2024 Off-Season

[CrimsonCrew]

Re: positions of need, OL is the most obvious. We could use one or two starters along the interior, and I'd like to add an OT to possibly take over at RT and groom for LT. I'd like to add another WR in the first three or four rounds, ideally a guy with some speed as Danny Gray is looking like a bust. Offense should be okay otherwise, though we may need a backup QB.

Seems like we have more needs on defense. We need another DE opposite Bosa and maybe two. Not sure we can put much hope in Drake Jackson at this point, and we're set to lose over 1,000 snaps at that position in Ferrell, Young, and Gregory. Maybe we try to hold onto Ferrell. Hopefully Beal can step up next year, but he's a role player. We will need a run-stopping DT. We're losing Kinlaw, who actually stepped up down the stretch. Armstead and Hargrave are still good players, but as said above, they're getting older and neither is a prototypical two-gap run-plugger. And we need more cornerbacks, as it always seems like we do. Lenoir is eligible for an extension this year, and we need to at least consider that though we could wait for next year. We need a true slot corner. We need depth. We're probably okay at safety, though we could use depth.

We're still going to be one of the more talented teams in the league, but our stars are aging and we have a lot of holes. We need a real influx of talent this offseason. Cannot blow picks, especially in the early rounds. First draft without Peters could be interesting....

Definitely this upcoming draft is critical with us being up against the cap and especially with Purdy on his cheap rookie deal only one more season. Who could be some salary cap casualties? Armstead? He's missed a dozen games last two seasons and is 30 with a huge cap number. Juszczyk would be another one. 33 yo with a high cap #. Maybe extend Mooney Ward to lower his cap # - He's had an excellent season so maybe reward him and in the process help ourselves. Same with Kittle who has 2 years left on his deal. What about Deebo's contract? He makes way too much money despite not being a # 1 receiver and can be counted on to miss a few games every year. Any other cost saving moves?

We restructured Armstead, so cutting him would only save like $2 million.

[arich35]

Hypothetically, how many guys can we technically restructure and just give big bonus' too in order to stay under the cap

[CrimsonCrew]

Hypothetically, how many guys can we technically restructure and just give big bonus' too in order to stay under the cap

We're in decent shape for next year. We should be rolling over something like $37 million of cap space. If we extend Aiyuk, we would probably realize savings over that. And I wouldn't expect us to be big FA spenders. But after that, we've got loads of dead money, and things could get pretty tight right around the time we'll potentially need to extend Purdy.

[thesack12]

Think the team would quietly shop Deebo in a trade?

I don't think so.

On top of what Harry mentioned about Deebo being the soul of the team, we've also seen how important he is to the offense overall. We saw how it looks without Deebo during the 3 game midseason losing streak as well as the Packer playoff game.

The Super Bowl sheds light on the weak spots in Deebo's game. He lacks polish as a route runner, and tends to struggle getting separation against good DB's. He just couldn't seem to uncover against the Chiefs' high end pass defense. That said, it seemed like Aiyuk had a tough time creating space consistently as well. Both those guys had very quiet games.

Also worth noting that Deebo pulled a hammy, or whatever happened with the back of his thigh when he went down.

[Harry Palmer]

Aiyuk sounded less than all in on being with the 9ers, but I haven’t heard audio, just a kinda cryptic reply to the question about whether he wants to stay faith the team. “If it’s the right move, yeah.”

Could be something, could be nothing. I’m sure he’s hurting atm.

[Harry Palmer]

Think the team would quietly shop Deebo in a trade?

I don't think so.

On top of what Harry mentioned about Deebo being the soul of the team, we've also seen how important he is to the offense overall. We saw how it looks without Deebo during the 3 game midseason losing streak as well as the Packer playoff game.

The Super Bowl sheds light on the weak spots in Deebo's game. He lacks polish as a route runner, and tends to struggle getting separation against good DB's. He just couldn't seem to uncover against the Chiefs' high end pass defense. That said, it seemed like Aiyuk had a tough time creating space consistently as well. Both those guys had very quiet games.

Also worth noting that Deebo pulled a hammy, or whatever happened with the back of his thigh when he went down.

When Greenlaw, Deebo and Kittle were all down I couldn’t help but think that Kyle, the team etc. have to start to feel a bit cursed. I mean, there’s the Mahomes factor, but we also have our own mojo working in the other direction, too. I’m sometimes critical of him and I still don’t get the draft, but right now I’m more kinda feeling for the guy. Most of what happened was completely out of his hands, at least in the here and now.

