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Back in 2005, there were rumblings that the San Francisco 49ers might draft Aaron Rodgers, a Chico, Calif., native, with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Instead, though, they decided to select Alex Smith to be their quarterback of the future. Rodgers, meanwhile, slid down the draft board and was not selected until the Green Bay Packers took him with the 24th overall pick.
And the rest, as the saying goes, was history.
Rodgers went on to win four NFL MVP Awards, a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP in what turned out to be a Hall of Fame-worthy career for the Packers.
Smith spent seven oft-injured seasons with the 49ers and did not reach his Pro Bowl potential until he landed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Indeed, since 2005, San Francisco has had 16 different starting quarterbacks while Green Bay has used seven.
The San Francisco 49ers Face an Expensive Question with Brock Purdy
After cycling through several starting quarterbacks since 2005, San Francisco appeared to have hit on one in one of the most improbable places. It selected Brock Purdy with the very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but did not expect him to play over Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Injuries to both quarterbacks, though, thrust Purdy into starting duties as a rookie, and he led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game. The following year, 2023, he made the Pro Bowl and finished fourth in NFL MVP voting after he completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 113.0 passer rating.
But Purdy, along with the rest of the 49ers, took a step back in 2024. Last season, without his top wide receivers, Purdy completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 96.1 passer rating.
While these numbers were not terrible, per se, they were not what fans had come to expect. And now that Purdy is eligible for a contract extension, San Francisco needs to make a decision on whether or not it wants to keep him around for the long run.
If it does, he could command a contract worth up to $60 million a season.
San Francisco 49ers Insider Does Not Want Brock Purdy (or Aaron Rodgers) on the Team
While the 49ers figure out what they want to do with Purdy going forward, Rodgers is a free agent after being released by the New York Jets. Even though he has generated interest from the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has not signed, citing some heavy personal reasons that are commanding most of his attention right now.
And even though he has not been formally linked to San Francisco, the team he cheered for growing up, 49ers insider Grant Cohn would like to make one thing clear about him and Purdy, for that matter:
"Purdy isn’t worth franchise quarterback money. And Rodgers isn’t worth any money anymore. Because if he’s considering retirement, that means he already mentally is retired. He has one foot out the door. A team could play him to go through the motions for a year or two, but that’s all he’ll do on the field. And in the locker room, he’ll spread toxicity and discontent.
"No, thank you.
"What the 49ers should do is embrace a full rebuild. Acknowledge that they could not win a Super Bowl with their current core group of players, trade them and move on. Build a new core of young players. Trade George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Brock Purdy. Finish the job they started this offseason when they traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders."
After finishing 6-11 last season, the 49ers are hoping for a bounce-back in 2025. Cohn, obviously, thinks that they would be better off tearing it all down and starting over.
It seems drastic, but they are an older team and need to get younger quickly.
More must-reads:
- Insider: 49ers may have mishandled George Kittle's contract situation
- Insider's report suggests Aaron Rodgers embellished certain details of infamous Jets meeting
- The 'Single-season passing leaders for each NFL franchise' quiz
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Major 2024 NFL free-agency deals are aging very poorly
Several of the high-profile names of the 2024 free-agent class are really struggling to justify the massive contacts they received through the early stages of the 2025 season. Despite the generous contracts, some players have been very underwhelming after getting the big payday. In particular, these players who signed major deals are now playing on new teams or in new roles: Christian Wilkins — four-years, $110M with Raiders, now a free agent Kirk Cousins — four-years, $180M with Falcons, now a backup Bryce Huff — three-years, $51.1M with Eagles, now with 49ers Jonah Jackson — three-years, $51M with Rams, now with Bears Gabe Davis — three-years, $39M with Jaguars, now a free agent Gardner Minshew — two-years, $25M with Raiders, now with Chiefs Chidobe Awuzie — three-years, $36M with Titans, now with Ravens While certain free agents such as Saquon Barkley and Danielle Hunter have delivered massive returns on their contracts to the Eagles and Texans, respectively, these other big signings have taken a completely different trajectory. Whether it is due to injuries, underperformance or not fitting the schemes, these players have not lived up to their deals. Wilkins is a case in point. The Raiders decided to cut him after signing him to a four-year, $110M deal. He struggled with injuries that held him out in 2024, leading to the team and Wilkins disagreeing on how the injury has been handled. Because of this, the two split ways only one year into his contract. Huff only played in 12 games and had a total of 2.5 sacks for Philadelphia after inking a three-year, $51.1M deal. He was traded to the 49ers in June for a 2026 mid-round pick. Cousins might be the most egregious of these deals. The former Vikings QB signed a four-year, $180M, with $100M fully guaranteed. Yet, he only started 14 games in 2024, and now is the backup to Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons now are essentially stuck paying their backup quarterback an annual average of $45M. These signings highlight the risk of free agency. Paying top dollar for past performance runs the risk of overlooking team fit and future value of contracts. Too often, these high-profile veterans who get massive paydays decline very fast or simply fail to mesh with new systems. So far, these investments in 2024 appear to have aged very poorly. Unless these players turn their performances around in 2025, many of the teams will view these moves as a cautionary tale of overspending in free agency.
