Video: Cardinals' DeAndre Hopkins Delivers Water to Arizona Residents amid Heat Wave
Jul 22, 2022
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 13: DeAndre Hopkins #10 of the Arizona Cardinals warms up against the Los Angeles Rams prior to an NFL game at State Farm Stadium on December 13, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The ongoing heat wave in Arizona has left many dehydrated and in danger of heat-related illness, but Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins stepped in to help those in need.
Hopkins posted Friday on social media that he spent a day this week "giving cold water to the people struggling to find housing" in downtown Phoenix. He also included a link to donate to the Arizona Housing Coalition.
Stay safe out there #Arizona, the mission continues…🙏
DeAndre Hopkins spent part of yesterday driving around Downtown Phoenix and giving out bottles of water to those who needed it on another very hot day. pic.twitter.com/kgccDrDSoT
Hopkins has spent the last two seasons of his career in Arizona and his entering his third campaign with the franchise in 2022. The 30-year-old has caught 157 passes for 1,979 yards and 14 touchdowns in 26 games over the last two seasons.
However, the five-time Pro Bowler is currently set to miss the first six games of the upcoming season after being suspended for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.
Hopkins denied taking any supplements and is hoping to get the suspension reduced.
Fantasy Alert: 49ers Appear 'Determined' to Use Elijah Mitchell, RBs in Committee
Jul 22, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CA - JANUARY 30: Elijah Mitchell #25 of the San Francisco 49ers runs after making a catch during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
Fantasy players who are eternally frustrated by the way Kyle Shanahan uses his running backs should just avoid betting on anyone in the San Francisco 49ers backfield as you prepare for drafts.
Per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Shanahan "appears determined to deploy more of a backs-by-committee approach" during the 2022 season.
Elijah Mitchell had a promising rookie season in 2021. He led all first-year players who had at least 100 carries in yards per attempt (4.7), ranked second in total rushing yards (963) and tied for second in rushing touchdowns (five).
Injuries were a problem for Mitchell. He missed six games during the regular season with a mix of knee, shoulder and rib ailments. The 24-year-old told reporters in April he had a "clean-up" surgical procedure on his knee during the offseason.
49ers already mix up the backfield with one back for 1st-2nd downs, and one for 3rd downs. Mixing it up even more gets us in a Patriots RBBC-like situation.
If anyone needs to know how volatile 49ers running backs are in fantasy, keep in mind one of them (Jeff Wilson Jr.) was a key figure in the feud between Joc Pederson of the San Francisco Giants and Tommy Pham of the Cincinnati Reds that hit a boiling point in May.
There were other reasons that Pham wound up slapping Pederson on the field prior to a game between the two teams, but Shanahan's use of running backs is often maddening for fantasy players.
Mitchell's performance last season, which included five 100-yard rushing games, would seem to be good enough to at least earn him the starting job going into 2022.
There was no indication Mitchell was going to be the No. 1 guy going into the 2021 campaign. In fact, most people assumed Trey Sermon was going to shoulder a heavy load because the 49ers traded up to select him in the third round.
Deebo Samuel also took on a significant role in the running game as last season went on. He was very effective in that role, racking up 365 yards and eight touchdowns on 59 carries.
It's unclear if Samuel will continue to be featured as a running back in 2022. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported in April, after Samuel requested a trade, that one reason he wanted to move on was because he was uncomfortable with how Shanahan used him last year.
While the 49ers didn't honor Samuel's trade request, Rapoport went on The Pat McAfee Show last month and said he thinks the team has told the All-Pro wideout it won't use him as a running back this season.
Sermon only appeared in nine games and had a total of 41 carries. San Francisco added to its running back group during the draft by selecting Tyrion Davis-Price out of LSU in the third round (No. 93 overall).
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein did note that Davis-Price's skill set is "an enticing blend of size and explosiveness to go with an SEC pedigree" and noted his tape got better over the course of the 2021 season.
Shanahan's running scheme is so effective that it's hard to completely ignore 49ers running backs in fantasy. The 49ers have ranked in the top 12 in the NFL in rushing yards per game three times in the past four seasons.
