49ers’ Shareece Wright Seeking Trade
49ers cornerback Shareece Wright is seeking a trade or his release, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Wright inked a one year deal with San Francisco back in March but it appears he’s already dissatisfied with his role and itching to get out. Despite his sizable salary, Wright has been relegated to the bench so far in 2015.
Wright inked a one-year deal worth up to $5MM — $4MM in base salary and $1MM in incentives. That deal came hours after the 49ers lost Perrish Cox to the Titans. San Francisco’s other starting corner in 2014, Chris Culliver, also left the team in free agency to join Washington.
Wright started the past two seasons for the Chargers, where the former 2011 third-round pick out of USC drew a league-high eight pass interference penalties in 2014. The 28-year-old rated 105th out of 108 corners in Pro Football Focus’ 2014 grades (subscription required) and 103rd out of 110 graded performers the year prior.
Extra Points: Forte, Chip, Norman, Ivory, 49ers
The Bears’ 26-0 loss in Seattle on Sunday was their second straight blowout defeat – one that dropped them to 0-3 for the season. They’ve been outscored 105-46 this year and longtime Bears running back Matt Forte seemed to question his teammates’ commitment after their latest loss.
“It’s a question right now if everybody’s all in,” Forte said, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link).
For his part, it looks as though Forte is “all in” this season, a rare bright spot on a lousy team. The 29-year-old added 74 rushing yards Sunday, giving him 202 on a terrific 5.2 per-carry average.
More from around the NFL:
- Eagles football czar and head coach Chip Kelly garnered plenty of criticism for his roster construction methods during the offseason and has continued to draw ire during the team’s 1-2 start, but he has a fan in Jeffrey Lurie. The Eagles’ owner referred to Kelly’s tenure as “very good,” per ESPN.
- Jets running back Chris Ivory dressed for Sunday’s 24-17 loss to Kelly’s Eagles, but he had a quad injury and never got into the game. Head coach Todd Bowles elected to keep Ivory on the sideline in order to get him healthy, though Ivory felt he could have played.“I’m not sure how the decision was made,” said Ivory, per Newsday’s Kimberley A. Martin. “I felt comfortable enough to play [after warm-ups], but I just didn’t want it to be nothing that would linger around.”
- Prior to the season, Panthers cornerback Josh Norman turned down a contract extension worth upward of $7MM per year, according to Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer. Norman’s decision to gamble on himself is proving smart, Person writes, as the fourth-year man has turned into a shutdown defender. Norman sealed Carolina’s 27-22 win over New Orleans on Sunday with an interception, his second of the year.
- The 49ers dealt with a number of significant offseason departures and now they’re reeling at 1-2, their latest defeat being a humiliating 47-7 loss to NFC West rival Arizona. After the game, linebacker Ahmad Brooks acknowledged their weakened roster, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). “This is our team. We’ve got to make the best out of who we have,” said Brooks.
- Adding to the 49ers’ anguish, Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu offered a less-than-glowing assessment of their offense Sunday, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “Their passing game has just simplified so much, it was easy for us to anticipate routes, get some good breaks on the ball,” said Mathieu. With Mathieu’s help, the Cardinals held the 49ers to an embarrassing 67 aerial yards and intercepted four passes.
- The 0-3 Ravens aren’t a good team and the secondary is their most glaring weakness, writes Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun. After containing Peyton Manning in Week 1, the Ravens allowed over 700 combined passing yards to Andy Dalton and Derek Carr.
NFC Notes: Weeden, Kaep, Cam, Bradford
Prior to the Cowboys’ Brandon Weeden making his first start of the season Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that some around the NFL think it’s only a matter of time before newly acquired Matt Cassel takes over as Dallas’ starter. Weeden, who’s subbing for the injured Tony Romo, then completed an efficient 22 of 26 passes for 232 yards as part of a conservative Cowboys game plan. However, he tossed a costly interception and the Cowboys dropped a 39-28 decision to the Falcons.
