Latest On Colin Kaepernick
If the league office really wants Colin Kaepernick to be employed, they have ways to make a team sign him, Mike Florio of PFT writes. Florio points to the league’s efforts to get Michael Sam, the league’s first openly gay draft pick, on to a practice squad three years ago. Ultimately, after making a number of calls, the Cowboys agreed to give Sam a gig.
The NFL has been known to make wink-wink deals with teams when they want to get something done, and the league could encourage a team to sign Kaepernick by promising a future chance to host the Super Bowl or an exemption from having to do HBO’s Hard Knocks or something similar. But, with the season opener rapidly closing in, it remains to be seen whether commissioner Roger Goodell will pull some strings to get Kaepernick a contract.
Here’s the latest on No. 7:
- Mike Sando of ESPN.com spoke with a number of coaches and talent evaluators to try and get some insight on the Kaepernick situation. Multiple people indicated that they are unsure about Kaepernick’s commitment to football since they have not heard from him directly. “Everyone else is worried about him working, but I never hear him say how much he wants to work,” this voter said. “That hits a chord. People want to hear, ‘I want to work in the league, I want to work for you, I want to do this more than anything.’ It’s like with Tim Tebow — he’d rather be on the outside switching sports than be relegated to the [third team] and getting 20 percent of the reps.” Some also indicated that a similarly talented player playing a different position would have been signed by now. Kaepernick is left waiting, some say, because teams expect leadership from quarterbacks and there is fear that his personal agenda could come ahead of the team’s overall purpose.
- There was a sizable rally outside of NFL headquarters this week in support of Kaepernick, but the commissioner informed the “United We Stand” coalition that he could not meet at this time (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson). Although the group was unable to have an audience with Goodell, the rally did succeed in generating a great deal of media attention. The buzz generated from the rally may put some additional pressure on the league office to find Kaepernick a team for 2017.
- The NFLPA has been in contact with Kaepernick’s reps.
49ers Sign DL Sen’Derrick Marks
The 49ers have added a notable name to the defensive line. And it’s not the player we were expecting. The 49ers have signed defensive lineman Sen’Derrick Marks to a one-year deal, the team announced. 
Marks spent the first four years of his career with the Titans before joining the Jaguars in 2013. He did well in Jacksonville, up until suffering an ACL tear in Week 17 of the 2014 season. The 30-year-old defensive tackle has started in just three games since that injury.
If healthy, Marks could prove to be a valuable asset for San Francisco. It also helps that he has three years of experience playing under current Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Marks registered 4.0 sacks in 2013 and 8.5 sacks in 2014. Last year, he recorded just 3.5 sacks as a part-timer but he did appear in all 16 contests. if he makes the final cut, he’ll provide depth for a unit that is currently missing DeForest Buckner, Aaron Lynch, and Ronald Blair due to injuries.
Earlier this week, the Niners also auditioned former No. 3 overall pick Tyson Jackson and Ricardo Mathews. Apparently, Marks outperformed both players.
With the addition of Marks, the Niners are now back up to the 90-man roster max.
49ers Host DL Ricardo Mathews
Free agent defensive lineman Ricardo Mathews worked out for the 49ers today, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. San Francisco auditioned three free agent defensive lineman today, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Mathews and fellow veteran Tyson Jackson represent two of those visits, but the identity of the third player isn’t yet known.
This is the second time Mathews has met with the 49ers this offseason, per Rapoport, and those visits constitute the only known interest Mathews has generated since free agency opened in the spring. The 30-year-old Mathews appeared in all 16 games a season ago — the fourth time he’s done so in his seven-year career — and played on 29.7% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. While not an interior pass-rusher (Mathews managed just one sack and 5.5 pressures in 2016), he’s a serviceable defender against the run.
San Francisco ranked 31st in run defense DVOA last year, so while the club can clearly use the help up front, it’s not clear the 49ers have room for yet another defensive lineman. Just this offseason, the Niners have added third overall draft pick Solomon Thomas and free agent signing Earl Mitchell to their front four, a group that already included Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Quinton Dial, Chris Jones, Aaron Lynch, and others.
If the 49ers do sign Mathews (or Jackson), they’ll almost assuredly do so on a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract.
49ers Work Out Tyson Jackson
The 49ers are in the market for some front seven depth. Former Falcons defensive end Tyson Jackson auditioned for the team on Tuesday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
The former No. 3 overall pick was released by Atlanta at the outset of free agency. With $8.5MM and two years to go, it was an easy choice for Atlanta given the way that Jackson played in 2016.
Last year, Jackson finished out with 13 total tackles and two pass deflections in 16 games (seven starts). The advanced statistics at Pro Football Focus rated him as just the No. 67 interior defender in the NFL out of 127 qualified players. His grades for run defense, pass rush, and coverage were all poor in his 389 total snaps.
Jackson failed to record a sack in any of his three seasons with the Falcons, but he was an effective player while with the Chiefs. The Niners are now assessing whether he can be a worthwhile pickup for their team.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/17
Today’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived from IR: RB Jahad Thomas (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)
Denver Broncos
- Claimed off waivers: RB Stanley Williams
Detroit Lions
- Signed: TE Scott Orndoff
- Waived/injured: DT Bruce Gaston
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DL Calvin Heurtelou
Houston Texans
- Waived from IR: DeAndrew White (Link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived from IR: LB Jayson DiManche (Twitter link via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area)
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived/injured: TE Marcus Lucas, T Justin Senior
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: DL Mehdi Abdesmad
49ers On Lookout For Outside G Help
- The 49ers entered camp uncertain if they had one starting-caliber guard on their roster, let alone two, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes. Brandon Fusco will play right guard, but the 49ers are on the lookout for outside help opposite the longtime Vikings cog, Maiocco reports. Zane Beadles is penciled in on the other side, with Joshua Garnett sidelined due to knee surgery.
