49ers
49ers GM John Lynch acknowledged that WR Jauan Jennings asked for a trade earlier in the season and said that the team will not move him.
“He asked for it and we’ve moved on,” Lynch said, via ESPN. “We’re not doing that. So, we’re moving forward.”
Lynch said that the team would like to see Jennings return to the practice field before they decide when he will play.
“Ideally, everybody has a training camp, everyone is out there,” Lynch said. “That’s a perfect world but he’s been putting in work to the side and we’ll have to make that judgment when the time comes.”
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said Jennings’ desire for a new contract doesn’t impact team chemistry.
“I don’t think that has anything to do with team chemistry,” Shanahan said. “That doesn’t have anything to do with how we approach each other, how we spend our time with each other. That has to do with business decisions and the business decisions people make. I don’t look at any of that stuff.”
49ers
The health of 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is one of the top topics for San Francisco heading into the 2025 season. By all accounts, McCaffrey is 100 percent healthy and ready to resume his role as the centerpiece of the offense, but there’s some scar tissue for fans and analysts after last year was marred by injuries and a lack of transparency. McCaffrey turned 29 in June and that’s another potential concern given the position he plays. Some coaches would be looking to scale back his workload for the sake of sustainability but that doesn’t appear to be how HC Kyle Shanahan is approaching things right now.
“You take everything into account, but I don’t try to think in absolutes,” Shanahan said in a radio interview Thursday via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “I try not to think of just numbers on paper. I know numbers go with percentages and everything — and that’s why you listen and pay attention to a lot of analytics — but you also go with your own eyes and your experience of that.
“I like to watch how a guy moves and how he is out there, and I see Christian looking the same as he always has looked. So, I don’t really think about that number (his age) when it comes to that case. Now, if he started looking different, then I’d probably start questioning some things, and then I’d probably be looking at how old he is or look at that 30 thing. But Christian gives us no reason to think that. He came in healthy this year. He had a hell of an offseason. He’s had a hell of a training camp, and I believe that’s going to lead to a hell of a year.”
Should the 49ers choose to pivot and operate more of a committee in the backfield, their trade for former Commanders RB Brian Robinson gives them a viable alternative that they didn’t necessarily have before.
“When you have a really, really good back behind him, and we take Christian out and things like that, you’re not so upset on all these plays because you know you’ve got a guy coming in there who you shouldn’t miss a beat on,” Shanahan said. “Now, they do have different skill sets, and we are going to use them somewhat differently, but the one thing they have in common is they’re both really good runners.”
Cardinals
In a strange coincidence, the Cardinals have lost rookie first-round defensive tackles in back-to-back years to calf injuries. In 2024, it was DL Darius Robinson who missed most of his rookie season with a lingering calf injury. This year, first-round DT Walter Nolen is set to miss time to start the year after a calf injury forced him to the PUP list. Fortunately, he has a teammate to lean on in Robinson to get through that process.
“I let him know he needs a positive mind frame and working toward the (health) goal each day,” Robinson said via Darren Urban of the team site. “I’m excited to see him doing a little more each day and I am happy I can support him.”
While Robinson is in a position to mentor Nolen with their shared unique experience, he’s still a young player who’s getting his feet wet in the NFL after playing just six games.
“That chapter of my life was my redshirt rookie year,” Robinson said. “I got to play six games, I got to experience the NFL schedule a little bit, but I didn’t get the full (season). It’s going to be a fun year, but (I’m) really focusing on one day at a time.”
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