NFC West Notes: 49ers, Adams, Cards, Rams
Recent restructures have vaulted the 49ers past the Browns for cap space. San Francisco’s $42.1MM leads the NFL by more than $7MM. GM John Lynch did not rule out some of these funds being used to add a trade piece, but the 49ers are planning roll over the bulk of the space to 2024.
“Really, we always look at the cap for three years out,” Lynch said, via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “Obviously, we have all that room this year. But really it’s to create room for future years because we roll everything over. It helps us in future years because it creates some room we’re going to need. … We’ve pretty much done what we’re going to do this year, but you never know with the trade deadline and all that.”
The 49ers created some space by extending Nick Bosa, though the team authorized a record-smashing accord that will show up on future caps, but Brock Purdy‘s rookie contract runs through 2025. During the Lynch-Kyle Shanahan era, the 49ers have not been shy about adding at the deadline, as the Christian McCaffrey and Emmanuel Sanders trades illustrate. In place as a Super Bowl contender once again, the 49ers will have some ammo to accommodate a bigger salary if they choose. For now, however, they are viewing the restructures to help down the road. Even with the projected carryover, the 49ers currently are projected to hold barely $17MM in 2024 cap space.
Here is the latest from the NFC West:
- The Seahawks will not delay Jamal Adams‘ return for another week. Pete Carroll pronounced his highest-paid safety as “ready to go” for the team’s Week 4 Monday-night matchup against the Giants. Adams suffered a torn quadriceps tendon during the Seahawks’ season-opening Monday-nighter against the Broncos last year. The seventh-year veteran spent most of training camp on the Seahawks’ active/PUP list, and while he avoided the reserve/PUP designation, he still was expected to miss regular-season time. Additionally, Carroll said Riq Woolen and Charles Cross have a good chance to return in Week 4. Cross has missed the past two games, while Woolen was down for Week 3.
- In 2020, the Cardinals had both CeeDee Lamb and Tristan Wirfs on their radar when they held the No. 8 overall pick. Many in the Cards’ war room believed it would be a Wirfs-or-Lamb decision, GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer notes. Isaiah Simmons instead became the selection. While Simmons did not pan out in Arizona, being traded to the Giants for a seventh-round pick last month, he was viewed as an elite-level prospect. The Lions and Giants were linked to Simmons at Nos. 3 and 4, while Wirfs and Lamb did not go off the board until Nos. 13 and 17. Simmons represents another Steve Keim misstep at linebacker. The Cardinals missed on Deone Bucannon (2014) and had slotted Haason Reddick (2017) as an off-ball player for most of his Arizona run. Zaven Collins (2021) has since been moved to the outside. Simmons moved around the Cardinals’ formation, finishing his desert run as a safety.
- Sean McVay remains the Rams‘ play-caller, but he allowed new OC Mike LaFleur to implement new concepts upon coming over from the Jets. LaFleur added elements from the Jets and 49ers’ offenses that were not previously in the Rams’ scheme, Dan Pompei of The Athletic writes (subscription required). McVay indicated LaFleur — a Shanahan assistant from 2014-20, with the Browns, Falcons and 49ers — has earned the autonomy he received this offseason, when he came to Los Angeles shortly after a Jets separation.
49ers Extend Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have now signed their second round of extensions with the 49ers. The team’s power brokers, who arrived in 2017, finalized new deals Friday.
This comes three years after the pair received their initial extensions. At the time, Lynch was signed through 2024 and Shanahan through 2025. The duo is now inked into at least the late 2020s. The 49ers hovered near the bottom of the NFL when they hired Shanahan and Lynch in 2017, leading to each receiving six-year contracts to lead a rebuild. The second-generation HC and Hall of Fame safety have led the way in reinvigorating the franchise.
When the 49ers handed their HC-GM tandem the previous extensions, the team was coming off a remarkable turnaround — going from 4-12 to Super Bowl LIV. These latest deals come after the 49ers have managed to sustain success despite quarterback unreliability. It is rather impressive the seventh-year decision-makers have secured these re-ups so quickly after the Trey Lance experiment failed. Withstanding that miss illustrates the roster strength the 49ers have built and the play-calling acumen Shanahan has displayed.
Eyeing an upgrade on the injury-prone Jimmy Garoppolo in 2021, the 49ers sent the Dolphins two future first-rounders and a third to climb from No. 12 to No. 3. That move turned into Lance, despite persistent rumors Shanahan initially preferred Mac Jones. But he signed off on Lance. This would ordinarily lead to a significant step back for a franchise, but the 49ers soared to back-to-back NFC championship games despite receiving next to nothing from the handpicked Garoppolo heir apparent.
