Kelly Has Not Discussed Status With 49ers Owners
- Chip Kelly says he hasn’t had discussions with 49ers ownership about his status for 2017, but the first-year San Francisco coach figures to do so once season ends Sunday, Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group reports (on Twitter). Both Kelly and GM Trent Baalke are on thin ice after this 49ers season included a 13-game losing streak, the longest in franchise history.
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 16
This weekend, the Browns got the best of both worlds when they won their first game of the 2016 season while the 49ers also found their way to victory. Now, the 1-14 Browns remain in the top spot as we head into the final week of the NFL season.
Here’s where we stand through Week 16. (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
- Browns 1-14
- 49ers 2-13
- Bears 3-12
- Jaguars 3-12
- Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-11
- Jets 4-11
- Chargers 5-10
- Bengals 5-9-1
- Panthers 6-9
- Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 6-9
- Cardinals 6-8-1
- Bills 7-8
- Colts 7-8
- Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-8
- Saints 7-8
- Titans 8-7
- Ravens 8-7
- Buccaneers 8-7
- Broncos 8-7
- Redskins 8-6-1
49ers RB Carlos Hyde Has MCL Sprain
49ers running back Carlos Hyde sprained his MCL on Saturday against the Rams and will miss San Francisco’s game of the season, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Niners are set to close out the season on New Year’s Day against the Seahawks. Coach Chip Kelly has since confirmed the news.
[RELATED: 49ers Place Torrey Smith On IR]
Hyde will finish his age-25 campaign having played in 13 games and posted career highs in nearly every offensive category. On 217 rush attempts, Hyde managed 988 yards (4.6 yards per attempt) and scored six touchdowns, while adding another three scores through the passing game. Hyde is signed through 2017, and now that he’s finished three NFL seasons, the 49ers are now allowed to extend him this offseason.
With Hyde sidelined for San Francisco’s season finale, the club could conceivably add another running back to its roster in the next week. Raheem Mostert, currently on the 49ers’ practice squad, is one obvious candidate to join Shaun Draughn, DuJuan Harris, and Mike Davis on the active roster.
Volin: 49ers Likely To Fire Baalke, Kelly
Earlier this month, a report emerged that Snead was expected to survive, with another indicating the GM was not long for employment in L.A. With the Rams having lost to the 49ers and dropping to 4-11 — in line for their worst record since 2011, the final year of the pre-Snead/Fisher regime — it’s obvious the more fan-friendly move would be to start fresh.
- Neither Trent Baalke nor Chip Kelly is expected to survive Black Monday, per Volin, with a new 49ers GM expected to be able to select his own coach. Kelly’s team won its first game since Week 1 in beating the Rams in L.A., but the formerly sought-after coach steered the team to its worst losing streak in the franchise’s 70-year history. Baalke could land in Denver due to his solid relationship with Broncos GM John Elway, but the sixth-year decision-maker has overseen a 49ers freefall over the past two years after that run of three consecutive conference championship games.
49ers Place Torrey Smith On IR
The 49ers have lost another starter to injury for the season, placing Torrey Smith on IR, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports. This increases the team’s total on the injured list to 17, with nine of those having been starters.
Linebacker Wynton McManis will take Smith’s roster spot, per Wagoner.
Going into mid-December, Smith had never missed a game in his six years as an NFLer. The former Ravens second-round pick had played in 92 consecutive regular-season games to start his career, with that total climbing to an even 100 when counting his appearances during Baltimore’s playoff runs in 2011, 2012 and 2014. But a concussion suffered during Week 14 will shelve the 49ers’ highest-paid receiver for this season’s remainder.
He will finish with his worst statistical season as a pro, having hauled in 20 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns in 12 starts. Smith’s previous low (663 yards) came with the 2015 49ers after he signed a five-year deal last March. The 49ers’ quarterback situation helped render Smith ineffective, and the 27-year-old target was the subject of trade discussion before the November deadline. The 49ers discussed a Smith trade to the Eagles but ended up retaining him.
Three years remain on Smith’s contract, with the cap-rich team saving $4.8MM by cutting him in the offseason but also incurring $4.8MM in dead money by doing so at that juncture. He stands to count $9.6MM against San Francisco’s cap the next three seasons.
49ers Sign Andrew Gardner, Waive Josh Allen
- The 49ers signed offensive lineman Andrew Gardner and waived center Josh Allen. Gardner, whom the Dolphins selected in the sixth round of the 2009 draft, most recently took the field with the Eagles from 2014-15. During that two-year span, he started in 11 of 19 appearances.
49ers To Sign Nick Rose In Offseason
- The 49ers plan to sign former Texas kicker Nick Rose to a reserve-future deal in the the offseason, tweets Wilson.
Jaguars Sign LB Marcus Rush Off 49ers’ PS
The Jaguars have signed linebacker Marcus Rush off the 49ers’ practice squad and placed offensive lineman Jeremiah Poutasi on injured reserve, the club announced today.
[RELATED: Jaguars Interested In Tom Coughlin As Executive]
Rush, 25, went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2015 and had spent the past two years on San Francisco’s taxi squad. He starred during the 2016 preseason, leading the NFL with six sacks during exhibition season. But that performance wasn’t enough for Rush to land a spot on the 49ers’ active roster, and (somewhat surprisingly), Rush didn’t earn a promotion this week even after San Francisco cleared roster space by placing several players on IR.
Poutasi, meanwhile, was selected by the Titans in the third round of the 2015 draft, but the new Tennessee regime waived him after only a single season. The 22-year-old spent the majority of the 2016 campaign on Jacksonville’s practice squad, but did end up starting one game after being promoted in mid-November.
49ers Place DB Jimmie Ward On IR
The 49ers announced today that they’ve placed defensive back Jimmie Ward on injured reserve and promoted rookie cornerback Prince Charles Iworah from the practice squad to the active roster. Additionally, San Francisco will promote wide receiver DeAndre Smelter to the 53-man roster, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
[RELATED: 49ers Audition J’Marcus Webb]
Although he played safety in college, Ward, a first-round pick in 2014, was the 49ers’ nickel corner, and had started a career-high 10 games in 2016. The 25-year-old had posted two interceptions, 12 passes defensed, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery while grading as the league’s No. 53 cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus. Ward is signed through the 2017 campaign, and San Francisco can add an extra year to his deal by exercising his 2018 fifth-year option.
Iworah, meanwhile, was selected in the sixth round out of Western Kentucky earlier this year. After being waived at final cutdowns, Iworah was quickly signed to the Niners’ taxi squad, and has spent the entire season on the PS. San Francisco will take a look at him over the final two games of the year, as he’ll play behind Tramaine Brock, Rashard Robinson, Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, and JaCorey Shepherd in the secondary.
Smelter, 25, was expected to contribute to the 49ers’ offense after being drafted in the fourth round in 2015, but he’s yet to appear in an NFL game thus far in his career. Smelter spent his entire rookie campaign on NFI, and after being waived earlier this year, re-signed to San Francisco’s practice squad in October.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/20/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Ronald Zamort
Cleveland Browns
- Signed LB James Burgess, TE J.P. Holtz
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Austin Traylor
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Andrew Turzilli
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Max McCaffrey
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Cory Johnson
New York Jets
- Signed: C Kyle Friend, TE Jason Vander Laan
Philadelphia Eagles
- Cut: TE Marcel Jensen
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Al-Hajj Shabazz
- Cut: CB Brandon Dixon
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR DiAndre Campbell, CB Duke Thomas
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Malcolm Johnson
- Placed on practice squad IR: OL Robert Myers