The Niners could rely more on the run in 2022 than they have in previous years because of their quarterback situation. One reason Trey Lance is so enticing as a prospect is due to his running ability in this system.
San Francisco's depth chart features Mitchell, Davis-Price, Wilson, Sermon, JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason. Mitchell will likely be the No. 1 option, but Davis-Price could get on the field a lot if Shanahan likes what he can bring to the offense.
Kliff Kingsbury Calls Kyler Murray 'Generational' Talent After New Cardinals Contract
Jul 22, 2022
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 13: Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) talks to Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury during the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals on September 13, 2020, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by MSA/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On Thursday, the Arizona Cardinals and star quarterback Kyler Murray agreed to terms on a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension.
Suffice to say, Murray's head coach Kliff Kingsbury was happy to see the deal get done.
"He's going to continue to get better," he said on The Dave Pasch Podcast (h/t Ryan Sanudo of SI.com). "The contract deal—I feel really good about. I know he's our future here. The talent is generational in what he can do running with the football."
While there have been questions about Murray's leadership in the past—the sort of thing a team might be concerned about before handing over a $200 million-plus contract—Kingsbury sees things differently.
"I think everyone's going to have their opinion," he told Pasch. "The kid shows up every day. He came to the worst team (in) football and the worst offense by far, and all he's done is improve every year. He's improved the organization and because he doesn't smile or wave to the camera and all of a sudden he's this villain. He's never gotten in trouble off the field. You've never heard one bad thing from him off the field. At times, there are certain aspects to him that draw criticism. But we're thrilled the progress he's made and where this thing's heading."
The 24-year-old Murray is already a two-time Pro Bowler in his three seasons and has led the Cardinals to an improved record in all three of his NFL campaigns. Last season he threw for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 14 games, completing 69.2 percent of his passes while leading the team to a 9-5 record in his starts.
Where Murray separates himself from other players at the position, however, is his dynamic rushing ability when the play breaks down. Across three seasons, he's rushed for 1,786 yards and 20 scores.
The Cardinals reached the playoffs last year, though that lasted just one game, and the Cardinals closed their 2021 campaign with seven losses in their final 11 matchups. It was a tough finish, but still another year of improvement for Murray and the team.
Kyler Murray will look to end a lengthy drought for the Cardinals franchise.
The Cardinals haven’t won a championship since 1947, the longest active championship drought in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL. pic.twitter.com/narO3mIVDu
But the pressure has changed for Murray after reaching the postseason and signing a deal ($46.1 million AAV) that trails only Aaron Rodgers ($50.2 million) in average annual value.
"You see the market for these quarterbacks and what guys are getting paid," Kingsbury told Pasch. "There's very few (quarterbacks) when you line up every Sunday and say we have a chance. Our guy is one of those that give you a chance. And at his best, I don't know who's better in this league."
Fred Warner: Trey Lance 'Ready' to Lead 49ers amid Jimmy Garoppolo Trade Rumors
Jul 19, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CA - JANUARY 09: San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Trey Lance (5) warms up during the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams on January 9, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner has no doubt that second-year quarterback Trey Lance is ready to be the man in 2022.
Appearing Monday on the Rich Eisen Show (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra), Warner praised Lance and explained why he thinks the 2021 No. 3 overall draft pick is up to the challenge of becoming the Niners' starting signal-caller (beginning at the 1:50 mark):
"I continue to say, man, how much I've admired the way Trey has taken on just all the criticism, all I guess you could say all the pressure people are trying to put on him. He's been super professional about it, especially with how young he is. [He's] very mature for his age.
"And so, just the things that you see from him and the small things that everybody else outside of the building sees from him, that should give you a good sense of like the maturity for such a young player, and if given the reins, the way that he would handle it. I can continue to sit here and tell you how great of a person and player that he is. I've already spoken on that. But whatever it may be, I know that he is, for sure, if given the reins, that he's ready for it. He's very professional and mature and ready for whatever he is given."