Afterward, Bob Sturm of The Dallas Morning News wrote that Weeden isn’t someone the Cowboys should feel good about continuing to start. That’s certainly not an unreasonable opinion when you consider the abysmal numbers Weeden has put up throughout his career in Cleveland and Dallas. While Cassel isn’t exactly an ideal option, he has had more success in his career than Weeden. If the Cowboys don’t show an ability to stay afloat with Weeden under center, a switch to Cassel would become inevitable.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- Colin Kaepernick‘s performance in the 49ers’ 47-7 loss to Arizona on Sunday was the nadir of the fifth-year man’s career, as he went 9 of 19 for 67 yards and four interceptions. Head coach Jim Tomsula isn’t considering switching to backup Blaine Gabbert, however. “Colin’s our quarterback,” he said, per Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter)
- Panthers quarterback Cam Newton drew a hit that he felt could have warranted a flag in a 27-22 win over New Orleans on Sunday. Referee Ed Hochuli disagreed, though, and gave a bizarre reason for the non-call, per Newton. “Was it a late hit? I don’t know,” stated Newton. “But the response that I got was, ”Cam you’re not old enough to get that call.” For what it’s worth, Hochuli denied Newton’s story (link via Jonathan Jones of The Charlotte Observer).
- The Eagles broke into the win column Sunday with a 24-17 victory over the Jets, but it wasn’t because of struggling QB Sam Bradford. Although the sixth-year man went just 14 of 28 for a meager 118 yards, head coach Chip Kelly was encouraged that he didn’t turn the ball over after tossing four picks in the first two weeks of the season. He also pointed the finger at the Eagles’ offensive weapons for not hauling in more of Bradford’s passes. “I thought Sam did a nice job considering what [the Jets] brought,” Kelly said, according to Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com. “They can bring a rush unlike any team we play. They bring seven, they’re gonna play zero-man behind it. A few of those drops, I think all those guys want them back.”
NFC Notes: Brees, Bush, Hicks, Lions
Drew Brees won’t play for the Saints this weekend as he deals with a shoulder injury, but New Orleans’ woes could extend beyond Week 3, writes Jarrett Bell of USA Today. The Saints made several moves to upgrade their offensive line during the offensive line, but Bell questions whether sacrificing a game-changing talent like Jimmy Graham was worth it, noting that finding a weapon like Graham is conceivably more difficult than landing solid offensive linemen. Additionally, Brees’ 2016 cap hit of $27.4MM won’t leave New Orleans much room to bring in reinforcements. Trading Brees could help kickstart a rebuild, but Bell rightly wonders whether Saints fans would accept the club dealing an icon such as Brees.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- 49ers running back Reggie Bush will miss his second consecutive game, as he’s been declared out for Sunday’s contest with a calf injury. As Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes (via Twitter), Bush will miss out on $18,750 in per-game roster bonuses for each contest that he misses. The 30-year-old Bush signed a one-year, $2.5MM with San Francisco during the offseason.
- Third-round pick Jordan Hicks will start his first game for the Eagles on Sunday, according to to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. With both Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks dealing with leg injuries, Hicks, a Texas product, will step in next to veteran DeMeco Ryans, who has already expressed faith in Hicks. “He’s a guy who’s kind of above his years,” said Ryans. “To me, it’s not like he’s a rookie. When he stepped in, it’s like we’ve been doing this all summer and he’s a pretty smart guy, and it’s not like he has a big learning curve to hurdle.”
- The Lions rank 25th in the NFL in offensive yards, and Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is mostly to blame. (For what it’s worth, Detroit places a more respectable 16th in offensive DVOA.) The Lions scribe covers a plethora of other topics in his mailbag segment, including whether or not Matthew Stafford is still the future at quarterback.
Extra Points: McCoy, Pats, Sherman, 49ers
The latest from around the NFL as Sunday’s Week 2 action draws closer:
- A hamstring injury has hampered Bills running back LeSean McCoy since August, and it showed in a 17-carry, 41-yard performance last week in the team’s 27-14 win over Indianapolis. There’s been some question this week as to whether McCoy will play Sunday against AFC East rival New England, but the three-time Pro Bowler is expected to go, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- On the other hand, Patriots defensive tackle Dominique Easley – who suffered a hip injury early in a Week 1 win versus Pittsburgh – won’t be available to help stop McCoy, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (via Twitter).
- Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman‘s transition from the outside to the slot could clamp down Packers No. 1 wideout Randall Cobb this week, writes of USA Today. The Packers have avoided testing Seattle’s all-world corner in the past. If they do again, it could go a long way toward a bounce-back performance from the Seahawks, who are coming off a 34-31 loss in St. Louis.
- Running back Carlos Hyde was so effective in the 49ers’ 20-3 defeat of Minnesota on Monday that coordinator Geep Chryst suggested it allowed him to keep other aspects of his offense under wraps, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. If Pittsburgh slows down Hyde this week, the onus will be on quarterback Colin Kaepernick to make more plays. Hyde ran over Minnesota for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 26 rushes, while Kaepernick threw for fewer yards (165) on the same amount of attempts (26). To his credit, Kaepernick also added 41 yards on just seven carries.
- The Steelers are cognizant of Kaepernick’s ability to run, and they’re hoping to force the 27-year-old to beat them with his arm. “Obviously, the plan is not let (Kaepernick) get out in the open field,” said safety Michael Mitchell, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “They have a scrambling quarterback and a downhill running back, but we always have to account for Kaepernick.” Added linebacker Ryan Shazier, “We have to make him throw the ball.”
49ers Waive Kendall Hunter
The 49ers have reached an injury settlement with running back Kendall Hunter, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Hunter will become a free agent if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
Hunter, 27, hasn’t played since 2013. He missed all of 2014 with a torn ACL, but he returned to practice this summer and played in the 49ers’ last two preseason games. They subsequently placed him on injured reserve, however, and this injury settlement means he’ll be able to look for work elsewhere. He still could end up back with the 49ers, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets, though they’ll have to wait at least six weeks to re-sign him (Twitter link).
Hunter has appeared in 43 games since the 49ers used a fourth-round pick on him in 2012, racking up 1,202 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on an impressive 4.6 yards per carry.
NFC West Notes: Rams, RGIII, Hayne
The Rams have been pitching a solo project in Los Angeles for quite some time, but recent reports have indicated that they might wind up sharing a stadium with the Chargers in the end. The Chargers, of course, have been teamed up with the Raiders on a stadium proposal, but is concern that the Raiders don’t have the capital to see it all the way through. While we wait to see how the rush to L.A. plays out, here’s more on the Rams and other items from the NFC West..
- The Rams and Washington will always be tied together as a result of the RGIII trade, even though more than three years have passed since the swap. As the two teams get set to face each other this weekend, Peter Hailey of CSNMidAtlantic.com looked at the players that St. Louis drafted as a result of the deal. The Rams didn’t come away with any megastars – at least not yet – but they did land quality players such as linebacker Alec Ogletree and tackle Greg Robinson.
- While serving as the head coach of the Rams, Steve Spagnuolo says that he was in awe of Julio Jones before the 2011 draft. He told others within the organization, “We have to find a way to get this guy,” as Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger tweets. Of course, that didn’t wind up happening, and Jones is now a superstar for the Falcons.
- Despite fumbling away his first NFL punt return against the Vikings on Monday, former Australian Rugby League star Jarryd Hayne hasn’t lost his job on special teams, as Taylor Price of 49ers.com writes. “We put him out there for the next two punts,” the 49ers coach said. “He would have stayed out there all day.” The 49ers signed Hayne this past offseason to a deal with a partial guarantee, despite the fact that he had never before played American football.
NFC Notes: Ellington, Cowboys, Eagles
Cardinals running back Andre Ellington suffered a PCL sprain in Sunday’s game, as first reported by Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) and confirmed by head coach Bruce Arians (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). While Anderson suggested a recovery timetable of two to three weeks for Ellington, Arians indicated his running back could just miss one week, and the team hasn’t ruled him out for its Week 2 game yet.
If Ellington isn’t able to practice by Friday, it will likely lead to a flurry of roster moves for the Cardinals, according to Arians. As ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss tweets, the team could promote running back Kerwynn Williams to its roster for next Sunday’s game against the Bears.
- With Dez Bryant expected to miss at least a month, the Cowboys will sign a wide receiver for depth purposes, tweets Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), on the other hand, hears that the team is still undecided on whether to sign a receiver. If Dallas signs a wideout, I wouldn’t expect him to play a major role in the offense in Bryant’s absence.
