His best wide receiver broke his foot, his top runner requested a trade, his primary kick returner broke his wrist, his versatile defensive back broke his chest, and his All-Pro tight end remains in contract extension limbo.
Yes, the 49ers made a lot more news than I did during my annual pre-workout camp break. (Sorry, readers, the global pandemic kept us close to home this summer, which means I can’t give you fascinating family vacation stories.)
The 49ers’ large number of offseason injuries, along with the contract status of two top offenses, could have significant implications for the season, assuming the NFL plays in 2020.
Here’s a review of the top summer stories, with the 49ers slated to show up for boot camp on Tuesday:
Deebo Samuel suffers a broken foot
Meet the best 49ers catcher in Week 1: Kendrick Bourne?
No offense to Bourne, but the undrafted free agent with 88 catches in three seasons projects more as a good role player than No. 1.
However, Samuel is expected to be sidelined for at least the first few games with a Jones fracture, however Bourne is the top candidate to head a group of positions filled with inexperience (rookie Brandon Aiyuk) and / or question marks (Dante Pettis, Trent Taylor, Jalen Hurd).
Why can’t Aiyuk, the 25th pick, take over by channeling Samuel’s 2019 rookie star season?
To do it in September, it will have to be a remarkably quick study in a position that generally has a steep learning curve, particularly in Kyle Shanahan’s complex offense. Due to the pandemic, Aiyuk won’t be able to participate in his first NFL padded practice until the end of August, a few weeks before the start of the season.
As for Samuel, who missed just one game as a rookie, he entered the NFL with a notable injury history. He missed 20 games in his four-year college career due to injuries that included a broken leg and multiple hamstring pulls.
Raheem Mostert requests an exchange
Change requests are effective when the player demanding an agreement has influence.
And Mostert, 28, owns little. He plays in a devalued position for a head coach with a history of getting turnip runner production, signed a three-year extension in 2019, and was primarily known as a well-traveled and leak-prone outstanding Special Team traveler prior to his impressive career. end of season in the national spotlight.
Mostert made his exchange request, through his agent, Brett Tessler, on July 8. This week, the NFL Network reported that Mostert has spoken to a member of the 49ers’ main office to “clear the air” and “put yourself on the same page.” . Tessler declined to comment Wednesday.
Mostert is slated to earn a little over $ 2.5 million this season and has no money guaranteed in the last two years of his contract. He is reportedly seeking a salary on par with teammate Tevin Coleman ($ 4.55 million this season), the runner who impersonated in 2019.
It is possible that Mostert can be replaced without a big drop. In a playoff division victory over Minnesota, for example, Coleman rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns when Mostert was slowed by a minor injury.
Still, Shanahan prefers a field approach on the committee, and Mostert’s work at the end of the season strongly suggested that he was the team’s most explosive and dynamic back. Mostert led NFL running backs in yards per carry (5.6) in the regular season and, including the playoff games, ran for 1,108 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.
A reasonable expectation: The two sides will commit, perhaps with incentives and / or guaranteed money added to Mostert’s contract, and he will start the season in the role of leader.
No extension for George Kittle yet
Kittle is an elite tight end who wants to be more compensated as a high-end wide receiver, and it’s unclear how the NFL’s yet-unknown loss of earnings this season will affect the salary cap in 2021 and beyond.
With that in mind, it is perhaps not surprising that the 49ers, who have around $ 12 million in salary space and many notable players with expired contracts this season, have failed to pull off an irreplaceable first-team All-Pro.
Given the situation, it’s not difficult to see the impasse continue, unless Kittle agrees to a deal that pays him around $ 13 million a year as the NFL’s best-compensated tight end. The highest-paid league player in the league, Julio Jones of Atlanta, earns $ 22 million a year.
Kittle, 26, is slated to earn about $ 2.1 million this season, and his body has absorbed tremendous punishment in his first three seasons. She has had a chipped ankle bone, a ruptured knee capsule, a detached shoulder, and fractured rib cartilage, and has appeared in the injury report with ankle, back, calf, elbow, hamstring, and hip problems.
Kittle, who has the only two 1,000-yard receiving seasons for a tight end in franchise history, has influence. And you may not participate in an NFL practice this summer until you have a new deal.
Still, Kittle has suggested he would be reluctant to resist.
“Being a captain, I want to be there for my team and I need to show the proper leadership skills,” he said earlier this month through the NBC Sports Bay Area.
Here’s a guess for Kittle’s extension, every time it’s done: a five-year, $ 78 million deal with $ 53 million guaranteed.
Richie James and DJ Reed are injured
James, the team’s best returner last year who could be in the roster bubble, is reportedly expected to return before the first game of the season after breaking his wrist in mid-June.
Reed, who confirmed on July 2 that he had suffered a chest tear, is expected to miss several months.
Reed’s injury could be shocking. The 49ers are not filled with secondary depth and Reed can play in the outside corner, in the corner of the slot, and in free safety.
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch
