NFL Workout Updates: 11/29/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
- C Anthony Fabiano; T Justin Murray; LB Max Valles; CBs Dejuan Butler, Nick Marshall; P Jeff Locke (Twitter links)
Cleveland Browns
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- S Duke Ihenacho (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- K Andrew Franks (link)
New York Giants
- CBs Taveze Calhoun, Daquan Holmes, Jeremiah McKinnon, Josh Thornton (link)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Adam Gettis (link)
Washington Redskins
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/29/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Darius Victor
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB Darnell Sankey
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Aaron Green
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Michael Hunter
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DE Jeremiah Valoaga
- Waived: LB Thurston Armbrister
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Ahmad Thomas
Houston Texans
- Signed: QB Taylor Heinicke, TE Ryan Malleck, WR DeAndrew White
49ers Sign OL Tim Barnes
The 49ers have signed offensive lineman Tim Barnes. In a related move, running back Jeremy McNichols has been promoted from the taxi squad to the 53-man roster. 
This technically marks Barnes’ second stint in San Francisco. The center/guard, who spent the first five years of his career with the Rams, signed with the 49ers in May after encountering a weaker-than-expected free agent market. Barnes started in all 32 of the Rams’ games over the past two seasons, but evaluators apparently did not see him as starting caliber and the advanced metrics were in agreement. Pro Football Focus ranked him as a bottom 10 center in both 2015 and 2016.
Barnes will serve as a backup for starter Daniel Kilgore at a time when the offensive line is banged up. Guard/tackle Erik Magnuson recently became the latest offensive lineman to land on IR, joining tackle/guard Garry Gilliam and Joshua Garnett.
49ers To Start Jimmy Garoppolo In Week 13
After a brief cameo caused by a C.J. Beathard injury, Jimmy Garoppolo will begin his tenure as the 49ers’ starter.
Kyle Shanahan notified the quarterbacks Garoppolo will start against the Bears, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports (on Twitter). This will mark only Garoppolo’s third career start, but it could well be the first of many as a 49er. Shanahan announced the move, and it looks like Garoppolo will have a five-game sample upon which to judge going into the offseason.
Shanahan and John Lynch have been openly cautious about deploying their recently acquired passer, but management appears ready to begin the experiment. While they’ve made it clear this isn’t an audition, with the franchise tag being the likely offseason outcome to further judge if Garoppolo is the long-term solution, the franchise will begin to see if its quarterback of the future is presently on the team.
Garoppolo has thrown 96 career passes, being 2-for-2 with a touchdown toss as a 49er, but has only played one game from start to finish — the 2016 Patriots opener against the Cardinals. He suffered an injury against the Dolphins the following week.
This game being at Soldier Field will mark a unique moment for the Eastern Illinois-developed quarterback; Garoppolo grew up in nearby Arlington Heights, Ill.
Beathard started the previous five games for the 49ers, who acquired Garoppolo midway through that stretch. The rookie suffered knee and hip injuries against the Seahawks and may not have been able to go this week anyway. He figures to return to the backup role he occupied when the season began. Beathard completed 55 percent of his passes and has a 4-to-6 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio for the 1-10 team.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/17
Here are today’s minor NFL moves:
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: S Roland Milligan
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Bradley Marquez
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: TE Ross Travis
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Kevin Peterson
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on injured reserve: OT Erik Magnuson
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Raheem Mostert
49ers QB Decision Expected On Wednesday
Jimmy Garoppolo performed very well in his limited action after he replaced the injured C.J. Beathard with about a minute left in the game. However, Beathard’s injury will not keep him out for the long-term and the 49ers expect to name their Week 13 starter by Wednesday, reports Matt Maiocco of NBCSports.com.
Beathard suffered a knee contusion and a hip strain during yesterday’s matchup, according to Maiocco. That may ultimately have the largest impact on whether the rookie signal caller gets the start on Sunday vs. Chicago. It’s worth pointing out that head coach Kyle Shanahan said during yesterday’s postgame presser that he didn’t even think about replacing Beathard before the injury occurred.
This development shouldn’t be a surprise as Shanahan had already been non-committal about who his quarterback moving forward would be after yesterday’s loss to the Seahawks.
Most fans would probably like to see Garoppolo start given his quality play yesterday and the fact that the front office did make a move to acquire the impending free agent in the middle of the season. Still, it is notable that Shanahan has not given into the bait and played his new QB, as he likely wants to make sure that Garoppolo is ready to be successful when he does eventually see the field.
Staley "OK" After Injury Scare
- The 49ers have dealt with a variety of injuries this year, but seemed to avoid another to one of the team’s best players. Left tackle Joe Staley left the game for just one play after an apparent leg injury, but was able to return without much issue. The veteran lineman clarified after the game that he simply hyperextended his knee and is fine, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
- The Seahawks came out of their win over the 49ers with few injuries of their own. Head coach Pete Carroll said that defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was “Ok” after leaving in the fourth quarter, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. However, Henderson also passes along that second-string tight end Luke Willson suffered a bit more serious of an injury after he was removed in the second quarter with a concussion. Carroll did mention to reporters that the tight end has a chance to play in next week’s game, but he obviously must pass concussion protocol first. In the meantime, both Jimmy Graham and third-stringer Nick Vannett were able to find the end zone without Willson in the lineup.
Notes on Beathard, Garoppolo
It was a long awaited day for 49ers fans, as they got their first look at newly acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in today’s loss to the Seahawks. The former Pats backup signal caller got into the game because rookie starter C.J. Beathard was forced to exit with an injury. Garoppolo made good use of his mild playing time, throwing a nice touchdown pass as time expired.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan chose not to shed much light on how he’s thinking about the QB position moving forward. Although, he did mention that Beathard’s leg injury was not too serious, reports Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). While Beathard’s injury does not appear to affect his playing status moving forward, he will get additional testing tomorrow. Nevertheless, it’s notable that Shanahan wouldn’t commit to a starter for Week 13 either way, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). However, Barrows did also tweet that the 49ers coach didn’t think about pulling his rookie starter while he was healthy.
49ers Activate DL Tank Carradine
The 49ers have now used both of their IR-return slots this season. Both roster decisions involved defensive linemen.
San Francisco brought Tank Carradine off IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He will take the place of the recently waived Ray-Ray Armstrong on the 49ers’ 53-man roster.
Ronald Blair already came off IR for the 49ers, and Carradine will now resume his work on the 1-9 team’s defensive front. A 2013 second-round pick, Carradine has a significant six-week stretch in front of him. The career backup is in a contract year and could be auditioning for another team at this juncture, considering new management is in place.
The Trent Baalke draft choice played in three 49ers games this season before going down with a high ankle sprain. This also ends Arik Armstead‘s season. Armstead broke his hand in October.
While Kyle Shanahan confirmed the team made the choice to prioritize a Carradine return due to Carradine going on IR before Armstead, and thus having more time to contribute upon returning, this ensures Armstead’s third season will include only six games. The former top-10 pick played in just eight last season. John Lynch offered praise for Armstead as a future piece recently. The 49ers have a fifth-year option decision on Armstead due in early May.
49ers Likely To Use Franchise Tag On Jimmy Garoppolo
The 49ers are continuing their patient approach to the handling of Jimmy Garoppolo, being set to keep him on the bench again this week. And the team’s wait-and-see strategy looks set to continue through next season.
During a radio interview, Kyle Shanahan said not only would be be fine if the team used its franchise tag on the quarterback. But the first-year HC essentially deemed that scenario more likely than the sides reaching a long-term extension before next season.
“I know you have to franchise a quarterback to keep him, but quarterbacks are expensive. And that is not that big of a deal to us,” Shanahan said in a KNBR segment (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).
“… It would be great if it could work out that way (a long-term contract), but that’s just not the situation any of us are in. So you want to play it out. That is the good thing about the franchise tag and that’s what, to me, made it an easier decision to trade for him at the time we did to where it’s – I don’t want to do anything very impulsive that could put our team at risk.”
A Garoppolo tag would cost the team more than $23MM next season. The current No. 2 Niners signal-caller is playing out the final season of his rookie deal at $821K. San Francisco can handle this substantial markup, though, in being projected to possess a league-most $60.6MM in 2018 cap space. Considering the team’s new decision-makers have discussed the acquisition of a potential franchise quarterback at just about every turn this offseason, putting a $23MM-plus salary on the 2018 books wouldn’t be too much of a setback to determine if Garoppolo is that player.
No current 49er is set to have even an eight-figure cap number next season. Pierre Garcon‘s $9.36MM tops the rebuilding team’s list. A Garoppolo tag would be the most money the 49ers have ever paid for a quarterback in one season.
Shanahan views the 49ers’ current situation — making a medium-scale bet on a possible high-ceiling passer, one that has yet to throw 100 NFL passes — as ideal for a tag.
“That’s what’s cool about having something like (the franchise tag): Hey, alright, I would love to have a guy like that, especially for only a second-round pick,” Shanahan said. “Definitely. Do we have to make a decision this fast for the future in terms of a long-term deal and everything? No, you don’t. If you do, and it works out, and you feel great about it, that’s awesome. But if not, that’s why the rules are the way they are.”
Regardless of Garoppolo’s 2017 performance, Shanahan said he won’t gauge it as much as he will 2018’s. The former second-round pick’s comfort within the confines of the 49ers’ offense will be higher by ’18, Shanahan said, helping to explain the organization’s patient stance presently.
“… It’s not something where you want to put all this pressure on him, on the organization, on the players around him where it’s like ‘Hey, we’re going to get this deal done, this long-term deal, you’ve got six games to prove it. You better go out there and do it or you won’t get what you think you’re worth,’” Shanahan said. “That’s not right to me for us. That’s not right for him.”