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Lino A. asks: Based on Jimmy Garoppolo’s availability over the last three years, do you think the 49ers will make him take a pay cut to stay with the team? Feels like that contract has not provided the value for the number of games he’s played.
It certainly has not. But I agree with Matt Maiocco’s take on the matter: Having him take a pay cut means you are diminishing him in the eyes of his teammates. You’re basically announcing: We don’t feel as if our guy is a top-tier quarterback in the league.
If that’s the team’s assessment, the 49ers need to move on from Garoppolo. I’m sure that’s how Garoppolo’s agent, Don Yee, would react to such a proposal.
20/20 vision on Jimmy G
I come away from Kyle Shanahan’s endorsement of Jimmy Garoppolo unmoved. What else is he supposed to say?
Shanahan checked all the boxes here. The 49ers (4-6) are last in the toughest division in football but still in the hunt for the playoffs. You never want to lose your job while injured. And Garoppolo is still coming off a year where he was the quarterback of the NFC champions. He should be voicing confidence in Jimmy G.
For now, Shanahan should be saying that. And if Garoppolo isn’t on the team in 2021, these comments will hardly come back to bite him.
No. 2: SF 49ers Must Draft Secondary and Offensive Linemen
This is long overdue in my opinion. The greatest criticism I have of John Lynch was not drafting cornerbacks in last year’s NFL Draft.
Even with limited draft capital, it was imperative to draft players for the SF49ers secondary last April. With Richard Sherman’s age and recent injury history, as well as the fact that aside from safety Jimmie Ward, the entire secondary is set to hit some form of free agency after this season, passing on secondary help seemed short-sighted.
With that said, it’s time to right the ship. An early look at the 2021 NFL Draft indicates that there are a handful of potential game-changing cornerbacks declaring.
Should the Niners continue to struggle with their remaining games, they could end up with a mid-first-round pick. It would put them in a position to select one of a talented group of defensive backs, including South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Paulson Adebo from Stanford, Ohio State’s Shaun Wade, or Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley to name a few.
49ers’ Kentavius Street won’t be fined for hit on Drew Brees, the penalty ‘stunk,’ says John Lynch
“[The penalty was] a shame for a couple of reasons,” Lynch said Wednesday on KNBR’s Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. “Number one, I think it was a very pivotal point in the game, and it felt like the momentum kind of shifted. And that’s on us, but I think that was a reality.
“Number two, you guys know Kentavius’ story. He tore his ACL in a pre-draft workout and then has had struggles coming back. So, (he) basically missed two years of football.
“That was his first career sack, and it got taken from him on something that I don’t think was a penalty, and I think we can all agree to that now. And to do it against a legend like Drew Brees, that stunk.”
Former All Pro edge-rusher Vic Beasley is a free agent and the 49ers need edge rushers. They should sign him.
Beasley is a free agent because the Tennessee Titans recently cut him after signing him this past offseason to a one-year, $9.5 million contract. Beasley never was fully healthy this season — he failed his initial physical at training camp and had knee issues.
Beasley reportedly will meet with the Las Vegas Raiders this week, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. So maybe Beasley wants to sign with a contender. Or maybe he wants to play for a team in a tax-free state. Or maybe both.
But the 49ers should be contenders next season if their entire team doesn’t get injured for the second year in a row. And Beasley knows Kyle Shanahan — Shanahan was the Falcons offensive coordinator for the first two seasons of Beasley’s career. So Shanahan never coached Beasley, but they were in the same building, on the same practice field. They have history.