March 2020 - San Francisco 49ers Wiretap

49ers 'Believe' Jimmy Garoppolo Will Be Starting QB In 2021

Dec 30, 2020 8:02 AM

The San Francisco 49ers remain publicly committed to Jimmy Garoppolo at their starting quarterback in 2021 despite only having one healthy season over the past three.

“I do believe Jimmy’s going to be our quarterback next year,” Kyle Shanahan said this week.

The 49ers are 22-8 when Garoppolo plays and 7-26 with all other quarterbacks under Shanahan.

“Look at Jimmy’s record when he’s been here. Jimmy, you can win with. He’s proven that,” Shanahan said. “He’s proven he’s a starting quarterback in this league. We had a couple of other guys who got opportunities this year who played like they have a chance at times to be starting quarterbacks, but they did play like backups overall.”

Garoppolo signed a five-year, $137.5 million contract after the 2017 offseason.

“I think he would have taken steps forward and it would’ve been great for him to play this year,” Shanahan said. “After what he got playing the year before, being able to go through his first full season, I think regardless of how it started out, it would have been a good experience for him to only get better. The injuries he had kind of took the year from him. ... It was unfortunate for Jimmy and for our team. I know it’s frustrating for him, but that’s why he’s got to go into this offseason and do everything he can in this offseason to get ready for Week 1 next year.”

Josh Dubow/Associated Press

Tags: San Francisco 49ers, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor

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49ers Sign Josh Rosen

Dec 22, 2020 9:12 PM

The San Francisco 49ers have signed Josh Rosen to back up C.J. Beathard at quarterback.

The 49ers lost Nick Mullens for the season with a right elbow injury that may require Tommy John surgery.

Rosen has been on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad.

Jimmy Garoppolo's status for the final two games of the season is uncertain as he deals with a high ankle sprain.

Nick Wagoner/ESPN

Tags: San Francisco 49ers, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor, Signing

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Hall Of Famer Kevin Greene Dies At 58

Dec 22, 2020 6:55 AM

Hall of Fame linebacker Kevin Greene has died at age 58.

No cause of death was given.

"The entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Kevin Greene," Hall of Fame president and CEO David Baker said in a statement. "I regarded him as a personal friend and a true Hall of Famer in every sense. He possessed the most incredible can-do attitude of anyone I ever met. He was a great player, but more than that, he was a great man."

Known for his long blond locks, Greene finished his career with 160 sacks, which ranks third in league history.

ESPN

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Misc Rumor

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Randy Moss: Jerry Rice Behind Myself, Terrell Owens On WR List

Dec 18, 2020 4:02 PM

Randy Moss believes he and Terrell Owens are the two best wide receivers in NFL history, ahead of Jerry Rice.

“I’ll put myself first, I’ll put T.O. second,” Moss said. “I would put Jerry probably third or fourth. I’m talking about dominating the game and changing the game of football. I don’t live on statistics because if you live on statistics and live on championships that’s all political. You’ve seen guys released or cut from a team just by a couple words in the media. You’ve seen guys given contracts or you’ve seen guys not given contracts just because of the color of their skin. You’ve got to throw politics out of the game of football, and look at the impact of what each individual was able to make in the game of football.”

Owens seemed to agree as he assesses Rice as a wide receiver who benefitted from playing the bulk of his career with either Joe Montana or Steve Young.

“When you think about Jerry and the quarterbacks he played with, he never had a drop-off in quarterback. He went from one Hall of Fame quarterback to another,” Owens said.

Moss did say he wasn’t trying to diminish what Rice accomplished.

“I don’t want the fans and the people watching your podcast to get it messed up that we dislike or discredit anything Jerry Rice was able to do or ever accomplish,” Moss said. “I don’t want people to think myself and T.O. is slandering or bashing anything Jerry did, because Jerry was at the top.”

Michael David Smith/ProFootballTalk

Tags: Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers

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George Kittle Planning To Return 'Sooner Than Later'

Dec 2, 2020 8:38 AM

George Kittle believes he's close to returning a month after suffering a broken bone in his foot.

"They said eight weeks; I said six," the San Francisco 49ers' tight end said. "And I'm excited. These last couple days have definitely progressed forward and made me very optimistic about returning to the field of play.

"When I first got hurt, my mindset was that I'll be back. And I'm going to continue to keep that mindset because I definitely feel like I'm going to be on the field here sooner than later."

Kittle sustained the injury in Week 8 on Nov. 1.

Kyle Shanahan said he hopes to have both Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo back by the end of the season.

Matt Maiocco/NBC Sports Bay Area

Tags: San Francisco 49ers, Injury

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