[thesack12]

Think the team would quietly shop Deebo in a trade?

I don't think so.

On top of what Harry mentioned about Deebo being the soul of the team, we've also seen how important he is to the offense overall. We saw how it looks without Deebo during the 3 game midseason losing streak as well as the Packer playoff game.

The Super Bowl sheds light on the weak spots in Deebo's game. He lacks polish as a route runner, and tends to struggle getting separation against good DB's. He just couldn't seem to uncover against the Chiefs' high end pass defense. That said, it seemed like Aiyuk had a tough time creating space consistently as well. Both those guys had very quiet games.

Also worth noting that Deebo pulled a hammy, or whatever happened with the back of his thigh when he went down.

When Greenlaw, Deebo and Kittle were all down I couldn’t help but think that Kyle, the team etc. have to start to feel a bit cursed. I mean, there’s the Mahomes factor, but we also have our own mojo working in the other direction, too. I’m sometimes critical of him and I still don’t get the draft, but right now I’m more kinda feeling for the guy. Most of what happened was completely out of his hands, at least in the here and now.

For sure. Its just heartbreaking knowing how close this team was to being champions. A fluke Greenlaw injury. If he's on the field, Mahomes isn't able to attack the middle of the field nearly as much. If Feliciano doesn't get hurt he's on the field instead of Burford, so his missed assignment on Jones doesn't happen. If Kittle is on the field for that final drive, we wouldn't of got the holding penalty on Willis. If Luter's foot isn't located in the 1 square foot of the field where the punt lands. If SF manages to recover 1 of the fumbles that KC did. Moody's PAT hits KC's outstretched hands, where as Butkers 57 yarder just sneaks through the 49ers hands. It goes on and on and on.

But that the end of the day, its all woulda coulda shoulda. It just didn't happen.

Still, holding the lead in Overtime of a Super Bowl and losing is just absolutely crushing. That's literally never happened before. Good chance it never happens again.

[CharityStripe34]

Think the team would quietly shop Deebo in a trade?

I don't think so.

On top of what Harry mentioned about Deebo being the soul of the team, we've also seen how important he is to the offense overall. We saw how it looks without Deebo during the 3 game midseason losing streak as well as the Packer playoff game.

The Super Bowl sheds light on the weak spots in Deebo's game. He lacks polish as a route runner, and tends to struggle getting separation against good DB's. He just couldn't seem to uncover against the Chiefs' high end pass defense. That said, it seemed like Aiyuk had a tough time creating space consistently as well. Both those guys had very quiet games.

Also worth noting that Deebo pulled a hammy, or whatever happened with the back of his thigh when he went down.

Eh, I watched game footage and he straight up quits on routes, doesn't run them well. Including two drops.

Purdy threw for like 760 yards against Minnesota and Cincy. They didn't have trouble moving the ball.

[thesack12]

Apparently both Armstead and Ferrell have torn meniscuses. Which would explain why Ferrell was placed on IR, and why Armstead took so long to come back and didn't play all that great when he did come back.

Javon Hargrave has a torn thumb ligament, which I guess kind of explains why he faded. But, for a DTackle that doesn't seem like the most debilitating injury. He could of just wrapped it up like a club, as we've seen many guys do in the past.

[Pattersonca65]

I don't think so.

On top of what Harry mentioned about Deebo being the soul of the team, we've also seen how important he is to the offense overall. We saw how it looks without Deebo during the 3 game midseason losing streak as well as the Packer playoff game.

The Super Bowl sheds light on the weak spots in Deebo's game. He lacks polish as a route runner, and tends to struggle getting separation against good DB's. He just couldn't seem to uncover against the Chiefs' high end pass defense. That said, it seemed like Aiyuk had a tough time creating space consistently as well. Both those guys had very quiet games.

Also worth noting that Deebo pulled a hammy, or whatever happened with the back of his thigh when he went down.

When Greenlaw, Deebo and Kittle were all down I couldn’t help but think that Kyle, the team etc. have to start to feel a bit cursed. I mean, there’s the Mahomes factor, but we also have our own mojo working in the other direction, too. I’m sometimes critical of him and I still don’t get the draft, but right now I’m more kinda feeling for the guy. Most of what happened was completely out of his hands, at least in the here and now.