Canucks Reportedly Interested in Former Third-Overall Pick as Another Young Player Could Leave the Team
The Canucks are reportedly quite interested in Ducks' Mason McTavish, this news coming after one of their young NCAA players, Jackson Kunz, could leave the team. With $3.25 million of free cap space now available after Dakota Joshua was sent to Toronto, the Vancouver Canucks and GM Patrik Allvin have room to add a significant piece, and it seems that they may be after a former third overall choice. Vancouver is interested in Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish, a restricted free agent, reports The Province's Patrick Johnston. 'Hence their continued interest in Roslovic, as well as their interest in Mason McTavish, the Anaheim Ducks' restricted free agent. Of course adding McTavish, the third-overall pick in the 2021 draft, will be very hard: he's a highly-regarded player with huge upside and will cost a big price in trade, perhaps more than the Canucks can afford.' Johnston said. It won't be an easy feat to get him due to asset limitations and Anaheim's stance on his next deal, but the 22-year-old would be a perfect fit as the Canucks' second-line center. After playing his inaugural 20-goal NHL campaign, McTavish offers skill and grit, two qualities that the Canucks may covet during a playoff push. While a few large-name players are available on the free market, Vancouver is considering trades as well as free agent solutions in the latter half of the offseason. Making a bold move for a player like McTavish wouldn't be out of character with the needs of the team. The Canucks need to sign their important NCAA prospect by August 15th Meanwhile, the Canucks are also under pressure in another direction. The deadline on August 15th is coming up to sign NCAA prospects graduating after four years. If they don't sign them, they'll become unrestricted free agents. The key concern is forward Jackson Kunz. If he isn't signed by August 15, 2025, he'll land on the open market. In the midst of a potential blockbuster trade and looming NCAA deadlines, the next several weeks can be make-or-break for Vancouver.
Raiders have whiffed on every recent major free-agent signing
The Las Vegas Raiders released defensive lineman Christian Wilkins on Thursday over a dispute regarding his recovery from a foot injury. The move comes just one year after he signed a massive four-year, $110M contract in free agency. Even worse, It continues what has been a disturbing trend of the Raiders completely whiffing on every major free-agent signing they have made since relocating from Oakland to Las Vegas prior to the 2020 season. Of the four highest-paid outside free agents they have made in the five years since that move, only one of them played more than one season with the Raiders before being let go, and none of them played more than two seasons. There is always a risk with free agency because you never truly know how a player is going to fit onto a new team, into a new system and how they will play until they actually put on the pads and start doing it. It's not uncommon for some of those big moves to end in disappointment. The concern for the Raiders is that all of their recent big moves have ended in disappointment, and it's a big part of why the team has had just one winning seasons over the past five seasons. Las Vegas mostly stayed out of the big-ticket free agent game this offseason, but still made some significant moves to change the organization. Along with hiring head coach Pete Carroll, they also acquired quarterback Geno Smith to provide some stability at a position that has been a consistent mess over the past few years. Carroll and the Raiders have big expectations this season, but the roster still has a lot of holes. The release of Wilkins on Thursday only adds another one that they may not have been expecting.
Dodgers Predicted to Acquire $4.175 Million All-Star, Gold Glove Outfielder in Blockbuster Trade
NBA Champion Picks Paolo Banchero Over Victor Wembanyama, Says Spurs Star 'Ain’t Really Did Nothing'
NBA Star Steph Curry Makes Honest Bronny James Statement
Steph Curry and LeBron James will forever be linked as the two best players in the recent era of NBA basketball. Recently, Curry spoke about a time that he went to James' house during his rookie season when the Golden State Warriors were in town to play the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry also mentioned seeing Bronny James (who was just a little kid). Curry (via Complex): "I remember how athletic Bronny looked at like at maybe, couldn't have been more than three or four. How fast he ran... To see him in the league is crazy." Bronny ended up being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (last summer). He finished his rookie year with averages of 2.3 points per contest while shooting 31.3% from the field and 28.1% from the three-point range in 27 games. While Bronny got limited playing time in the NBA, he was outstanding during the G League regular season. Via NBA G League: "Bronny James’ rookie year in the G League was ELECTRIC! At just 20 years old, he averaged 21.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 5.4 APG last season with the @southbaylakers. In Laker wins, he shot 51% FG, 45% 3PT, and 88% FT." As for Curry, he is considered among the best 15 players of all time. The Warriors legend finished last season with averages of 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals per contest while shooting 44.8% from the field and 39.7% from the three-point range in 70 games.
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