San Francisco

49ers

Jones “didn’t just look like a starter in 2025 but someone who could lead an imperfect team.” Per Barrows, Quarterback-needy teams could be hoping that Jones becomes the next “Shanahan reclamation project” after watching Sam Darnold lead the Vikings to a 14-3 record in 2024 and the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory in 2025. Darnold spent the 2023 season as a 49ers backup. The incoming rookie quarterback class is currently viewed as a thin group, which could spur teams to pursue Jones via a trade rather than rolling the dice on a questionable prospect. Barrows notes that the Dolphins, Cardinals and Vikings “are running Shanahan’s offense or something similar,” and views all three as potentially interested parties.

Zakelj spent the 2025 season on San Francisco’s practice squad. He was called up for three games, seeing a handful of snaps on offense and special teams. Zakelj will be battling for a roster spot this summer.

Brock Purdy and the Niners will be well traveled in 2026. They will play against the Rams in the first-ever NFL game in Australia along with the Mexico City outing. The 49ers will also fly across country twice in 2026 to face the Giants and Falcons, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. It would seem to be a demanding travel schedule for a team contending for a championship.

Yes, we are again banging the drum that the 49ers may get an offer they can’t refuse for Jones, who has only $1 million in guaranteed salary in 2026 and could be a major upgrade for the Vikings over J.J. McCarthy. Lewis believes the 49ers will “drive a hard bargain” for Jones. As has been rumored for a bit, it would likely take a Day 2 pick for the 49ers to move on from Jones, and perhaps a second-rounder rather than a third-rounder.

It’s an interesting assertion because James rarely played this year, starting the season with a wrist injury and eventually playing only three offensive snaps in three active regular season games. However, James did close out the Divisional Round loss to the Seahawks with six carries for 28 yards and it appears he could seize the No. 2 role behind Christian McCaffrey if Brian Robinson walks in free agency. Isaac Guerendo, per Tafur, “seems like an easy cut” if Robinson returns.

This has the feel of a heat-check hire for the Seahawks, who bring on someone who has never called offensive plays before and only has a single season as a run game coordinator with San Francisco in 2025. The process didn’t exactly yield a ton of “easy” candidates — it was a down year for offensive coaches and many of them had been picked over while Seattle was busy winning a championship. Still, we have very little that says Fleury is qualified for this job from the outside beyond “was a close Kyle Shanahan personal circle friend.” Despite winning Super Bowl LX, the Seahawks’ run game struggled at times last season. Fleury’s hiring may bode positively for the run game’s outlook in 2026. ESPN’s Brady Henderson previously reported that the Seahawks’ new offensive coordinator will call plays this season.

Barrows concludes by saying he thinks the 49ers could get a second-round pick for Jones, or perhaps a third-round pick and a sweetener. While we don’t doubt that the 49ers think their team stability is worth a lot at quarterback — and we’ve heard both national reporters and Kyle Shanahan say recently that they don’t think they’ll move on from Jones — at some point the 49ers need to embrace the fact that they rehabbed his value from nothing and could likely do so again with a different quarterback. Given how thirsty things might get on the quarterback streets this year, we concur with Barrows that there’s a real chance Jones goes for a Day 2 pick.

He’s expected to be okay. The team reported late Monday evening that White was in surgery after sustaining a bullet wound to his ankle earlier in the day. No amplifying information regarding the incident was provided initially, although more is sure to come out in the coming days. At least for now, it appears as if the grotesque injury to the veteran defensive lineman is not career, or life, threatening.

This report comes on the heels of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan telling reporters last month he’d be very surprised if Jones wasn’t on the team in 2026. With quarterback options limited in the draft and free agency, Jones, who has one year left on the two-year deal he signed in San Francisco, could be attractive to quarterback-needy teams this offseason. While the team doesn’t appear interested in the slightest in moving off of the backup QB that went 5-3 as a starter in 2025, that could change once other teams start making offers for the 27-year-old signal caller.

McCaffrey astonishingly handled a career-high 413 touches in his age-29 season, totaling 102 receptions, 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns. To say he deserves this award is an understatement. He notably won the Offensive Player of the Year award in 2023.