For sure. Its just heartbreaking knowing how close this team was to being champions. A fluke Greenlaw injury. If he's on the field, Mahomes isn't able to attack the middle of the field nearly as much. If Feliciano doesn't get hurt he's on the field instead of Burford, so his missed assignment on Jones doesn't happen. If Kittle is on the field for that final drive, we wouldn't of got the holding penalty on Willis. If Luter's foot isn't located in the 1 square foot of the field where the punt lands. If SF manages to recover 1 of the fumbles that KC did. Moody's PAT hits KC's outstretched hands, where as Butkers 57 yarder just sneaks through the 49ers hands. It goes on and on and on.

But that the end of the day, its all woulda coulda shoulda. It just didn't happen.

For me these loses are tougher then when the team gets blown out cause you know the team clearly was outmatched. Not a super bowl,like the 1986 year where the NY Giants defense just kicked the crap out of the 49ers offense. You just accept the fact they were clearly outmatched.
Still, holding the lead in Overtime of a Super Bowl and losing is just absolutely crushing. That's literally never happened before. Good chance it never happens again.

[Pattersonca65]

The 49ers have some big decisions to make this offseason. It would be crazy to fire Shanahan but at the same time they have to be better with drafting in the first three rounds. The loss of picks for Lance stung. So did wasting third round picks on Running Backs that failed to crack the roster. The 49ers really need to address the oline this offseason. Hoping they invest more than late round picks. I would like to see oline and cornerback position a priority. They might need to look at WR also if Aiyuk is gone.

[Harry Palmer]

Think the team would quietly shop Deebo in a trade?

I don't think so.

On top of what Harry mentioned about Deebo being the soul of the team, we've also seen how important he is to the offense overall. We saw how it looks without Deebo during the 3 game midseason losing streak as well as the Packer playoff game.

The Super Bowl sheds light on the weak spots in Deebo's game. He lacks polish as a route runner, and tends to struggle getting separation against good DB's. He just couldn't seem to uncover against the Chiefs' high end pass defense. That said, it seemed like Aiyuk had a tough time creating space consistently as well. Both those guys had very quiet games.

Also worth noting that Deebo pulled a hammy, or whatever happened with the back of his thigh when he went down.

Eh, I watched game footage and he straight up quits on routes, doesn't run them well. Including two drops.

Purdy threw for like 760 yards against Minnesota and Cincy. They didn't have trouble moving the ball.

It’s definitely true that if there’s going to be someone jogging through his routes it’s like 90% likely to be Deebo. And it happens so much that there’s no way the team doesn’t know, and yet everyone still loves him. So I have concluded that they have kinda given him the big man’s exception, ie they think that his being bigger (for the position) and giving literally every ounce of effort when he gets the ball that they understand he has to kindof pace himself at times, and having him on the field doing that is better than not. If nothing else his gravity.

But to be honest, though he was ineffective I did not feel the SB was an effort level issue for Deebo. I first thought he was kinda nervous, he was being hesitant with the ball in his hands and that never happens, but now I assume he was nursing the hammy or something else that meant he ran differently and put extra strain on the hamstring. Because Deebo with ball has never had an effort issue that I can recall, it’s when he knows he’s not getting it, or way down in the progression, that he coasts.

[RIPskaterdude]

Wilks fired

Read on Twitter

[49er4life1979]

That didnt take long - Wilks fired. I think it was that defensive timeout Shanahan had to call to overrule him in the Super Bowl. Whos next? Gus Bradley may be? He runs the Cover 3 that Saleh and Ryans ran.

[CrimsonCrew]

Who is available?

Wilks was a mixed bag for me. Overall, this D performed quite well. Their season-long numbers were quite good. They struggled at times in the playoffs, but in the first two games they were incredible in the second half. Clearly the defensive effort was not responsible for the SB loss. We held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation, and the only TD they allowed was immediately after a fluke STs fumble shifted momentum to the Chiefs. That's despite a fairly astounding twelve possessions due to offensive and special teams ineptitude. For comparison, the Lions had ten drives and the Packers had nine (not counting end-of-half kneel-downs). That's allowing just over 1.5 points per drive. Pretty damn good against a generational talent at QB.

