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NFL Network’s Mike Silver had a tweet thread where he stated by rule he’s not allowed to tip picks. After that, Silver went on to allude that Mac Jones would be the selection for the 49ers at No. 3. Silver parsed his words carefully by adding in “this is not a report” and “I haven’t spoken to Kyle.”
Buckle up.
New NFL protocols incentivize players, staff to get vaccinated
A memo the league circulated to all teams says that players and staff members are no longer required to be tested daily — if they’re fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated players and team staffers will now only be tested once a week.
Players and staff members will also no longer have to stay away from the team facility for a day after travel, if they’re fully vaccinated. And they won’t have to quarantine after close contact with an infected person, but again only if they’re fully vaccinated.
In other words, life as an NFL player is going to be a lot more convenient once you’re fully vaccinated. Although the league can’t require players to get vaccinated, the new policies were put into place in conjunction with the NFL Players Association, so the players are on board.
The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and every adult should get them. More than 200 million doses have now been administered, but plenty of Americans aren’t vaccinated yet. Those who haven’t done so should make their plans to get vaccinated now, whether they’re an NFL player or any member of the general public.
HOW SEATTLE’S RICHARD SHERMAN PICK IN 2011 CHANGED THE NEXT 10 YEARS OF THE NFL
Seconds before halftime, Sherman bit on a double move. At the break, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, leading Sherman’s “North” team, found him and chewed him out: “That’s why you’ll never f—ing make it in this league.”
Sherman didn’t bark back. He didn’t point out that he recovered on that play and broke up Andy Dalton’s underthrown pass. He didn’t remind Lewis of his end zone interception earlier in the game. He didn’t explain that it wasn’t an actual game and “North” wasn’t his actual team. He just took it.
Recruited to play wide receiver at Stanford, Sherman led the Cardinal in receiving yards as a freshman and sophomore before a season-ending knee injury in 2008. But after he had surgery, Sherman said, Jim Harbaugh accused him of quitting on the team and moved him to defense the following season, where he played cornerback for co-coordinators Andy Buh and Ron Lynn.
On the surface, the chances of that happening aren’t good. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 44 quarterbacks have been selected in the top three during the past 50 NFL drafts. Of those players, only two starters — Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning — have gone on to win a Super Bowl with the team that originally drafted them.
In the past 15 years, five teams have traded up for a top-3 pick and used that pick on a quarterback. None of those players lasted more than five seasons with the team that drafted them, though four of them made at least one playoff appearance before departure.
But while previous failures would indicate an uphill battle, some solace can be found in this: The 49ers are about to do something that’s never been done before.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest a team has drafted a quarterback only one season removed from a Super Bowl appearance was 25th overall, when the Green Bay Packers picked Don Horn in 1967. Barring a surprising trade back or an even more surprising pick, that’s going to change on Thursday night when the Niners make their choice.
Rich Scangarello? Mike Shanahan? Whose voices are going into the 49ers’ QB decision? Mailbag
Since we know the 49ers had to be comfortable with three QBs (presumably including Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and BYU’s Zach Wilson), shouldn’t we be evaluating which of Fields, Lance and Alabama’s Mac Jones is most similar to Lawrence and Wilson instead of comparisons among those three? — Tia S.
If A = B and B = C, then A must also = C.
That’s called the transitive property of equality and, gee, if you can figure out the 49ers’ pick based on that, you deserve an A+ in geometry.
— Matt Barrows, English Lit.
P.S. In reporting this mailbag, I made several phone calls to various agents, sources, etc. I called for different reasons, but I asked each who they think the 49ers are taking at pick No. 3. None has an affiliation with any of the three quarterbacks or is with a team seeking a quarterback.
The verdict? Fields went 4-for-4.