Joe Nicholson-SUA TODAY Sports
Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi, now a contributor to The Athletic, does not buy John Lynch’s recent statement that the San Francisco 49ers are content to head to the 2021 season with Jimmy Garoppolo in charge. If he did, he didn’t feel like the team would have called the entire league to ask about anyone who might be available. Most assume that Lynch does his due diligence as a free agency and the project is fast approaching.
“They are too active, too aggressive to run it for another year with someone they don’t fully trust,” Lombardi wrote this week.
Also, Lombardi does not buy the head coach Kyle Shanahan, being interested in Teddy Bridgewater and he doubts that the 49ers asked about the defender Carolina Panthers. The report came from Lombardi’s colleague with The Athletic, Joe Person.
“49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was never a big fan of Bridgewater during his time in Cleveland, when Bridgewater was available in the project,” Lombardi explained. “Shanahan is quite specific in what he wants for the offense from the position of defender and these qualifications do not match Bridgewater’s game.”
Lombardi was the general manager of the Cleveland Browns during the Shanahan (2014) season as an offensive coordinator there, which was also the year Bridgewater joined the league.
Lombardi is convinced that Shanahan is interested in adding a defender, but not just any defender. The writer names two potential options that could convince the head coach to move on from Garoppolo.
The first is Sam Darnold of the New York Jets.
“Why? Because Darnold fits the profile that Shanahan loves in this position: athletic, he can throw by moving left or right and he has the strength of his arms to make the defense defend every blade of grass on the field.” wrote Lombardi. “The 49ers could buy him a second-round pick and then change Jimmy G.”
Lombardi notes that the Jets are looking for a high pick in the second round for Darnold, something between 33-42 overall. San Francisco holds general election no. 43.
This week, FS1 host Colin Cowherd analyzed Lombardi’s comments about Darnold. Cowherd often expressed that Darnold would be a good match for Shanahan’s offense.
“If Jimmy Garoppolo had no injuries, he wouldn’t move away from him,” Cowherd said. Flock (h / t la Patrick Tulini). “He has shown that he is good enough to reach the Super Bowl. He is a talented B quarterback who, for a year, when he was healthy, played as an A-minus quarterback under Shanahan.
“Well, Darnold, if you ask any scout, he’s more sporty than Jimmy Garoppolo. He has better raw tools. He’s a little bigger, more stupid, more athletic, with a better arm than Garoppolo. So if Garoppolo can get to a Super Bowl, why can’t Darnold? “
It is worth noting that there have been no official reports that the 49ers are trying to “move away” from Garoppolo and that up to this point there has been speculation. Yes, San Francisco asked about Matthew Stafford and Carson Wentz. However, it seems that the team never made offers for anyone, and his interest in the former was described as “lukewarm”.
There is another defender that Lombardi believes San Francisco would be even more interested in acquiring than Darnold. Of course, this creates a difficult situation. It means that the potential game for Darnold could hinder the team’s chances of having an even better option – Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans.
“Would San Francisco like Watson? Yes,” Lombardi added. “Do they want Watson over Darnold? Once again, yes. Would they regret trading for Darnold if two days later they hear that Houston is accepting offers for Watson? Another huge yes.”
For now, the 49ers appear satisfied with Garoppolo’s pressure. However, some remain convinced that Lynch and Shanahan keep other quarterbacks on the radar – just in case.
Chris Simms of NBC Sports recently ranked his first defenders in the upcoming draft, raising a few eyebrows. Most regard Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance, in that order, as the top four defenders in this draft class. Simms, no stranger to controversial versions, mixed things up a bit. Below are Simms’ top six quarterbacks. Zach Wilson, BYU Trevor Lawrence, Clemson Mac Jones, Alabama Kellen Mond, Texas A&M Justin Fields, Ohio State Trey Lance, North Dakota State Simms was asked by a fan through Pro Football Talk who quarterback on the list Kyle Shanahan and 49ers s -he might want the most. “Well, I think Zach Wilson is the guy he is
Last year, Kyle Shanahan watched as Patrick Mahomes gathered his team late in the Super Bowl to derail the San Francisco 49ers’ hopes of a sixth championship. Since Deshaun Watson wants to leave Houston and the interested teams to think about what might be needed to buy the defender, if he forces a transaction, the coach must look back to 2017 with at least one regret. The 49ers could have had Watson – or Muhammad by the way – and maybe they should never have wondered “if?” The 49ers passed both defenders as the plan was to acquire Kirk Cousins during the rebuilding process. So Shanahan and general manager John Lynch used their first draft pick as a duo in defensive line Solomon Thomas. Shanahan was supposed to be
Before landing with the San Francisco 49ers, Mike McDaniel’s longest time with an NFL team was three years. He came with the Houston Texans between 2006 and 2008. He also began working with Kyle Shanahan. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak gave Shanahan his first shot as a positional coach and McDaniel his first boss as a paid assistant. Then Kubiak threw the two into a room together. That’s where the relationship began, McDaniel shared with NBC Sports Bay Area. The two continued to work together in Washington, Cleveland and Atlanta. Shanahan gained so much confidence in McDaniel that he brought the assistant to San Francisco when Shanahan was named head coach in 2017. McDaniel has been with him for 49 years – his longest term with one
According to Field Yates from ESPN, the San Francisco 49ers claimed defender Mark Fields II out of the waivers (h / t to Patrick Tulini). The Houston Texans gave up Fields on Tuesday. The Niners will take on the $ 780,000 defensive defender’s one-year contract with the Houston Chronicle. The 49ers have claimed former Texans DB Mark Fields in waivers. – Field Yates (@FieldYates)