Lance is expected to be the starter when the upcoming 2022 regular season commences, as veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been the constant subject of trade rumors.
Jimmy G has been the 49ers' primary starter for parts of the past five seasons, leading them to the Super Bowl in 2019 and to the NFC Championship Game last season.
Garoppolo missed all but three games in 2018 and all but six games in 2020 due to injury, however, prompting the Niners to move up in the draft and select Lance third overall in 2021 out of North Dakota State.
Lance's arrival seemingly spelled the end for Jimmy G, although he took the 49ers further than anyone expected last season, complicating matters.
Garoppolo has been a proven winner during his NFL career, going 33-14 as a starter and winning two Super Bowls as the New England Patriots' backup to Tom Brady, but he has never put up eye-popping numbers.
Last season, Garoppolo threw for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 15 regular-season games and had just 535 yards, two touchdowns and three picks in three playoff games.
Jimmy G is more of a caretaker and game manager than a quarterback who can win games on his own, which explains why the 49ers took a big swing by drafting Lance.
Lance is one of the most electric talents in the NFL, and he showed off his special skill set at the collegiate level, although he only started for one year and played in the FCS.
Still, that year was a spectacular one, as he completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 2,786 yards, 28 touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 1,100 yards and 14 scores for an NDSU team that went undefeated in 2019.
Last season, Lance appeared in six games and made two starts in place of the injured Garoppolo, going 1-1 in those games. He completed 57.7 percent of his passing attempts for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions, plus he rushed for 168 yards and one touchdown.
Due to his huge arm and ability to make plays with his legs, Lance adds an entirely new dimension to the San Francisco offense that Garoppolo has never been able to provide.
Given head coach Kyle Shanahan's creativity as a play-caller, Lance is seemingly the perfect fit for him under center, especially if the 49ers find a way to keep versatile and multi-faceted wide receiver Deebo Samuel despite his trade request.
There may be some growing pains under Lance due to his lack of experience playing against top-level competition, but few quarterbacks in the league have as high of a ceiling as the 22-year-old does.
Most of the NFL offseason revolves around player acquisition. That's the fun part. But with NFL training camps around the corner the reality of cutting a...
Jimmy Garoppolo Rumors: Seahawks Have Discussed Possibility of Trading for 49ers QB
Jul 11, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 30: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass the ball in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
While most NFL teams have sorted their quarterback situations by now, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo remains an option for any team that hasn't resolved the position.
And according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Seattle Seahawks are still lurking as a potential suitor for his services (1:48 mark):
"You have Seattle that's still out there," Fowler reported Monday. "They were sort of implicated in the Baker Mayfield situation, didn't make that move. I'm told that internally they have discussed the possibility of Garoppolo playing for them. They have done their filmwork to see how he would fit."
Fowler added that a few executives he spoke to believe the Niners are "a bit stuck" in the Jimmy G situation.
That is due in part to the Niners needing Garoppolo to pass a physical after his offseason shoulder surgery before they can trade him, and they'll likely need him to agree to take a pay cut next season on his $24.2 million base salary to facilitate a move.
Plus, the "pool of suitors right now seems to be pretty small" for Garoppolo's services, according to that report.
Add in the fact that the Niners would reportedly like to free up cap space to sign Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel to long-term deals, per Fowler, and the leverage in this situation seems to be on buying side of the equation.
The Mayfield deal is a good example of what teams like the Seahawks will—or should—be looking for in a trade.
The Carolina Panthers not only gave up just a conditional fourth- or fifth-round pick in 2024 to land Mayfield, but they also will only be paying $4.9 million of his $18.8 million salary, per ESPN's Jake Trotter. The Browns, meanwhile, will pick up $10.5 million of the tab, and Mayfield agreed to convert the remainder of his salary to incentives,.
Garoppolo, 30, threw for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 15 games, completing 68.3 percent of his passes while leading the Niners to a 9-6 record in his starts and a playoff berth.