That said, in crunch time, the offense kept getting it done and (arguably) the defense didn't. They did hold the Chiefs to FGs repeatedly, but they couldn't get the ball back when they needed to, and perhaps worse, they continued to be plagued by some of the things that had affected them throughout the playoffs.

Wilks and Shanahan clearly don't see eye-to-eye on some things, the use of pressure in particular. Wilks can get very aggressive at times, and that's not the offense Kyle likes. We saw that with the TO in the SB. And it's hard to fault Kyle that much. We have had some effective blitzes, but we have also had some that were extremely poorly timed and costly - the one at the end of the half against the Vikings leaps to mind.

I'm not heartbroken about losing Wilks, but I also recognize that there is a fair chance that whoever we get to replace him will be worse. The good news is that our DC position has been a springboard for head coaching opportunities, so hopefully we'll have some strong candidates.

[CrimsonCrew]

Niners are losing Anthony Lynn to the Commanders. He will step into a role as their Running Game Coordinator. Unfortunately, I don't believe that will qualify us for comp picks. Bleh.

Darryl Tapp also jumping over to the Commanders.

[Pattersonca65]

Who is available?

Wilks was a mixed bag for me. Overall, this D performed quite well. Their season-long numbers were quite good. They struggled at times in the playoffs, but in the first two games they were incredible in the second half. Clearly the defensive effort was not responsible for the SB loss. We held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation, and the only TD they allowed was immediately after a fluke STs fumble shifted momentum to the Chiefs. That's despite a fairly astounding twelve possessions due to offensive and special teams ineptitude. For comparison, the Lions had ten drives and the Packers had nine (not counting end-of-half kneel-downs). That's allowing just over 1.5 points per drive. Pretty damn good against a generational talent at QB.

That said, in crunch time, the offense kept getting it done and (arguably) the defense didn't. They did hold the Chiefs to FGs repeatedly, but they couldn't get the ball back when they needed to, and perhaps worse, they continued to be plagued by some of the things that had affected them throughout the playoffs.

Wilks and Shanahan clearly don't see eye-to-eye on some things, the use of pressure in particular. Wilks can get very aggressive at times, and that's not the offense Kyle likes. We saw that with the TO in the SB. And it's hard to fault Kyle that much. We have had some effective blitzes, but we have also had some that were extremely poorly timed and costly - the one at the end of the half against the Vikings leaps to mind.

I'm not heartbroken about losing Wilks, but I also recognize that there is a fair chance that whoever we get to replace him will be worse. The good news is that our DC position has been a springboard for head coaching opportunities, so hopefully we'll have some strong candidates.

If you are interested here is why Shanahan fired him

https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/2/14/24073198/kyle-shanahan-steve-wilks-fred-warner-dre-greenlaw-49ers-defensive-coordinator

I think this defense underperformed this year, and at times bad. The Detroit game particularly. I don't blame him the Super Bowl loss. The defense played well the first half, as well as I could have expected but I don't think Shanahan based this on the SB loss, His interview seems to suggest this is an ongoing issue. And I don't think KS took this lightly. This is the first major firing I can remember by KS other than maybe a ST coach? . He stood by other coaches even when the public was clamoring for firings.

[CrimsonCrew]

Who is available?

Wilks was a mixed bag for me. Overall, this D performed quite well. Their season-long numbers were quite good. They struggled at times in the playoffs, but in the first two games they were incredible in the second half. Clearly the defensive effort was not responsible for the SB loss. We held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation, and the only TD they allowed was immediately after a fluke STs fumble shifted momentum to the Chiefs. That's despite a fairly astounding twelve possessions due to offensive and special teams ineptitude. For comparison, the Lions had ten drives and the Packers had nine (not counting end-of-half kneel-downs). That's allowing just over 1.5 points per drive. Pretty damn good against a generational talent at QB.

That said, in crunch time, the offense kept getting it done and (arguably) the defense didn't. They did hold the Chiefs to FGs repeatedly, but they couldn't get the ball back when they needed to, and perhaps worse, they continued to be plagued by some of the things that had affected them throughout the playoffs.

Wilks and Shanahan clearly don't see eye-to-eye on some things, the use of pressure in particular. Wilks can get very aggressive at times, and that's not the offense Kyle likes. We saw that with the TO in the SB. And it's hard to fault Kyle that much. We have had some effective blitzes, but we have also had some that were extremely poorly timed and costly - the one at the end of the half against the Vikings leaps to mind.

I'm not heartbroken about losing Wilks, but I also recognize that there is a fair chance that whoever we get to replace him will be worse. The good news is that our DC position has been a springboard for head coaching opportunities, so hopefully we'll have some strong candidates.

If you are interested here is why Shanahan fired him

https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/2/14/24073198/kyle-shanahan-steve-wilks-fred-warner-dre-greenlaw-49ers-defensive-coordinator

I think this defense underperformed this year, and at times bad. The Detroit game particularly. I don't blame him the Super Bowl loss. The defense played well the first half, as well as I could have expected but I don't think Shanahan based this on the SB loss, His interview seems to suggest this is an ongoing issue. And I don't think KS took this lightly. This is the first major firing I can remember by KS other than maybe a ST coach? . He stood by other coaches even when the public was clamoring for firings.

I'll give it a read. It's certainly a defensible firing, but I think Wilks caught more flak than he deserved, particularly when he was trying to work within a system that was somewhat foreign to him. There's some expectation he would have improved next year.

I wrestle a bit with the Detroit game. I'm on record saying our inability to stop the run is ultimately on coaching, I'm just not certain how much of it was on the coordinator. Our play calls seemed fine, our guys just weren't executing the way you'd like to see. Multiple players have said that didn't change things dramatically in the second half, just started doing a better job of filling against the run and wrapping up.

[CrimsonCrew]

Speaking of Wilks, we could save $2.4 million by cutting Oliver. Oliver was his guy, and I can't see us keeping him if we can't rely on him to actually play and are replacing him with Ambry and a guy off his couch....

[Pattersonca65]

Who is available?

Wilks was a mixed bag for me. Overall, this D performed quite well. Their season-long numbers were quite good. They struggled at times in the playoffs, but in the first two games they were incredible in the second half. Clearly the defensive effort was not responsible for the SB loss. We held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation, and the only TD they allowed was immediately after a fluke STs fumble shifted momentum to the Chiefs. That's despite a fairly astounding twelve possessions due to offensive and special teams ineptitude. For comparison, the Lions had ten drives and the Packers had nine (not counting end-of-half kneel-downs). That's allowing just over 1.5 points per drive. Pretty damn good against a generational talent at QB.

That said, in crunch time, the offense kept getting it done and (arguably) the defense didn't. They did hold the Chiefs to FGs repeatedly, but they couldn't get the ball back when they needed to, and perhaps worse, they continued to be plagued by some of the things that had affected them throughout the playoffs.

Wilks and Shanahan clearly don't see eye-to-eye on some things, the use of pressure in particular. Wilks can get very aggressive at times, and that's not the offense Kyle likes. We saw that with the TO in the SB. And it's hard to fault Kyle that much. We have had some effective blitzes, but we have also had some that were extremely poorly timed and costly - the one at the end of the half against the Vikings leaps to mind.

I'm not heartbroken about losing Wilks, but I also recognize that there is a fair chance that whoever we get to replace him will be worse. The good news is that our DC position has been a springboard for head coaching opportunities, so hopefully we'll have some strong candidates.

If you are interested here is why Shanahan fired him

https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/2/14/24073198/kyle-shanahan-steve-wilks-fred-warner-dre-greenlaw-49ers-defensive-coordinator

I think this defense underperformed this year, and at times bad. The Detroit game particularly. I don't blame him the Super Bowl loss. The defense played well the first half, as well as I could have expected but I don't think Shanahan based this on the SB loss, His interview seems to suggest this is an ongoing issue. And I don't think KS took this lightly. This is the first major firing I can remember by KS other than maybe a ST coach? . He stood by other coaches even when the public was clamoring for firings.

I'll give it a read. It's certainly a defensible firing, but I think Wilks caught more flak than he deserved, particularly when he was trying to work within a system that was somewhat foreign to him. There's some expectation he would have improved next year.

I wrestle a bit with the Detroit game. I'm on record saying our inability to stop the run is ultimately on coaching, I'm just not certain how much of it was on the coordinator. Our play calls seemed fine, our guys just weren't executing the way you'd like to see. Multiple players have said that didn't change things dramatically in the second half, just started doing a better job of filling against the run and wrapping up.

What Shanahan stated in article seems to contradict that. Sounds like Wilks was trying to implement his system.