Had Jaquiski Tartt corralled a room-service INT late in the 2021 NFC title game, the 49ers likely continue their mastery over the Rams and book a Super Bowl LVI berth. But the team overcame that loss to assemble a 12-game win streak last season, doing so after more QB uncertainty engulfed it. The 49ers stunned the football universe by staying on course after going from Garoppolo to Brock Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft. Purdy, who made the team as a third-stringer behind Lance and Garoppolo to start last season, still has not lost a regular-season start, improving to 8-0 via Thursday night’s win over the Giants.
Shanahan’s play-calling has undeniably aided Purdy, who quarterbacked the 49ers to playoff wins over the Seahawks and Cowboys, and the duo’s roster-building effort produced a historically rare offense housing four first-team All-Pros. The trade for Christian McCaffrey was out of step with where running back value has gone, but the 49ers are unbeaten when McCaffrey starts and their quarterback finishes a game. While McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams were not enough to topple the Eagles with Purdy injured (and backup Josh Johnson sustaining a concussion), the 49ers boast one of the NFL’s best nuclei.
Lynch’s extension comes barely a year after he turned down an Amazon offer that would have more than doubled his GM salary. Lynch, who will turn 52 on Monday, spent years in the FOX booth prior to joining the 49ers in surprising fashion. Shanahan, 43, came to San Francisco as a coveted commodity, moving west after leading the Falcons to a historically dominant offensive season in 2016.
Jed York‘s 49ers had become the first team since the late-1970s Niners to make back-to-back head coaches (Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly) one-and-dones. While Shanahan and Lynch started slowly, the 2019 season — after the team parlayed Garoppolo’s 2018 ACL tear into the No. 2 overall pick (Nick Bosa) — proved indicative of the team’s capabilities. The 49ers just gave Bosa a record-smashing extension.
Shanahan is the 49ers’ longest-tenured HC since George Seifert; this extension puts him in line to top the two-time Super Bowl winner, who coached the team for eight seasons. Lynch’s GM tenure matches predecessor Trent Baalke‘s in length; the Jim Harbaugh coworker was in the GM chair from 2010-16.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/22/23
Today’s minor transactions heading into the weekend:
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Anthony Brown
- Waived: CB Tre Swilling
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to active roster: LB Chance Campbell, WR Mason Kinsey
- Placed on IR: WR Kearis Jackson
- Waived: LB Otis Reese
The 49ers are essentially reversing transactions made this week. Brown was released this week in order to make room for Swilling on the active roster. Now, Brown will rejoin the roster with Swilling making room for him. Swilling will likely find his way back to the Niners’ practice squad if he clears waivers.
With Jackson going on injured reserve, the Titans need to turn to someone else in the return game. Chris Moore has some kickoff return experience from his time in Baltimore. Kyle Phillips had five punt returns for the team last year, but he remains on IR, as well.
Reese made the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss. He will likely get a lot of bites on the waiver wire.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/23
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: QB Nathan Peterman
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: DE Derek Rivers
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on IR: WR Jalen Nailor
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: LB Ty Summers
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Jaylon Thomas, OLB Oshane Ximines
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: CB Anthony Brown
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Chris Conley, CB Shemar Jean-Charles
The Bears released Peterman on Wednesday, but Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes the team was planning to use the roster spot to poach a player off a another team’s practice squad. Chicago’s effort did not produce a signing, however, leaving Peterman’s spot vacant. When a team makes an effort to sign a player off another club’s P-squad, the team can promote the player to its 53-man roster to keep him from being poached. The seventh-year QB, who is in his second season with the Bears, again give the team three active-roster QBs — along with Justin Fields and rookie Tyson Bagent.
QB Notes: Dak, Ravens, Lance, Dobbs, Lions
Although a report earlier this month indicated the Cowboys and Dak Prescott had not begun contract negotiations, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes conversations occurred “throughout the offseason.” The Cowboys restructured Prescott’s deal in March, creating 2023 cap space but setting up a showdown of sorts in 2024. Because of the redo, Prescott carries what would be a record-shattering $59.5MM cap hit for 2024, the final year of his contract. Prescott, 30, will almost definitely not play on that number; no one has ever played on a cap number north of $45MM.
Because the Cowboys tagged Dak in 2020 and procedurally tagged him in 2021, part of the long-running negotiations that finally produced a deal in March 2021, they do not have a 2025 tag at their disposal. The Cowboys want to gain contract clarity with Prescott, Howe notes (subscription required), with CeeDee Lamb extension-eligible and Micah Parsons eligible in January. But the eighth-year QB will hold tremendous leverage, particularly if he can complete a bounce-back season, once the sides get serious about an extension.