And while the Niners reached the NFC Championship Game, Garoppolo wasn't great in the postseason, throwing for 535 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while completing just 58.1 percent of his passes.
The knock against Garoppolo has long been that he's a solid game manager but can't make the big-time throws needed to be among the elite at the position. In turn, a talented Niners roster appears to have a ceiling with Jimmy G under center, leading the team to draft Trey Lance at No. 3 overall ahead of the 2021 season and handing him the reins this summer. Garoppolo is the classic "you can win with him, but you don't win because of him" player at the position.
But he would be an upgrade in Seattle over players like Drew Lock and Geno Smith, even if a pair of divisional rivals agreeing to a trade is uncommon and may require the Niners eating a chunk of Garoppolo's salary.
How Will Trey Lance Change the 49ers Offense?
Jul 11, 2022
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 02: Trey Lance #5 of the San Francisco 49ers leaves the field after defeating the Houston Texans 23-7 at Levi's Stadium on January 02, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Though Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the roster without a clear exit plan, the San Francisco 49ers selected Trey Lance No. 3 overall last year. The team's prized draft pick from the 2021 class should see the field in a starting role for the 2022 season.
In April, general manager John Lynch expressed confidence in Lance as a competitor who's ready to take over the starting job while reports about a shift at quarterback caused a buzz:
"All these reports, I don't know where they all come from. We always believe in competition, but at the same time we are great believers in what Trey Lance brings to the table. We believe he is ready. He is going to have to show that. I think he's ready to show that to us, show that to his teammates, and show that to the world."
While Garoppolo healed from shoulder surgery on his throwing arm, Lance took all the first-team reps through mandatory minicamp, per The Athletic's Matt Barrows. Once the former starts to throw, the 49ers may try to trade him. If no team bites, they'll likely cut Garoppolo to save $25.6 million, per Over The Cap.
So, what does a transition from Garoppolo to Lance mean for the offense?
Let's start with the obvious difference.
The 49ers will have a more athletic signal-caller under center. While Garoppolo has the mobility to dart outside the pocket on bootlegs, Lance has the ability to turn a short loss or a dead-end play into a first down. We saw him in action on the run last year:
As shown in the highlights above, opposing teams will need to look out for designed quarterback runs, especially in short-yardage situations and near the goal line. As a collegian at North Dakota State, Lance rushed for 1,325 yards (6.9 yards per carry) and 18 touchdowns in 19 games.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan may feel more comfortable with an aggressive approach on fourth down because of Lance's ability to move the chains with his legs. His ball-carrying prowess may be able to mask the loss of Pro Bowl guard Laken Tomlinson (free agency) and Pro Bowl center Alex Mack (retired).
While at spring practices, Barrows noted that Lance didn't use his legs a lot and focused on beating the defense through the air.
"Lance rarely took off and ran, concentrating instead on picking up yards with his arm," Barrows wrote.
Lance has to pose a realistic threat with his arm or else he's going to take a ton of hits on attempts to move the ball on the ground. The second-year quarterback only has two NFL starts on his resume and appeared in just seven games since 2020, dating back to his time with the Bison.
Shanahan can ease Lance into the lead role with a heavy dose of run-pass option designs to define his throws and open up passing windows.
Last year, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in passing yards out of RPO play calls. The latter ran the most RPO plays in the league, while the former ranked sixth. Both played with new offensive coordinators and still made notable strides in their second season. Shanahan can use a similar method with his young signal-caller.
With an RPO-heavy game plan, the 49ers can marry Lance's athleticism with the bread and butter of Shanahan's offense, the zone run scheme.
Defenders must respect San Francisco's ground attack, which ranked top-seven in yards for two of the last three years. As linebackers and safeties commit to stopping the run, Lance can pull the ball away from the ball-carrier's gut and distribute it to his pass-catchers, who will likely have one-on-one matchups. Like Tagovailoa and Hurts, he can significantly improve his completion rate between Year 1 and 2 in an offense that opens up passing lanes for him.
For comparison, Garoppolo has completed 50 of 68 passes for 740 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on RPO plays in his eight-year career.
Once Lance becomes more comfortable reading defenses, Shanahan may trust him to make pre-snap RPO decisions, which rely on the quarterback's ability to determine whether to pass or hand the ball off against specific looks and coverages before the center hikes the ball.
In an ideal setup, Shanahan would likely prefer a balanced offense, which allows the play-caller to attack defenses according to specific weaknesses. Some weeks, the 49ers can depend on their staple run game, but if beneficial, they should be able to attack holes in the secondary.
Based on the 49ers' pass-run ratio when Garoppolo played more than six games in a single season, they didn't fully trust him to beat defenses with his arm. In 2019 and 2021, he made no fewer than 15 starts, and the offense had the fourth-fewest pass attempts but ranked top-five in rush attempts for those campaigns.
Under Shanahan, the 49ers have used wideout Deebo Samuel in addition to several running backs to maintain an effective rushing offense. That's a necessary strategy when the quarterback is a game manager in a good number of matchups.
Now, the 49ers can use Lance's arm strength to open up the offense. As a result, we should see a more balanced attack and perhaps fewer carries for Samuel, who, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, wants to play a traditional wide receiver role after logging 59 rush attempts for 365 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021.
Garoppolo has an average arm and has shown a tendency to heavily target the middle of the field and let outside cornerbacks off the hook (h/t Pro Football Focus via Niners Nation's Akash Anavarathan):
Here’s Jimmy Garoppolo’s targets from the 2021 season (via PFF’s QB Annual).
No one chart describes the #49ers’ offense better than this one.
Shanahan hammered Garoppolo’s strength all season long despite every defense trying to stop it. Pretty nuts. pic.twitter.com/MzPJooP3BR
Lance can challenge defensive backs outside the numbers with the ability to make big plays downfield.
In his second career start, a Week 17 win over the Houston Texans, Lance had an average target depth of 12 yards. It's the highest single-game mark of any 49ers quarterback since Garoppolo averaged 13.3 yards in Week 14 against the Texans in 2017, per Pro Football Focus' Jeff Deeney.
For the 2021 season, Garoppolo tied for 22nd in intended air yards per pass attempt (7.5). In a small sample size (71 attempts), Lance averaged 9.3 intended air yards per pass attempt.
Last season, Garoppolo led the NFL in yards per completion (12.7), but he accomplished that feat as the league leader in average passing yards accumulated after the catch (6.5). Meanwhile, Lance averaged 14.7 yards per completion, but he moved the ball with more intended air yards (longer throws downfield).
Shanahan doesn't have to abandon his effective run schemes, but Lance adds a vertical dimension to the aerial attack that Garoppolo doesn't provide under center. Furthermore, with a passer more equipped to throw over the top, the 49ers may be able to unlock wideout Brandon Aiyuk's big-play ability. He averaged 17 yards per catch in two years at Arizona State.
With a mix of RPO designs, big-armed throws 20 to 30 yards downfield and a splash of off-script sequences that can result in first-down runs or extended plays to give pass-catchers more time to separate downfield, Lance should bring more excitement to the 49ers offense.
Of course, Shanahan and his coaching staff have to frame it all together in order for Lance to maximize his skill set, but he has the tools to add those dimensions to the game plan, which would elevate an offense that ranked 13th in scoring and racked up the seventh-most yards last year.
If Lance gets off to a good start in 2022, the 49ers offense will be fun to watch with some electrifying sparks mixed into the run and pass game.
Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.
Rams' Jalen Ramsey 'a Little Overrated at This Point,' AFC Executive Says
Jul 8, 2022
THOUSAND OAKS, CA - JUNE 8: Jalen Ramsey #5 of the Los Angeles Rams talks with players of the field during mini camp on June 8, 2022 at the team's facility at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Jalen Ramsey is still considered the NFL's best cornerback by most league executives, but some are starting to see some signs of slippage.
"I think he's falling off and a little overrated at this point," an AFC executive told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. "[The] Super Bowl, to me, is an indication of what it's going to look like moving forward."
