Golden Nuggets: Game day!

Five 49ers to watch against Vikings: From Jason Poe to Qwuantrezz Knight (paywall)

So pay attention not only to [WR Malik Turner]’s time on offense Saturday — he can obviously help himself by making some splash receiving plays — but also his special teams usage. Turner wasn’t in on punt coverage against the Packers, but some action there against the Vikings might give us a key 49ers roster clue.

Kawakami: 49ers owner Jed York on 2022 expectations, lessons learned from the Jim Harbaugh era and much more (paywall)

“He’s a confident young man,” York said. “He carries himself with the right combination of sort of swagger and humbleness. I’m excited to see him. You talk about learning from mistakes, you look at another quarterback we drafted up high with Alex Smith (No. 1 in 2005). Alex went out there very early on not the most talented football team that I’ve seen, probably not the most talented team you’ve covered. I don’t think that we did Alex any service (by) getting him out there early in that situation.

Branch: How 49ers rookie Samuel Womack is winning fans: ‘Everybody knows his name now’ (paywall)

“His dad didn’t pull punches when Womack was growing up — “I would tell him, ‘Hey, man, you had a s—y game,’” — but he was also generous with affirmation. On Friday morning, hours before Womack’s two-interception debut, he told his son he would have a pick-six. Years earlier, when Womack insisted he would eventually earn a scholarship at Toledo, he supported his son’s desire to bypass smaller-school offers that would have eased financial stress.

“We told him, ‘OK, since you want go there, we’re going to behind you 100%,’” Sam Jr. said. “He said, ‘Dad, I’m determined. I’m going to make it.’ I said, ‘I know you are.’”

49ers re-enter national conversation as contenders for Super Bowl LVII

“… But he has a lower ceiling than Trey Lance. We’ve already seen it this preseason. Some of the plays that Trey makes, Jimmy just can’t make. He has a bigger arm, which can open up the playbook a little bit, and he’s very early in his maturation process. So, out of the gates, where you’re gonna set the bar is where the last guy was. If Trey Lance can be at least as good as Jimmy Garoppolo, they’re a serious playoff contender. If he can be better than Jimmy Garoppolo, which again the bar isn’t being set astronomically high, they are a serious Super Bowl contender assuming health along the other pieces of this roster.”

49ers joint practices with Vikings revealed these key weaknesses

“Like the Niners’ cornerback room, the offensive line is appearing to be pretty top-heavy, and that’s been exposed with right tackle Mike McGlinchey still working his way back from quad surgery last year.”

Why Browns must trade for Jimmy Garoppolo to replace QB Deshaun Watson: Lloyd (paywall)

“Brissett is a journeyman backup. He’s fine in small doses, but as someone who watched him closely when he was a starter for the Colts told me, the more he plays, the more he’s exposed. The Browns can’t risk their season to a backup.

Garoppolo’s worst season as a starter is better than Brissett’s best in terms of quarterback rating.