NFC West

Nike announced Wednesday that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has signed an endorsement contract with its Jordan Brand.

"To me, it's surreal and truly special to hear I'm joining the family," Samuel said. "As a kid, all I wanted were J's. Being a part of the Jordan Brand is something I've always wanted, and for it to be a reality is special to me. It's a dream come true to be a Jordan Brand athlete and help carry this legacy forward to the next generation on and off the field."

Samuel becomes the seventh NFL receiver to join Jumpman alongside Davante Adams, Chase Claypool, Stefon Diggs, Jarvis Landry, Sterling Shepard and Michael Thomas.

"I'm looking forward to inspiring the young football players and young kids out there who want to create greatness in their own way," the 2021 Pro Bowler said.

Nike said he was selected as someone who could uphold the Jordan Brand's "standard of excellence."

Samuel showcased game-changing versatility last season, tallying 1,770 yards from scrimmage (1,405 receiving and 365 rushing) and 14 total touchdowns across 16 appearances to earn a First-Team All-Pro selection.

The Niners rewarded his success with a three-year, $71.6 million contract extension in July.

"We are overjoyed to have come together with Deebo to keep him with the 49ers for years to come," general manager John Lynch said. "Deebo has the rare ability to not only play at a unique level but to inspire his teammates with the way he plays. He is a special player that embodies 'will meeting skill.' We're proud to move forward with him as an integral leader and foundational piece of our team."

Between the new contract and his endorsement deal with the Jordan Brand, it's been a successful couple of months for the 26-year-old South Carolina native.

Samuel, who's recorded 242 total yards in three games so far this season, and the Niners are back in action Monday night when they host the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium for a key NFC West clash.

Clay Matthews spent the first 10 years of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers, accumulating 83.5 sacks with the team, though the Packers decided against re-signing him ahead of the 2019 season and he finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams.

Matthews revealed on Tuesday he wanted to finish his career in Green Bay.

"I would have loved to finish my career there," he said, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "Based on my discussions after that 2018 season, I thought we were going to continue moving forward. But yeah the manner in which it did kinda caught me by surprise. Ultimately it is what it is. I had fun in my year in L.A. It was a blast getting to go home and play with some incredible players."

Per Demovsky, Matthews said the Packers communicated to him that he was still in their plans ahead of the 2019 campaign. But the team instead signed edge-rushers Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith in free agency and informed him shortly later it was moving in a different direction at the position.

So Matthews signed a two-year, $16.7 million deal with the Rams and posted 37 tackles (nine for loss), eight sacks, 11 quarterback hits, three passes defended and two forced fumbles in 13 games with the team.

The Rams released him in March 2020 and he sat out that season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I had a few other offers after for the 2020 season, but we had just moved to L.A., and we had just had our third child, and it was the middle of COVID, so there were a lot of unknowns," he told Brandon Carwile of Packers Wire. "Ultimately, there wasn't a situation out there that made me want to relocate the family again. I wanted to focus on the next chapter, which is being a dad and being home a lot more."

Matthews believed there was a chance he might be able to return to the Packers ahead of the 2021 campaign because his position coach in Los Angeles, Joe Barry, had been hired as Green Bay's defensive coordinator.

"He had reached out to me," he said. "He knew that I could still play and I think he knew if he had me, he could find a way to use me within the scheme. But nothing ever manifested, so I think ultimately there might have been powers above that didn't want that to happen. But yeah, there was a brief glimmer of hope of coming back. That didn't happen, but it's all good. But I'm at peace with my career."

It was quite the career. Matthews was a six-time Pro Bowler, one-time first-team All-Pro selection and a one-time champion with Green Bay. He had four seasons with double-digit sacks and was one of the league's more feared edge-rushers during his prime.

But now he is unofficially retired, telling Carwille that his "playing days are over."

"I definitely look forward to it," he added of someday being invited back to officially retire as a Packer. "My kids are getting older, so they understand what I was able to do, so I very much look forward to showing them around Lambeau, and where we used to live, and all the things that were an integral part of their young lives and my young life as well."

The San Francisco 49ers suffered a significant blow to their offensive line when stalwart left tackle Trent Williams was injured Sunday, and he will be sidelined for at least the next few weeks.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that a high ankle sprain will cause Williams to miss "some time," adding that surgery is not required and the recovery typically takes four to six weeks.

Williams suffered the injury in San Francisco's 11-10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football. He exited the game in the third quarter after a play on which 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety when he dropped back to pass.

The No. 4 pick in the 2010 NFL draft, Williams quickly developed into one of the best players at his position. He is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and earned first-team All-Pro honors last season. The 34-year-old appeared in a combined 29 games for San Francisco in 2020 and 2021 and is key to the offense.