Cincinnati Bengals receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase both beat Ramsey for big receptions in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win, but the All-Pro remains dominant on a macro level. He has been named a first-team All-Pro three times, including each of the last two seasons, and made five straight Pro Bowls.
"He's not as good as [Darrelle] Revis or Charles Woodson, but he's the best in this era," an NFL personnel director told Fowler. "He does everything well."
Pro Football Focus gave Ramsey a grade of 84.5 last season, which was his highest mark since 2017. He has had a grade of at least 70 in each of his six NFL seasons, which categorizes him as a starter-worthy player every year.
It's hard to find any fault in what's already been a Hall of Fame-caliber career.
That said, Ramsey turns 28 in October and just underwent offseason shoulder surgery. He's been remarkably healthy throughout his NFL career, but cornerbacks don't typically remain at the top of their game well into their 30s. There's likely a finite amount of time left when Ramsey will be considered as the best corner in the game.
If Ramsey falls off at all next season, that AFC executive's words prove prescient.
Jerry Rice Says 'Sky's the Limit' for Trey Lance; Wants 49ers to Avoid QB Carousel
Jul 8, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CA - JANUARY 09: San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Trey Lance (5) warms up during the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams on January 9, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice
praised quarterback Trey Lance, saying the "sky's the limit"
for the 2021 first-round pick, and warned the franchise against a
potential timeshare with incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo if he's
not traded.
Rice told the NFL Network's MJ
Acosta-Ruiz on Thursday the team's coaching staff must make a
decision before the start of the regular season and stick with it.
"I don't know what the Niners are
going to do with Jimmy G and Trey Lance. I know one thing: We don't
want that carousel of back-and-forth during the season," Rice
said. "I think you have to name someone as the starter, you have
to go with that individual and then you build around that
quarterback."
Lance, the third overall selection in
last year's draft, played a limited role behind Garoppolo as a rookie
but showed promise.
He completed 57.7 percent of his throws
(41-of-71) for 603 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions
across six appearances (two starts). He added 168 rushing yards and
one score on the ground.
The expectation was Garoppolo would get
traded during the offseason to pave the way for the
22-year-old Minnesota native to become the unquestioned leader of the
offense.
So far that hasn't happened. Garoppolo
underwent shoulder surgery in March, and there's a limited number
of potential suitors remaining, with most NFL teams having
solidified their quarterback depth charts for the 2022 campaign.
In April, Niners general manager John
Lynch confirmed the team would keep the 30-year-old Eastern Illinois
product if the right offer didn't come along despite his $26.95
million cap hit for 2022 and the potential for him to become
an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
"Guys like that don't fall out of
trees," Lynch told reporters. "He's a good player at a position
where they're hard to find. And so, you certainly don't just give
guys like that away and we can, I guess foot the bill, if you want to
describe it as that. And so, we'll be patient with that one."
Garoppolo tossed 20 touchdowns and 12
interceptions during the 2021 regular season and helped guide the
49ers to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
While Garoppolo's a battle-tested veteran who brings stability, Lance could provide a unique game-breaking element
to the San Francisco offense if the coaching staff feels he's ready
to start.
Rice told Acosta-Ruiz he filmed a
commercial with Lance, who won the Jerry Rice Award as the top
freshman in FCS college football in 2019, and came away impressed
with his skill set.
"It didn't take me long to be on
the same page with him, he's got that rocket arm, but he's also got
that mobility and that vision where he can extend plays and throw the
ball downfield," Rice said. "So I'm sure with repetitions on the
field, the players really just building around him, he's going to
have a successful year this year."
The ideal situation for the Niners
would be Lance taking firm control of the offense throughout training
camp and never looking back for the next decade.
If that doesn't happen and Jimmy G
remains on the roster, head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. may face a
dilemma as they prepare to take on the Chicago Bears in their season
opener on Sept. 11.
The calendar has turned to July, and OTAs are mostly in the
rearview mirror. Soon enough, training camps will be underway in earnest. And
they will bring...
