:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67988892/1228556846.0.jpg)
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving
Another area to look at is how and when did these injuries occur. Let’s use Deebo Samuel as an example. Samuel is perhaps the most important part of the 49ers offense. It’s as though he unlocks all of Shanahan’s creativity. Samuel played a key role in the 49ers biggest wins of the season, upset wins over the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots. It was against the Patriots however that Samuel would be lost to injury for the second time this season. With the 49ers up by 30 in the fourth quarter, Kyle Shanahan called a sweep to Samuel. As Samuel was pushed out of bounds, he pulled up with a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for three games. During that time the 49ers would see their record fall to 4-6.
5 free agents who can make SF 49ers Super Bowl contenders in 2021
SF 49ers Free-Agent Target No. 3: OG Joe Thuney
Remember that part about the SF 49ers offensive line being a primary offensive weakness?
Thuney won’t come cheap. He’s currently the highest-paid interior free-agent lineman on the open market with an average annual contract value of $14,781,000 which puts him right in line with the kind of money Williams could make on the open market. Thuney has also been reliable, too, despite all the Patriots’ problems, earning a solid 73.0 overall Pro Football Focus grade for the season.
“It was tough because he was doing really good in practice and definitely would have ended up helping us this year,” Shanahan said. “But he pulled his hamstring really bad – as bad as anyone we’ve had this year. It was about a six-week injury. It’s been unfortunate because he would have had some opportunities here with the way things have gone.”
Despite the midseason ailment, Shanahan and Co. believe Jennings has an opportunity to not only return from injury, but make his NFL debut with the 49ers in the coming weeks. Just as we’ve seen so far throughout the season, the 49ers are certainly testing the “next man up” mentality in 2020.
“I’m hoping so,” Shanahan said of Jennings’ hopeful return. “We think about three weeks away.”
Quarterback landscape could coerce SF 49ers to tank
In 2019, the Niners were set with Garoppolo under center. That wasn’t up for debate.
Yet it’s not the same case entering 2021, as Jimmy G’s future is anything but certain. There are plenty of reasons, particularly the team’s reluctance to restructure his current contract, to suggest why this season could be Garoppolo’s last in an SF 49ers uniform.
The 2021 NFL Draft is awfully deep at quarterback with as many as six prospective signal-callers likely to go in Round 1. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is likely to be the No. 1 player selected, and it would be a pipe dream to suggest the Niners have a shot at him over the still-winless NY Jets. Ohio State’s Justin Fields is likely a top-three pick, too.
Perhaps the league should take it easy a bit testing SF 49ers second-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel, the Niners’ second-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft, was apparently tested five times earlier this season for PED usage, at least according to his own Twitter statements.
Earlier this week, Samuel went back on social media to express his frustrations with being tested for the sixth time. PED tests are supposed to be at random during the regular season with each player being tested at least once