"It's tough," Garoppolo said after the game. "Trent's a warrior. Hopefully, he bounces back fast, but it's always tough when you lose a guy like that, especially the leadership that he brings to this team. The poise and everything that he brings, it will be tough to replace that. But we've got to."

The 49ers had already lost second-year quarterback Trey Lance for the season because of a broken ankle.

When Williams went down, he was initially replaced by Jaylon Moore before the team switched to Colton McKivitz. The 49ers will return to action on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams.

Sunday brought freedom for Dan Orlovsky.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo stepped out of the back of the end zone as he dropped back to pass during Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos. The result was a stunning safety that cut San Francisco's lead to 7-5.

Orlovsky infamously did the same thing during his playing days on the Detroit Lions, and he reacted to the moment:

Mike Tirico even immediately brought up Orlovsky's name on the NBC broadcast, underscoring just how associated the former quarterback is with the play.

Orlovsky is now a broadcaster for ESPN and appeared in 26 games during his career for the Lions, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While he threw for 15 touchdowns, none of them were more famous than his mistake.

At least now he has some company.

The Washington Commanders were close to acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo from the San Francisco 49ers before the quarterback's offseason surgery, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The two sides "had the parameters of a trade agreement in place" involving multiple draft picks, per Schefter.

Washington instead pivoted toward a trade for Carson Wentz, while Garoppolo remained with the 49ers on a restructured deal as the team's backup. He will now be San Francisco's starter going forward after Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

The 49ers weren't shy about shopping Garoppolo this offseason with Lance—the 2021 No. 3 overall pick—expected to take over the starting job. General manager John Lynch also admitted the team nearly had a deal before the March surgery.

"I felt we were close in some discussions and then the decision was made to have surgery and it brought things to a screeching halt," Lynch told KNBR in May.

The 49ers were surprised by Garoppolo's decision to undergo surgery, with Lynch saying it "certainly caused a lot of teams to pause."

The recovery went according to schedule, although the quarterback did not start throwing again until late June, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. This would have been a significant risk for any team looking to acquire a starting quarterback in March. At the very least, it would've put the player behind in developing chemistry with his new team before training camp.

Washington instead went with another experienced starter in Wentz, who currently has 650 passing yards and an NFL-best seven passing touchdowns through two games.

The Carolina Panthers were also often linked with Garoppolo but instead traded for Baker Mayfield.

If Garoppolo plays well in 2022 and shows he's past his shoulder issues, there could be a bigger market when he hits free agency after this season.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance could miss the rest of the 2022 season with an ankle injury, but the team is "firmly committed to him" going forward, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The second-year player has a recovery timeline of four-to-six months after breaking his fibula and tearing multiple ligaments in his ankle, per Rapoport.

Lance suffered the season-ending injury Sept. 18 during the Niners' Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks and underwent surgery the following day.

The 2021 first-round pick took over the offense from veteran Jimmy Garoppolo to open the 2022 season after spending much of his rookie campaign in a reserve role.

He's tallied six total touchdowns (five passing and one rushing) in eight career games (four starts).

Garoppolo, who spent much of the offseason involved in trade rumors before staying in San Francisco, will lead the offense for the remainder of the season. Brock Purdy will step into the backup role.

Lance, 22, still has an opportunity to establish himself as the 49ers' franchise quarterback in the years ahead, especially since his dual-threat playmaking ability is an ideal fit for the modern game. He's still very much in the development phase, though.

Garoppolo is set to become a free agent in the offseason, but the veteran can use this year as an audition for other NFL teams. It would then clear a path for a healthy Lance to take over in 2023.

The San Francisco 49ers and Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams reportedly agreed to restructure his six-year, $138.1 million contract to create $4.4 million in salary-cap space for 2022.

ESPN's Field Yates reported Saturday the Niners converted $5.5 million of Williams' base salary into a signing bonus for the added financial flexibility ahead of Sunday's Week 3 road game against the Denver Broncos.

Williams remains one of the NFL's premier left tackles in his 12th season. He's made nine Pro Bowl appearances and earned a first-team All-Pro selection for the first time last year.

In August, he was ranked No. 14 on the NFL Network's annual list of the league's top 100 players as voted by their peers.

"Offensive line, we don't score touchdowns, have passer ratings or yards to keep up with," Williams said. "Getting those accolades are important because it gives you an idea of what your peers think about you, not just in this building but outside of this building and the people you compete against."

The 34-year-old Texas native has served as the anchor of San Francisco's offensive line since 2020, when he was acquired in a trade with the Washington Commanders.

He signed the six-year contract extension with the 49ers in March 2021.

