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Happy Friday. Thursday was a slow news day, hopefully we have more to talk about today. Let’s get into some San Francisco 49ers links.
On Moseley: “I think he’ll have a whole training camp of starting. It’s a different preparation and a different mindset when you come into the year knowing where you stand and being able to prepare in that way. And I think that will be good for him.”
On Williams: “That’s the thing that separates him the most. That’s why we speak so highly of him. Because it’s not just being able to cover. There are tons of nickels who are great in pass coverage. But there are very few who impact the run game in the way he does.
That’s what makes him the best nickel in football, and that’s the part of his game that’s so underrated that nobody ever even gives him credit for. And they should.”
On Tim Harris: “He’s physical. You can’t coach that. You can’t teach that. So if a player has that, you can definitely work with him and mold him into the guy you want him to be. But without that trait, in this defense it’s hard to play.”
On Jason Verrett: Before his Week 3 knee injury, Sherman said, the GPS monitor in Verrett’s shoulder pads recorded him reaching maximum speeds in the 20 mph range. During his rehabilitation sessions at season’s end, Sherman said he had pushed that mark into the 21 mph range and that Verrett’s confidence had risen along with his speed.
By comparison, running back Raheem Mostert reached a top speed of 21.87 mph during his record-setting performance in the NFC Championship game, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Sherman said merely one of the injuries that Verrett has dealt with “is usually enough to knock people into depression and crush their dreams.” He said he was impressed by his fellow cornerback’s tenacity.
“I think that’s why he’ll succeed,” he said. “It’s difficult to knock somebody like that down and out because they won’t ever quit. A guy that won’t ever quit is very difficult to defeat. And I look forward to him succeeding.”
“I think Kyle would probably agree with you there. “Kyle, throughout the draft process, was in love with Brandon Aiyuk, and it took a lot for me not to spit his name out more in the draft process. Look, full transparency, I think he was thinking about taking him at pick [14] where he took Javon Kinlaw,” Simms said. “He said to me, ‘I think he’s Isaac Bruce.’ That’s who I think I got here.
Kurtenbach: Why are the 49ers paying everyone but George Kittle?
Again, it’s not that the 49ers don’t want to pay Kittle everything he’s worth. It’s that they’re not forced to do so. And while that might seem petty, not paying more than you necessary is also good business. In the NFL, that kind of salary cap shrewdness has a strong correlation to success.
This is why Kittle doesn’t have a new deal yet.
The 49ers don’t have to match Kittle’s demands because right now the only thing he can threaten them with is a bad attitude, and the Niners are betting that taking on a dour disposition is one of the only things No. 85 cannot do. They’re probably right. His reputation as a team leader — a reputation he holds dear — would be tarnished if he brought contract negotiations into the locker room.