The Off Day: Jaron Brown, Jonathan Cyprien, Hroniss Grasu, and Evan Foster signed + What's happening around the league?
A star pass-rusher is reportedly on the move... and with fires raging across California, will training camp be delayed?
San Francisco 49ers/YouTube
After Day 2 of the pads yesterday, the Niners have an off-day today. But it is certainly not an off-day for the rest of the NFL. The biggest news of the day so far: The Jaguars reportedly plan to trade Yannick Ngakoue by today or at worst tomorrow.
The Jaguars had already been reported to have asked for a 2nd, so by getting their asking price in a deal, that makes it extremely likely this move happens by the end of today. The real question is… who is giving that pick up? Yannick needs a new contract, so a team like the Chiefs, or the Ravens would most likely be ruled out. The Eagles are definitely a player, and both the Colts and Jets have been showing interest as well. A scary thought: Seattle if they cut KJ Wright will easily have enough for Ngakoue, considering Duane Brown expires after this season, and that would clear another 12 million. That gives Seattle nearly 30 million to work with with the Adams extension and the Yannick extension, but I still highly doubt Seattle is the team giving up the pick.
Also interesting is that Melvin Ingram, another disgruntled pass-rusher has also held out and there are trade rumors surrounding him as well. The Dolphins have also been rumored to be a player in the Yannick sweepstakes, but it does not make sense for them really.
My best fit would be Cleveland. They are not shy to give up picks, they have the cap space to make a move like this, and they have been looking for that bookend pass-rusher next to Garrett for a while. Weirdly enough, the Jets are supposed to be the team with the offer at the moment, which is… very questionable. They are not going to be good this season, and spending a valuable 2nd on a disgruntled pass rusher while Breshad Perriman is your #1 WR for your young QB who is sitting behind a terrible OL… bad move.
But then people see this tweet and don’t know what to believe (though Mehta is known to be wrong a lot). All I know is Yannick will be traded by today or tomorrow, that seems to be the consensus. The Cowboys, who lost a key DL piece in Gerald McCoy yesterday to a ruptured quad might also be in the market for Yannick or Ingram.
More WRs, and a relief for the OL
Yesterday, the Niners brought in both Jaron Brown and Hroniss Grasu for a workout, along with 5! DBs. Grasu’s signing was expected, as the injury of Ben Garland has made the 49ers depth extremely thin at center. Grasu is a former 3rd round pick of the Bears, and he has not had a very good career thus far. This is a depth signing more than anything else. His best season came during his rookie season while he had a 62.3 PFF grade, and that was 5 years ago. Don’t expect much.
Evan Foster was also signed, a DB/LB hybrid out of Syracuse. Not much is known about Foster outside of this article which talks him up, but he could be a nice depth piece.
Update: Niners also signed Jonathan Cyprien to a 1 year deal. Hard hitting safety, but he is 30 years old and with a long injury history. Most likely a vet to be behind Marcell Harris and Jaquiski Tartt. There are going to be a few cuts happening very soon.
Brown is an interesting signing considering the 49ers already have a ton of depth, even with injuries at WR, and a big competition is brewing there. What we know so far:
Jalen Hurd is going on the IR (no return). Richie James Jr. is already on the IR.
Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Taylor, and Kendrick Bourne are locks. The first 3 should not need explanation, and Bourne’s extension along with him being a TD machine makes him a lock as well.
Dante Pettis and Jauan Jennings are strong bubble guys. Pettis has stepped it up, and Jennings has made some very impressive catches so far during TC.
That is already 6 WRs.. but with the roster size being expanded, CJ Beathard likely not getting a roster spot this year, and Deebo being out to start the season, odds are that Shanahan takes 7 WRs instead of his traditional six. That 7th spot is being battled for between:
Tavon Austin - probably the most likely to win this spot. His skill set fits what Shanahan lost in Hurd, in a dynamic WR/RB hybrid, and Austin has special teams ability as well, although he is not as physically talented as Hurd.