The Niners possessed just $1.6 million in cap space before the Williams restructure, per Spotrac. The reworked deal gives the front office some extra money to use in the coming weeks as injuries inevitably arise.

Williams and Co. are off to a 1-1 start. They dropped their season opener against the Chicago Bears, 19-10, before bouncing back to demolish the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, 27-7.

They'll be featured in primetime on Sunday Night Football for tomorrow's clash with the Broncos. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle will make his 2022 season debut on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Friday.

Shanahan said, via ESPN's Nick Wagoner:

"He's good to go. I thought he got better each day. He means a ton in both [the run and pass game]. Kittle has been one of our better players here over the years when he's out there. We've got to get him back into football shape just because he hasn't played in a little bit but he helps us in every facet."

Kittle missed the first two weeks of the season while nursing a groin injury.

Kittle added that he's excited to get back to work:

"I'm pretty happy. Just had a breath of fresh air, honestly. It feels great to be back on the football field with the boys. I love our performance staff. They do a fantastic job of getting us back together but I'd be OK with not really seeing them for the rest of the season. So, just really happy to be back out there catching the football, actually getting to put pads on, hit people."

With Kittle set to return, Jimmy Garoppolo will have his full arsenal of receivers available for Sunday's game. Garoppolo took over as the team's starting quarterback in Week 2 following a season-ending injury to Trey Lance.

Kittle has been one of the team's top targets since the 2018 campaign. However, he has not played a full season since that year because of injuries.

He appeared in 14 games during the 2019 season, eight games in 2020 and last season he played 14 games. During the 2021 campaign, he caught 71 passes for 910 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games.

Kittle figures to see a large amount of the workload against Denver on Sunday. However, Garoppolo can also turn to Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings out wide.

The 49ers are 1-1 this season.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan offered high praise for Jimmy Garoppolo heading into Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos.

Asked by a reporter if he's noticed anything different about Garoppolo after Friday's practice, Shanahan said the veteran quarterback is "one of the better throwers on this planet."

Garoppolo's ability as a player has always made him a divisive figure among fans and analysts. There are certainly aspects of his game that are easy to praise, including a quick release that allows him to avoid taking unnecessary hits.

One of the drawbacks to Garoppolo's style is it can be predictable. He lives in the middle of the field and will rarely target anything outside of the numbers.

One likely reason the 49ers traded up in the 2021 draft to select Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick is because he has the type of arm talent to take advantage of plays outside the numbers and deep down the field.

Even though there are limitations to what Garoppolo is capable of doing, the 49ers are certainly happy to have kept him in the wake of Lance's season-ending ankle injury suffered in the first quarter of their Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

If the 49ers had traded or released Garoppolo, as was expected for most of the offseason, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which they would have been able to contend for the playoffs without him knowing what we know now.

San Francisco has been incredibly successful with Garoppolo at quarterback. He is 31-14 in 45 career starts with the team since 2017. Shanahan has a 9-29 record in 38 games as 49ers head coach when Jimmy G doesn't start.

Garoppolo will be making his first start of the 2022 season in Week 3. He threw for 154 yards and accounted for two touchdowns in the 27-7 victory over the Seahawks last week.

Jimmy Garoppolo admitted to getting a rush of competitive adrenaline when he learned the San Francisco 49ers were going to move on to Trey Lance as their starting quarterback.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Garoppolo said the team's decision "lights a fire under you" as a competitor.

Even though a decision to have Lance take over as the starter in 2022 seemed apparent, there was a lot of speculation during the offseason because the 49ers didn't trade or release Garoppolo.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the 49ers were "Trey's team" at the start of training camp in July.

There were complicating factors that made it difficult to trade Garoppolo during the offseason. He had shoulder surgery in March and wasn't fully cleared until July 26.

San Francisco didn't need to have a sense of urgency to move on from Garoppolo because his contract gave the team the ability to release him at any point before the Aug. 30 deadline to set 53-man rosters with just a $1.4 million dead cap hit.

When no trades materialized, the 49ers surprised most outside observers by restructuring Garoppolo's contract to bring him back as Lance's backup in 2022. He has a $6.5 million base salary with the possibility to earn up to $16 million in incentives based on playing time.

Lance's season came to an end in Week 2 when he suffered a fractured fibula and ligament disruption in the first quarter of the 49ers' 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The 49ers have been incredibly successful with Garoppolo as their starting quarterback. The 30-year-old is 31-14 in 45 career starts with the team since 2017. He has led the Niners to the NFC Championship Game twice and an appearance in Super Bowl LIV after the 2019 season.

Even though Lance's injury complicates San Francisco's long-term future at quarterback, Garoppolo's comfortability in Shanahan's offense gives the team a chance to compete at a high level in 2022.