Media coverage of the San Francisco 49ers is undergoing some changes this year. The biggest news was Matt Barrows heading from the Sacramento Bee over to The Athletic. A notable follow-up to that is that Chris Biderman is leaving Niners Wire to take over Barrows’ beat at the Bee.
Now we have some interesting television news. This is more applicable if you are a Bay Area resident, but it involves some familiar names, so I figured we’d all want to know!
The Oakland Raiders gave Greg Papa the boot from the radio broadcast booth as they prepare for their move to Las Vegas. Brent Musberger is replacing Papa, and now the latter has a new home. Friend of the site Steve Berman is reporting that Papa will replace Dave Feldman as the studio anchor for the 49ers pregame and postgame shows on NBC Sports Bay Area.
What I found even more interesting is that Donte Whitner will join the shows as an analyst, working alongside Papa, Matt Maiocco, and former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia. Whitner is replacing former 49er Dennis Brown, who will be doing more KNBR work. And finally, former 49ers nose tackle Ian Williams will be joining the studio team before and after 49ers press conferences during the week. Williams recently made it to his first 49ers game since he first started rehabbing his broken ankle two years ago. It’s good to see him get in the mix given the unfortunate end to his NFL career.