Here is more on the QB front:
- The Cardinals have used Josh Dobbs as their starting quarterback through two games, doing so despite the veteran reserve not being acquired until late August. Although Dobbs had a history with ex-Browns QBs coach-turned-Cardinals OC Drew Petzing, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the Cards surprised the Browns with an “out of the blue” trade proposal for their then-backup. Cleveland, which had brought back Dobbs in March, decided the offer — a 2024 fifth-rounder for Dobbs and a 2024 seventh — was good enough to bump up rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson into the QB2 role behind Deshaun Watson.
- Dobbs was not the only QB who relocated via trade in August, as the 49ers-Cowboys Trey Lance swap outflanked the above-referenced move for headlines. The Ravens were mentioned as a Lance suitor, but Eric DeCosta said the team was not interested. “If somebody calls you and asks if you’re interested in a player and you say ‘No’ does that mean you’re interested in that player?” DeCosta said, via Ravens staff writer Kyle Phoenix Barber. The Ravens did pursue Baker Mayfield in March, when Lamar Jackson was on the franchise tag, but Tyler Huntley remains Jackson’s backup.
- Baltimore also rosters Josh Johnson…again. The journeyman (the term sells Johnson’s travels short) ventured to San Francisco last year following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s injury, being poached off Denver’s practice squad to become Brock Purdy‘s backup. Shortly after landing in the Bay Area, Johnson said (via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine) the Ravens attempted to sign him. This sequence transpired in December, when Jackson’s knee injury left Huntley and Anthony Brown as the Ravens’ QBs. Johnson, 37, is on stint No. 3 with the Ravens presently; he was with the team in 2016 and 2021.
- On the subject of the 2022 49ers, the team’s Lance hedge — via the Garoppolo contract reworking just before last season — came about because Garoppolo was still viewed as the better quarterback. The 49ers aimed for Lance — the unquestioned starter going into Week 1 — to pass the veteran after a season’s worth of growth, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Lance suffered a fractured ankle in Week 2, requiring two surgeries, and is back on the developmental track in Dallas. The Cowboys have the former No. 3 overall pick stationed as their third-stringer.
- In 2021, the Lions were beginning another rebuild — one that soon involved a trade of Matthew Stafford. The 12-year Lions QB had requested a trade before the team made its GM hire, and The Athletic’s Colton Pouncey writes Detroit brass did not inform candidates of the request. The Lions had shot down Stafford trade talk in 2020, but after the veteran passer requested a move as the team reloaded around Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell in January 2021, the thinking changed. Holmes was unfazed by Stafford’s wish to be dealt, per Pouncey. After negotiating with several teams, the Lions collected two first-round picks, a third and current starter Jared Goff in that seminal swap with the Rams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/23
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Released: QB Nathan Peterman
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: RB Bam Knight
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: RB Tony Jones Jr.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed to active roster: WR Britain Covey
- Placed on IR: CB Avonte Maddox (story)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed off Falcons’ practice squad: RB Godwin Igwebuike
- Signed to active roster: DT Breiden Fehoko
San Francisco
- Signed to active roster: CB Tre Swilling
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: RB Chase Edmonds (story)
- Signed to active roster: OL Pat O’Connor
The Steelers placing Anthony McFarland on IR left them with two active-roster running backs. Igwebuike will step in as Pittsburgh’s third-stringer behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Because the Steelers signed Igwebuike off another team’s practice squad, they must keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.
Coming back to the Saints after spending the offseason and training camp with the Broncos, Jones scored two touchdowns in New Orleans’ Monday-night win over Carolina. But the Saints had used a gameday elevation transaction to bump the veteran backup to the active roster. Wednesday’s move makes Jones an official part of the Saints’ 53-man unit.
Knight caught on with the Lions’ practice squad shortly after the Jets waived him. With David Montgomery likely to miss time, Knight will join Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds as the backs on Detroit’s 53-man roster. A 2022 UDFA, Knight saw time following Breece Hall‘s ACL tear last season but could not stick on the Jets’ roster after the AFC East team’s Dalvin Cook addition.
49ers To Sign CB Anthony Brown
Released from the Steelers’ practice squad last week, Anthony Brown has another deal in place. This one will provide a spot on a 53-man roster.
The 49ers are signing Brown to their active roster, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. A six-year Cowboys contributor, Brown is attempting to come back from a December 2022 Achilles tear.
San Francisco saw two of its corners — starters Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas — exit during its Week 2 win in Los Angeles. Lenoir was cleared from concussion protocol, returning to the game and intercepting a Matthew Stafford pass, but Thomas did not return to action. With the 49ers preparing to host the Giants in a Thursday-night matchup, they are short on time to have the third-year corner back in action.
Lenoir has worked as San Francisco’s nickel starter in each of the first two games but moved outside when Thomas went down against the Rams, bringing offseason addition Isaiah Oliver back into the mix. The 49ers closed the game with a Lenoir-Oliver-Charvarius Ward corner combination. Brown is on track to become a depth piece.
Brown, 29, spent much of his Cowboys tenure as the team’s primary slot corner. He fared well enough to earn a second contract with the team. The Cowboys re-signed Brown to a three-year, $15.5MM deal in 2020 and kept him in place as a regular during Dan Quinn‘s first two seasons. Last year’s tear has thrown the 2017 sixth-rounder’s career off course, but the 49ers evidently feel comfortable with his form.
Quinn used Brown as a full-time player up until the injury, using the 5-foot-11 cover man on at least 90% of Dallas’ defensive snaps in each of the past two seasons. Helping the Cowboys rebound from a dreadful 2020 defensive effort, Brown played a career-high 1,048 defensive snaps in 2021. He intercepted three passes that year, giving him nine for his career. The Cowboys, who also lost Jourdan Lewis to a season-ending injury last year, traded for Stephon Gilmore in March and are using 2022 Brown replacement DaRon Bland as their slot defender this year.
Cardinals Place S Budda Baker On IR, Sign S Qwuantrezz Knight Off 49ers’ Practice Squad
Budda Baker did not suit up against the Giants on Sunday, missing the wild Week 2 NFC matchup after suffering a hamstring injury during practice Friday. The Cardinals will be without their defensive leader for a while as a result.
The team placed Baker on injured reserve Monday. Although Baker missed Sunday’s game, the Cardinals putting him on IR a day later means he must miss the next four Arizona games. Baker will be eligible to return in Week 7. This will be the longest absence of Baker’s career. He came into the season having missed five games in six years.
This transaction comes several weeks after the Cardinals and Baker reached an agreement to bring him back into the fold. Baker had requested a trade in February, and the ask became public in April. A push to secure a more lucrative contract drove the Baker trade request, and while the team offered a small incentive package and guaranteed his 2023 salary weeks before it would have become locked in, the perennial Pro Bowl safety remains attached to the $14.75MM-per-year deal he signed in 2020.
The Cardinals refused to trade Baker, though it will be interesting to see if the team changes its tune once the seventh-year veteran moves toward recovering. Baker, 27, can return on Oct. 22 — nine days before this year’s trade deadline. He is attached to a $13MM base salary. Considering the Cardinals’ approach change this year, they appear likely to be sellers at the deadline. It would certainly not shock to see Baker’s name come up in trade rumors before the Halloween deadline. Baker is signed through 2024.
Baker has three All-Pro nods on his resume, two of those coming as a safety, and has been invited to five Pro Bowls. He faced a potential IR stint last season, suffering a high ankle sprain. But the resilient defender managed to avoid missing any time. Baker did, however, miss the final two games of last season with a fractured shoulder.
This will deal another blow to a Cardinals defense that lost most of its top 2022 personnel this offseason. J.J. Watt retired, and Zach Allen and Byron Murphy left in free agency. Arizona’s new regime dropped Markus Golden as well. The team bailed on three-year starter Isaiah Simmons late this summer, dealing him to the Giants.
To replace Baker on their 53-man roster, the Cardinals signed Qwuantrezz Knight off the 49ers’ practice squad. A San Francisco UDFA last year, Knight spent the season on the team’s practice squad and signed a reserve/futures deal in January. Knight has yet to play in a regular-season game.
NFL Injury Updates: Burrow, Richardson, Barkley, Thomas
Bengals fans have been plenty frustrated with the team’s return on investment from quarterback Joe Burrow‘s record-breaking extension. Through two games, Burrow has averaged 152 yards per game while throwing two touchdowns and an interception. People were concerned about the calf injury that forced him out of practice early in training camp this summer and how it would affect him as the season began. Burrow has pointed to that injury as a big reason for some of his early struggles, according to Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network.
Morrison noted that Burrow spoke “with a level of concern” after today’s game when addressing his right calf. He claimed to have tweaked his calf in today’s loss to the Ravens. Not only did he consider it a factor today, and likely last week, but he also thought there was a chance that it could end up being a tight rope that he is forced to walk for the remainder of the season.