- Jimmie Ward will return to safety this season after a lengthy cornerback experiment, but the 49ers have yet to see him work at that spot during camp. Maiocco reports the 49ers expect the fourth-year defensive back to be cleared this week. He suffered a hamstring injury during San Francisco’s conditioning tests.
- Maiocco adds recently signed corner K’Waun Williams is in position to function as the 49ers’ top nickel back. He’s in the lead over 2016 third-rounder Will Redmond for that job. Neither Williams nor Redmond played last season. A torn ACL during his final college season led to Redmond missing 2016, and a controversial injury ended Williams’ time with the Browns. Cleveland’s two-year slot corner was not on a team last season but participated in a lengthy visit tour before deciding on a one-year, $765K deal with the 49ers.
Kyle Shanahan, John Elway Address Broncos’ HC Decision
Kyle Shanahan lost out to Vance Joseph when the Broncos chose a coach to replace Gary Kubiak in January. But Shanahan ended up in San Francisco, and the first-year HC said during the 49ers and Broncos’ joint practices he sensed he wouldn’t get the Denver job.
“I just had this gut feeling that I wouldn’t,” Shanahan said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, of his chances at becoming the Broncos head coach. “I went into the interview, I really enjoyed it, meeting with those guys. I hadn’t seen them for a while. But yeah, I never felt like it. I felt after the interview I made it hard on them, but I always had a feeling that I wasn’t.”
Elway played for Mike Shanahan for most of his career, when Shanahan was an assistant or during the four years he coached Elway as Denver’s HC. While the Broncos GM passed on bringing Mike’s son into the fold, Elway said the then-Falcons OC “wasn’t far behind.”
“His knowledge of the game is as good as there is in the league. It’s just a matter of finding the right fit,” Elway said. “I’m very happy with Vance, but Kyle wasn’t too far behind just because he has that knowledge. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to have a lot of success in this league.”
Due to the ties he had growing up in Denver, Kyle Shanahan ended up with a slight sense of relief he didn’t get the Broncos job. The younger Shanahan spent time in the Bay Area growing up as well, with Shanahan separating his Denver stays with a three-year run as OC in San Francisco, but most of Mike Shanahan’s NFL coaching years came in Colorado.
“Always deep down, I think, I’d rather [be in] a different situation,” Shanahan said. “But I loved Denver. I loved growing up there. My family is from there. My wife’s family is from there. So it would be a hard thing to say no to when your family’s there and things like that. But by no means was that my situation of choice.”
Elway agreed one of his finalists receiving the job Joseph now has would have created potentially a more pressure-packed environment and expounded on why Shanahan viewed it as a lesser fit than his current position.
“You are coming back to where you were raised and friends and family and everything that’s back there, all of a sudden you might have been walking into a pressure-cooker, especially with the situation that we’re in, having won the Super Bowl a couple years ago, so the expectation level was very high,” Elway said of the disparate natures of the job Joseph got and the rebuilding task Shanahan agreed to undertake. “So I can understand what his thinking was on whether he wanted that job or not because [of] having grown up there and such.”
49ers Re-Sign Shayne Skov
The 49ers announced on Thursday that they have re-signed Shayne Skov. It’s a one-year deal for the linebacker.
[RELATED: Agent Says 49ers Wanted Tramaine Brock Back]
Skov spent the last three seasons with the Niners, but he was dropped from the roster in May as the team made way for a host of undrafted free agents. The 6’3″, 247-pound ‘backer has appeared in 24 games for SF with two tackles on defense and 12 tackles on special teams.
Skov has ties to the area as a San Francisco native and Stanford University product. At Stanford, he had 355 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, five forced fumbles, and 13 passes defensed.
Skov will give the Niners another linebacker to evaluate in camp after they dropped injured LBs Donavin Newsom and Jayson DiManche.
Agent: 49ers Wanted Tramaine Brock Back
Cornerback Tramaine Brock drew interest from his former team, the 49ers, before the Seahawks signed him on Wednesday, according to his agent, Ron Slavin. “The 49ers denied it, but they called me the minute [his case] got dismissed and wanted him back,” Slavin told Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Brock spent the first seven years of his career with the 49ers, who released him April 7 on the heels of an arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. Charges were dropped last week, though, leading a slew of teams to inquire about Brock before he chose Seattle. The 49ers announced that they were not among those clubs, but Slavin says otherwise. Brock will face his ex-team twice this year.
49ers Make Two Moves
- The 49ers have placed linebacker Donavin Newsom on injured reserve and and waived/injured fellow LB Jayson DiManche. An undrafted rookie from Missouri, Newsom avoided a severe neck injury during practice last week, but he still suffered a concussion. DiManche has been with the 49ers twice in recent months, and his second tenure with the team only spanned 11 days. The 26-year-old has 29 NFL appearances on his resume, all of which came with the Browns and Bengals from 2013-15.