JJ Nelson - Very similar to Austin although less of a versatile guy. Austin has outplayed Nelson so far in camp.
Jaron Brown - We have not even seen him play yet, but Brown is 6 foot 3 and strong, and he has caught 16 TDs in his 7 year career while not being a starter for the majority of his career. His physical attributes most closely resemble Hurd out of these other two, but I still doubt he can outplay Austin or display the same versatility as both Nelson and Austin. He has bounced around the NFC West with stints with both the Hawks and Cardinals.
Mentioned in an earlier article, but we know that Shanalynch love to stash young players on the IR, essentially redshirting them while not allowing them to hit waivers. It is even more likely with the Kaden Smith pick last year. We picked him in the 6th, we cut him and tried to stash him on the practice squad. Instead the Giants poached him on waivers, and the Stanford product ended up replacing the injured Evan Engram. He promptly put up 268 yards and 3 TDs in just 6 games started… and he would have been a perfect fit behind Kittle, which would have allowed for us to use the 5th round pick or the roster spot on either Reed or Woerner elsewhere. I doubt the 49ers allow that to happen again. If Shanahan opts to keep only 6 WRs, he may consider both James Jr if he recovers and Jennings for the same IR treatment as they love to do with late rounders.
Wildfire Wednesday
Hope everyone is staying safe right now. After the incredible thunderstorms that rolled over NorCal a couple days back, hundreds of wildfires are raging right now across California. It is hard to breathe outside, the AQI in Santa Clara is 204, and PM2.5 is the main pollutant. It would be dangerous to let players practice outside right now and breathe that air… which makes me think unless the AQI has a big drop in the next 24 hours, we are going to see outdoor activities cancelled. Especially with COVID-19 running rampant across the US right now, I cannot see a scenario where practice is held tomorrow like normal. 49ers PR have already said they are monitoring the situation, and there is precedent. They moved and have delayed practice in previous years when the AQI was around 160, you have to assume at 200… they will do the same or cancel it completely. Terrible turn of events, but in the grand scheme of things? Maybe the lowest priority when people are losing their homes and livelihoods. Everyone stay safe. Those masks might be needed for two reasons now.
Other League News
Around the league a lot of stuff is happening. Jadeveon Clowney has been confirmed to have turned down multiple offers worth more than $15 million each. He has no shortage of suitors but with the season inching closer, his price becomes more and more unrealistic. He will sign soon hopefully, but is there a chance he would hold out? This is a player with a massive injury history, a hold out would hurt him more than help him.
The NFL announced today that they will consider pumping in artificial crowd noise, not unlike what the NBA has done inside their Orlando bubble. It would be interesting to say the least. In related news, the Seahawks also announced that their first month of games will be played with no fans. That is massive for a team that has benefited from arguably the loudest fanbase in football for the past decade, though Saints and Chiefs fans may have something to say about that. The NFL is also considering implementing a bubble for the postseason, which would be pretty cool to see considering how well the NBA and NHL bubbles have worked so far. I have to say, I am disappointed that the NFL did not have any plan coming into this. They had more than 5 months to create a comprehensive plan and it just never materialized.
Next year’s draft is going to be very interesting to see. With many conferences cancelling their seasons, star QBs like Justin Fields and Trey Lance won’t be able to play, and they are considered some of the best QB talent to come out in a while. People like OT Penei Sewell out of Oregon won’t be able to play, and he is legitimately a prospect to go above Trevor at #1, a generational talent. And with the growing list of opt-outs that include guys like freak LB Micah Parsons, a top 5 talent, as well as Caleb Farley, 1st round CB out of Virginia, the draft is being shaken up big time.
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Nice work, Riqo!
Good Article!! Crisp and concise but the information is all in there. Quote bemused about the Cyprien signing. Grasi - I can see why they would do it. Brown is also acceptable. Never knew why they signed Nelson