Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Friday, May 23rd, 2025
49ers expected to bolster front office with returning executive
“The Jaguars parted ways with Waugh last month, shortly after the 2025 NFL Draft. He had been with the organization since 2022, serving under former general manager Trent Baalke as part of the previous regime.
Waugh was named interim general manager following Baalke’s departure and was among the candidates who interviewed for the permanent position. However, the Jaguars ultimately named James Gladstone as Baalke’s successor.
Wilson did not specify what role Waugh is expected to assume upon his return to San Francisco. He previously served as the 49ers’ vice president of player personnel from 2021 to 2022, following three seasons as director of college scouting and football systems. Waugh also worked alongside Baalke in San Francisco for 12 seasons from 2005 to 2016.”
Are the 49ers really on the hook to pay quarterback Brock Purdy $265 million? (Paywall)
“Arguably the most important date pertaining to the Purdy contract is April 1, 2027, when his $55.05 million payout for the 2028 season — the highest single-season salary during the life of the contract — becomes fully guaranteed. That amplifies the overall importance of Purdy’s next two seasons. Technically speaking, the 49ers could cut him before then to avoid the fully guaranteed $55.05 million. His salary for the first three years is as follows: $41.1 million in 2025, $46.996 million in 2026 and $27.25 million in 2027, which is his lowest single-season payout.
Another number that makes the 2028 season a big turning point in Purdy’s contract is his cap hit, which balloons to a whopping $57.6 million after sitting much lower at $9.1 million in 2025, $24.7 million in 2026 and $30.8 million in 2027. It would be reasonable to expect the 49ers to restructure by then, followed by either another extension or a parting that lands Purdy in another team’s jersey, one way or another.”
Brock Purdy’s personality kept extension talks with 49ers from getting ugly (paywall)
“Purdy could fully shift his focus to football Friday after he received a deal-is-done text from Strongin when he was on the Lake Course at the Olympic Club in San Francisco with center Jake Brendel and their wives. Moments later, Purdy was speaking with Lynch via FaceTime. In the following days, he has continued a conversation with his wife, Jenna, about how they might spend some of their windfall.”
49ers’ Tariq Ahmad goes deep on Nick Martin, CJ West and the entire draft class (paywall)
“It turns out Williams did more than play through the injury on Saturdays.
When national scout Steve Rubio went to Georgia for a practice, he noted that Williams not only took every practice repetition on the bad ankle but practiced for another 20 minutes after the formal session ended.
“That was a story that stood out to us,” Ahmad said…..
….Ahmad spent seven seasons at Rutgers University with assistant coach Kyle Flood, who’s now Texas’ offensive line coach.
“One of the things he kept telling me about Alfred was that Alfred destroys practice,” Ahmad said. “He’s the hardest guy that they had to block on the interior of the defensive line — getting off blocks, creating knockbacks.”
Texas often asked Collins to handle two gaps on their defensive line. The 49ers want their linemen attacking and playing aggressively. When he picks up their style, the 49ers think his modest college pass-rush numbers — just one sack last season — will increase.
“He doesn’t attack like we attack,” Ahmad said. “But because of his length and his power, we feel we can get that out of him.”
Why Deommodore Lenoir was nervous about Robert Saleh’s return to the 49ers
“Me, initially I was like, kind of nervous,” Lenoir said Wednesday during the Dwight Clark Legacy Series event, “because I had just screamed at him when we played the Jets. I had made a play, and I had screamed at him. I didn’t know he was going to remember that.”
The 49ers opened last season with a 32–19 win over the Jets. And when asked if Saleh remembered the incident, Lenoir confirmed—with a laugh—that he did.
“He brought it up the first meeting,” he said. “It was a funny [moment].”
While the situation may have been a little awkward at first, Lenoir is embracing Saleh’s energy and leadership.
“He’s a very energetic person,” Lenoir said. “The energy he’s going to bring to the room, that he’s already bringing to the room, he’s putting a lot of confidence in the secondary, and just us, and just with coverages that we’re playing.”