It’s not difficult to see that the Burrow we’ve seen so far this year has been far from what we’re used to seeing in recent years. It will be interesting to see how the Bengals move forward with the handling of Burrow’s calf. Pushing him too hard could result in an extended absence, while a short reprieve of a week or two could help him get on top of a recovery that seems to be troubling him. There’s a lot of season left to go, and the Bengals will be keeping a close eye on Burrow in the days and weeks to come.
Here are a few other updates from around the NFL:
- Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson got off to a hot start in the second game of his NFL career, rushing for two touchdowns early in today’s divisional matchup with the Texans. Richardson had to exit the game in the first half, though, after sustaining a concussion that would hold him out for the remainder of the contest. Richardson was replaced by backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, who helped secure the team’s first win of the season. Richardson will need to go through concussion protocols in order to return to the field. This season, the protocols for return take about five days to get through, meaning Richardson absolutely has a chance to return for Week 3 if he can pass the necessary tests. If not, Minshew will continue to play in relief.
- Giants running back Saquon Barkley was injured in the final two minutes of today’s win over the Cardinals. He was obviously kept out of the remainder of the game but was visibly upset on the sideline while surrounded by trainers. They taped Barkley’s ankle, but he continued to walk with a significant limp. According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, an x-ray was performed after the game, while Barkley was still experiencing some swelling and discomfort. It has now been reported as a sprained ankle, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, meaning New York may have dodged a giant bullet, forgive the pun. While this bodes well for Barkley’s season-long prospects, the short week will not be his friend. Expect the Giants to exercise caution and, barring a miracle recovery, hold Barkley out for their Thursday night matchup against the 49ers. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Barkley will undergo an MRI tomorrow in order to determine the severity of the injury and gain an idea of just how much time he may miss.
- Joining Richardson above, Commanders tight end Logan Thomas left the team’s win over the Broncos today with a concussion that he sustained after getting clobbered over the middle by Denver safety Kareem Jackson. Jackson was ejected for the hit. Backup tight ends John Bates and Cole Turner both got significant run in Thomas’ absence and will continue to do so if he isn’t able to return next week.
- Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney (knee), Cowboys right guard Zack Martin (ankle), and Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) all sustained injuries today that kept them out of their respective games. Reports from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Jane Slater and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tell us that none of these injuries are considered serious.
49ers Place CB Samuel Womack On IR
SEPTEMBER 16: San Francisco officially announced the move today, confirming that Womack will be unavailable for the foreseeable future while he treats his knee injury. While not yet a permanent solution, the 49ers have opted to promote Swilling (mentioned below) as a standard gameday elevation from the practice squad. Swilling has yet to appear in an NFL game, so if needed, he will be making his NFL debut tomorrow.
SEPTEMBER 15: The depth of the 49ers’ cornerback group will continue to be tested as second-year corner Samuel Womack has been placed on injured reserve, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. This absence stems from a practice injury that affected the 24-year-old’s MCL. 
There’s been mixed speculation on the seriousness of the injury and the timetable for a return. Womack won’t require surgery, which should lessen the recovery time needed and help him to avoid a season-ending IR stint. Instead, he will heal on his own and rehabilitate in an attempt to make it back to the field this year.
So, Womack be on short-term IR with the potential to return. When he will be able to return, though, is still up for speculation. Some have classified him as out indefinitely, insinuating that it’s too early to estimate when he could come off of the injured list. Others have pinned it as a likely six- to eight-week absence. It’s mostly tricky due to the finicky nature of knee injuries. They can be difficult to diagnose perfectly and can require lengthy recoveries.
In Womack’s rookie season last year, he began his career with a Week 1 start in Chicago. Over the remainder of the season, his role slowly diminished into short rotations and special teams appearances. Sometimes, he would get a decent look on defense, twice playing over half the team’s snaps on that side of the ball. More often (seven times), he failed to see the field on defense at all, solely playing on special teams. Week 1 of this year saw that inconsistent role continue as Womack played sparsely on defense, mainly appearing with the special teams unit.
Womack’s potential to play in the slot was once again usurped by starter Deommodore Lenoir. When Lenoir wasn’t in the slot, offseason addition Isaiah Oliver manned the nickelback role. San Francisco likes to start Lenoir in the slot, flanked by Charvarius Ward and Ambry Thomas on the perimeters. When Thomas subs out, Lenoir will shift outside and Oliver will fill his slot.
Womack was the only depth behind those top-four on the roster with rookie cornerback Darrell Luter on the physically unable to perform list with a bone bruise as a result of a hyperextended knee. With both Womack and Luter out for at least three more weeks, the 49ers may need to get creative. The team has three practice squad cornerbacks (Shemar Jean-Charles, Qwuantrezz Knight, and Tre Swilling) who can provide depth, if needed.