
Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Sunday, July 25, 2021
There were reports on Friday that the 49ers continued to show interest in WR DeDe Westbrook, but he posted on his Instagram that he’s in Minnesota. Westbrook is also scheduled to visit the Seahawks on Sunday.
Fred Warner on 49ers rookie Trey Lance: ‘I’m very excited about his growth’
“I think he’s great,” Warner told Damon Bruce and John Dickinson. “The fact that he’s come in and he’s handled himself the way he has, I wouldn’t say it’s common amongst rookies, just to have that demeanor.”
“He’s come in; you can see the talent,” Warner continued. “The ball jumps out of his hand. He’s very talented. You could see he’s young. He has a lot of potential to work with, so that’s obviously extremely intriguing to not only the team but to the fans and everyone. I’m very excited about his growth and where he’s going to go.”
Sports books reportedly brace for an Aaron Rodgers retirement
multiple sports books believe Rodgers will announce his retirement before Wednesday’s initial practice of training camp. Per Huber, Westgate Superbook has “closed all its NFC North markets, including projected wins, playoff odds, divisional odds and weekly lines for the four division teams.”
PointsBet sports book, which not long ago put the Green Bay over-under win total back on the board at nine, has once again removed Green Bay from the list of 32 teams. DraftKings also has removed the Green Bay over-under win total, along with its Packers-related “Team Specials.” (The other 31 teams have them.)
As one source with knowledge of the dynamics of the Rodgers situation said in response to these developments, “Vegas oddsmakers tend to be pretty sharp.” The source added that a lot of scenarios are in play, and “many, many factors” will be relevant to the outcome.
Dede Westbrook Schedules Seahawks Visit; Vikings, 49ers, Bengals Still On Radar
The former Heisman finalist and Jaguars starter said the 49ers and Bengals are also in the mix; both teams expressed interest in Westbrook earlier this offseason. While both teams and Seattle appear to be on Westbrook’s radar, the Vikings have an edge and appear to be the favorites.
“I was kind of set on Seattle and he was like ‘Darn you’re not even going to come out and give me a chance? I coached you the past four years and you’re just going to fly out to Seattle and not give Minnesota a shot?’” Westbrook said of a conversation with McCardell (via Tomasson, on Twitter). “... I love everything about the Vikings. I like their offensive scheme; I like the things that they’re doing as far as gidget-gadgets that they have going on. … Just their whole offensive scheme and I think I can fit in perfectly.”
Jefferson could wind up starting for the 49ers this year. He tore his ACL during his fifth game of the 2019 season, then sat out all of last year. He wants to prove he can still play, and he’ll have an opportunity to earn a starting job in camp. Even if he doesn’t get the starting gig by Week 1, he’ll provide quality depth the 49ers desperately need.
49ers roster: 5 players most likely to have a breakout season in 2021
With Dee Ford’s immediate future in the wake of last season’s back injury unclear, it made more than enough sense for the Niners to ink former Los Angeles Rams EDGE Samson Ebukam as a free agent this offseason.
True, Ebukam was more of a situational pass-rusher over his four years in Los Angeles, but Ford’s injury questions open up the door for the former to assume a much larger role in San Francisco.
Like Ford, Ebukam has speed to burn, and he’ll have his opportunities as a legitimate speed rusher, doubling on either the weak or strong ends of the formation depending on his opposing offensive line’s alignment. And while that speed only netted Ebukam 4.5 sacks in each of his last two seasons, one might see just how that number could increase now that he’s with the 49ers.
Those three are Nick Bosa (+1000), George Kittle (+1000), and Jimmy Garoppolo (+1200) according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
These three are in the top eight for players favored to win the award. The other players in the running are Dak Prescott (+210), Joe Burrow (+700), Saquon Barkley (+700), Christian McCaffrey (+800), and Carson Wentz(+1000). The fact that these three 49ers are grouped and considered for this award is pretty absurd.
Only Bosa is the legitimate candidate to be considered here since he actually missed the whole season due to a torn ACL. You could make the case for Garoppolo somewhat just because it was just an awful year along with injuries, but I still wouldn’t put him in this category. Kittle especially should not be mentioned in the same breathe here, so Bosa is the focus.