- Sam Bradford‘s start in tonight’s game eliminates the possibility of the Eagles getting the Rams‘ 2016 third-round pick, as Adam Schefter of ESPN notes. Philadelphia would have received that pick if Bradford hadn’t been able to play a game this season due to injury. Now, it’s worth watching whether or not the former first overall pick will play 50% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps — if he doesn’t, Philadelphia will get St. Louis’ 2016 fourth-rounder.
- Former Eastern Washington offensive tackle Jake Rodgers, cut earlier this month by the Falcons, has a tryout with the Saints on Tuesday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
- Three defensive backs – former Rams cornerback Montell Garner, ex-Seahawks safety Ryan Murphy, and former Bengals safety Floyd Raven – worked out for the Packers, tweets Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com. Green Bay also auditioned defensive end Martin Ifedi, a 2015 seventh-round pick who was cut by St. Louis.
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News examines 49ers CEO Jed York‘s legacy in San Francisco.
- If St. Louis wants to keep the Rams, one critical issue to work through is who will pay cost overruns, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
NFC Notes: 49ers, RGIII, Chancellor
Wide receiver Michael Crabtree spent the first six years of his career with the 49ers after they drafted him 10th overall in 2009. His time in San Francisco was somewhat underwhelming, given his production at Texas Tech and draft status, as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau just once and never racked up double-digit touchdowns in a season. Crabtree stayed in the Bay Area and signed with Oakland during the offseason, but he told Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle that the 49ers wanted him back. The feeling wasn’t mutual.
“A lot of people don’t know that the Niners offered me a contract, I just didn’t take it,” the 27-year-old said. “I wanted a fresh start. It was more money too — the Niners offered me more money than anybody did — but business is business and I wanted to come to a team that really wanted and needed me.”
Crabtree then took a shot at 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, saying, “I needed a quarterback that can deliver the ball, and that was hungry like I was.”
More from the NFC:
- Robert Griffin III‘s abrupt fall from grace continues. The former second overall pick and 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year will enter the season as Washington‘s third-string quarterback, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. He’s behind Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy on the depth chart.
- The NFL and the NFL Players Association could be in the early stages of a spat centering on Saints running back Khiry Robinson, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Saints fined Robinson for a training camp altercation with an intern and then reported it to the league, which is proper protocol. The league then violated protocol by interviewing Robinson about the incident without a union rep present. The NFLPA is now investigating.
- Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor has taken quite a financial hit so far during his holdout, per Florio. Chancellor will lose his game check ($267,941.17) for not playing in Sunday’s opener, bringing his money lost total to $1.87MM. That amount will continue adding up as long as he stays away from the team.
- With Devin Hester out for the Falcons’ Monday opener because of injury, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution expects Eric Weems to handle the team’s return duties (Twitter link).
NFC West Notes: Chancellor, Rams, 49ers
A look at the latest regarding the NFC West:
- There’s nothing new to report regarding star safety Kam Chancellor‘s holdout, according to Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll (Twitter link via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta). “We all want Kam here,” said Carroll. Chancellor is poised to miss Seattle’s opener against St. Louis on Sunday.
- Prior to signing with Oakland on Friday, outside linebacker Aldon Smith drew interest from a handful of teams. The Rams weren’t among his serious suitors, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). While the Rams discussed Smith internally, Thomas added that they never contacted the 25-year-old (via Twitter).
- Speaking of Smith, his ex-teammates and coaches in San Francisco don’t harbor any ill will toward him after his tenure with the 49ers ended because of off-field issues. “I’m really happy for him. He’s a guy that I had great experience with,” said defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, according to Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News. Added linebacker Eli Harold, who is tasked with trying to replace Smith, “Everyone deserves a second chance. I’m happy for him.”
- The 49ers’ Ahmad Brooks, another linebacker beset by off-field problems, will be a full go for the team’s opener against Minnesota on Monday. “I don’t expect any restrictions on Ahmad at all,” Mangini said, per Eric Branch of SFGate.com. Mangini also showered praise on Brooks, saying, “Ahmad has been a guy — throughout the spring and throughout camp — I’ve really been impressed with his work ethic, his toughness, his consistency, his approach in the classroom.”