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If you had to guess, what do you Trent Williams’s contract would look like for the 49ers? I’ll go with a four-year deal worth about $85 million. They’re not going to let him hit the market, right? Right?! Let’s hope not.
“…What I’m thinking’s gonna happen, that the Jets are looking at Zach Wilson and (New York offensive coordinator) Mike LaFleur’s going, ‘Wait, my brother, Matt LaFleur, is in Green Bay and he’s got Aaron Rodgers and wait, the guy that might be here at No. 2 — and I expect to be at No. 2 — he plays just like Aaron Rodgers. Oh yeah, I’m going to run the same offense my brother runs up in Green Bay,’” Simms said Monday on NBC Sports.
“So I would think that that would leave Sam Darnold on the table. In my heart of hearts or anything, I could see that happening. Now Darnold — just like we saw with the Lions-Rams inside deal, coaches and people that move from one place to the other — that that conversation happens and he goes there (San Francisco). Now, New England and the 49ers also have history together. (Kyle) Shanahan and (Bill) Belichick, we know there’s a respect thing there. It’s been widely documented. So I think when you connect the dots right there — it’s almost like too obvious not to think it’s going to happen, honestly.”
Deebo Samuel’s unique skill impresses Richard Sherman, Trent Williams
“I don’t know about (being) on the level of freakish athleticism, but Deebo is one of my favorite players, too,” Williams said. “Because I feel he possesses something I don’t really see in a lot of people.”
Williams described Samuel’s best asset as “contact balance.”
“It’s something you definitely never see in receivers,” Sherman said. “You see it sometimes in running backs. But he’s just a hunter for contact, and he always thinks he’s getting through it.
“He’s not just hunting just to run you over. He’s hunting because ‘I think I can run you over and I can keep on going.’”
“I told him my first week there,” Williams said. “I’m like, ‘Bro, I ain’t never seen anything like that.’
“He’s got contact balance that’s out of this world.”
Predicting Week 1 NFL starting QBs for all 32 teams: Where are Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo?
New England Patriots: Jimmy Garoppolo
There’s a feeling around the NFL the 49ers are bluffing with their public backing of Garoppolo. If they trade him, I’d be surprised if they recoup anything higher than a Saturday draft pick, regardless of the inflated prices in previous quarterback trades. The Patriots would do well to take on the non-guaranteed $51.1 million in his contract over the next two years and hope to revitalize the spurt of success he displayed in 2016. They would also still have the resources to draft a quarterback to pair with the oft-injured Garoppolo. — Jeff Howe
San Francisco 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo
The 49ers certainly will pick up the phone if Watson trade talks heat up. But they don’t have the reservoir of draft picks other teams can offer, which makes Watson a long shot. They’ve been to a Super Bowl with Garoppolo and are confident he can get better. — Matt Barrows
Build your own 2021 49ers: Can you assemble a sustainable 53-man roster?
Cap-freeing extensions and restructures
Garoppolo and Laken Tomlinson represent the other two biggest potential money-saving rows on the spreadsheet, so they’re colored in blue.
By converting Garoppolo’s base salary to signing bonus, the 49ers can reduce his 2021 cap hit to as little as $13.5 million. They can also less aggressively restructure his deal, so a cap hit of $20 million — the result of a potential partial restructure — is also presented as an option in the dropdown menu.
Though it’s tempting to free up $13 million of cap space with one click, remember that large restructures come with potentially large costs. They push cap hits to future years, and because the 49ers have been riding this strategy with other big deals, they already have nearly $145 million in 2022 liabilities spread over only 19 contracted players.
Garoppolo was the quarterback to throw the game-winning touchdown against Arizona in 2019. The pass was to Jeff Wilson Jr. on a Texas route while having a pass rusher in his face. He was the quarterback to complete the pass to George Kittle against the Saints on fourth down. That completion led to Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal. Garoppolo was the quarterback to complete two third and 16s against the Rams in the fourth quarter. Giving the 49ers a must-win game heading into the most important game of the season against Seattle on the road. Finally, in his cool, calm manner, Garoppolo was the quarterback that didn’t turn the ball over. He threw a beautiful pass to a wide-open Kyle Juszyzck along the right sideline. In response to a Seahawks touchdown in clutch time, executing Kyle Shanahan’s gameplan in the biggest game of the season.