved, general manager John Lynch spoke recently about his intentions of keeping the wideout. 
When directly asked about Samuel’s future, Lynch said, “We haven’t traded him, and I’d be a fool to trade him, so yes, Deebo will be part of the 49ers this season” (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). The team’s front office has maintained their intention of keeping Samuel, but that statement is the most definitive to date with respect to quashing trade talk.
Samuel, 26, formally requested a trade one week before the draft in April. Not surprisingly, several teams showed interest in acquiring him, including the Jets; it was reported that they offered the No. 10 pick for the All-Pro receiver, but there was no point at which San Francisco came close to moving him.
Samuel has only one season remaining on his rookie contract, meaning that Lynch’s remarks could still refer strictly to the immediate future. He made it clear earlier in the offseason that the team had budgeted for sizeable extensions with both Samuel and Nick Bosa. However, there is a notable gap in the reported value of San Francisco’s initial offer and the terms Samuel is believed to be seeking on his second contract.
The South Carolina alum is currently absent from the team’s OTAs, something which has been expected since mid-April. In the absence of a new deal, Samuel will earn just under $4MM, while carrying a cap hit of $4.9MM. His level of play, especially this past season, has led many to believe he will be one of the next beneficiaries of the substantial upward trend in the receiver market around the league. While there is still plenty of time for a deal to be worked out, there is further evidence that Samuel will remain in the Bay Area for at least one more year.
Extension Candidate: Nick Bosa
San Francisco is currently home to two of the NFL’s biggest young stars on either side of the ball in wide receiver Deebo Samuel and defensive end Nick Bosa. Samuel has starred in many headlines as he’s pushed for a trade and a new deal. Bosa’s situation, on the other hand, has been a bit quieter, although to be fair, his situation is delayed from Samuel’s by a year due to the fifth-year option provided to him as a first-round pick.
Neither player has been in attendance for OTA’s this year. Samuel’s holdout is directly correlated to his request for an extended contract. Bosa’s absence is likely not related to his contract situation with Matt Barrows of The Athletic claiming that’d “he’d likely (be absent whether) he had a long-term contract or not,” as Bosa and his older brother, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, like to work out together back home in Florida. Still, the younger Bosa is due to become one of the highest paid players at his position in the next year or so.
Bosa was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, beating, by one slot, his brother who was selected third-overall three years prior. Bosa ran away with the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, recording 9.0 sacks, 16.0 tackles for loss, and 25 quarterback hits. He would’ve attended the Pro Bowl as a rookie were it not for his team earning a berth in the league’s season finale. Bosa recorded at least one sack in each postseason game, including a strip sack of Patrick Mahomes in the team’s Super Bowl LIV loss to the Chiefs.
Bosa’s second year ended painfully early when he suffered a torn ACL in a Week 2 game against the Jets. His recovery kept him off the field for the remainder of the season.
Bosa came back with a vengeance last year, earning Pro Bowl honors once again. In his return from injury, Bosa totaled 15.5 sacks, 21.0 tackles for loss, and 32 quarterback hits. His sack total was the fourth-highest in the NFL, his quarterback hits total good for third in the league, and he tied with Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt for most tackles for loss of any NFL player last year.
Behind quarterbacks, wide receivers and pass rushers have competed lately to be the second highest-paid position in the NFL. Premier pass rushers have seen increasingly impressive deals over the last few years, and Bosa’s market is sure to be competitive with the best in the game.
In 2020, Myles Garrett signed a five-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $25MM. That same year saw Bosa’s older brother Joey sign a five-year deal with an AAV of $27MM. 2021 saw Watt reach a new AAV-mark for pass rushers when he signed a four-year deal worth $28MM per year, the highest annual amount for any non-quarterback player until eclipsed this offseason by Tyreek Hill‘s $30MM per year. This offseason has also seen veteran Von Miller take a little less for a longer contract, agreeing to a six-year deal with an AAV of $20MM, and Maxx Crosby sign a four-year deal worth $23.5MM per year.
There will be a few factors that contribute to Bosa’s second NFL contract. Bosa’s football history contains nearly two full seasons lost due to injury. Whether or not it’s a fair assessment of his current health, injury history tends to have an impact on negotiations. Working in his favor, though, is the fact that, following his ACL tear in 2020, Bosa had the best season of his young career, displaying a dominance that showed no signs of a lingering injury. In fact, the statistics he recorded last year were among those of the highest-paid players at his position, even though he’s younger and did just return from a major injury. The last factor will depend on the team’s capacity to pay the young star.
All things considered, barring any disasters before a deal is reached, it’s expected that Bosa’s deal will look extremely similar to the competition. He’ll likely sign a four- or five-year contract with an AAV in the range of $27-$30MM. If Bosa once again improves on his previous season, the 49ers could make a statement and make Bosa the first non-quarterback in the NFL to make over $30MM per year. They may use his injury history to give him a lower guaranteed amount or they may make a show of confidence and guarantee the majority of the deal.
The 49ers habitually wait until absolutely necessary to enter into contract negotiations with their players, agreeing to deals with tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner just before the start of training camp. General manager John Lynch has said that it is absolutely in their plans for Bosa to stay long-term in San Francisco, according to Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports. It’s a fairly drama-free situation.
“At the appropriate time, we will endeavor to make that a reality that he is here for a long time,” Lynch was quoted saying. He finished with a reassuring statement for Niners fans claiming, “It’s all good there.”