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The 49ers are coming off a miserable 6-11 season and they didn't do much the past couple months to improve their roster in the short term. So what's the biggest reason for optimism heading into 2025?
CBS Sports says it's the fact that Christian McCaffrey is back healthy.
"The San Francisco 49ers' season literally got off on the wrong foot on Day 1 with Christian McCaffrey being sidelined for the bulk of the year due to an Achilles injury," writes CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan. "McCaffrey was able to return in mid-November, but then suffered a PCL injury in his right knee that put him on the shelf for the rest of the year. Looking towards 2025, McCaffrey currently has zero restrictions, so he's all systems go at the moment, which is ideal for the Niners' hopes of rebounding after a 6-11 season."
To be fair, McCaffrey had no restrictions at this time last season, either. Then he went down with bilateral Achilles tendonitis after a week of training camp. That's an overuse injury that could pop up at any time.
McCaffrey isn't young anymore. He'll be 29 in June. When he returned from his Achilles injuries last season, he didn't run the ball particularly well -- he averaged just 4.0 yards per carry. Which means there's a significant chance he won't be as effective or as durable as he was in the past.
That's why I think Robert Saleh is the 49ers' biggest reason for optimism in 2025. The 49ers always have had a defensive identity under Kyle Shanahan and Saleh is one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL. He could turn the 49ers defense into a top-10 unit right away.
More must-reads:
- It's time for the Bengals to meet their disgruntled star halfway
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Report: Bengals draw hard line in Trey Hendrickson contract talks
Cincinnati Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been holding out from training camp as he seeks a new contract, and it does not sound like the two sides are all that close to a deal. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on "SportsCenter" Monday that there has been "some progress" in negotiations between the Bengals and Hendrickson's representatives over the past week or so. The real disagreement has to do with guaranteed money, and Cincinnati's brass is not budging. "Hendrickson wants a stronger guaranteed structure, particularly later in what should be a multiyear deal. In talking to people with the Bengals they feel like, 'Hey, we've probably relented as far as we can go.' So this is a classic stare-off right now, and it's time to buckle up," Fowler said, via Andrew Peters of Bleacher Report. Hendrickson is set to earn $16M in base salary in the final year of his contract this season. He recently said he has shown a willingness to take less than market value on a new deal, but the Bengals do not want to guarantee him money beyond the 2026 season. Based on what he has said, the 30-year-old Hendrickson is not seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football. In order to accomplish that, he would have to top the three-year, $123M extension T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024. The Bengals took care of one major offseason issue on Sunday when they finally signed first-round pick Shemar Stewart to a rookie deal. All it will take is one side to budge in the team's ongoing stalemate with Hendrickson, but all parties seem to be dug in as training camp rolls on.
It's time for the Bengals to meet their disgruntled star halfway
As Trey Hendrickson prepares to end his holdout, it's time for the Cincinnati Bengals to meet their star edge-rusher halfway. On Tuesday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Hendrickson plans to end his holdout amid a prolonged contract dispute by reporting to Bengals camp on Wednesday despite still seeking an extension. "Reporting to camp stops the $50,000 per day fines and also serves as a good-faith gesture to try to jumpstart negotiations," Schefter wrote. Hendrickson is owed $18.7M in 2025. Last season, Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks (17.5). He originally signed a four-year, $60M contract with the Bengals during 2021 free agency and later signed a one-year extension in July 2023 to keep him Cincinnati through 2025. With no guarantees beyond this upcoming season and the edge-rusher market exploding recently, Hendrickson certainly has a valid argument to demand an extension. Meanwhile, Cincinnati has few (if any) good reasons not to reward their best defensive player. Hendrickson, 30, has been one of the league's most prolific pass-rushers since joining the Bengals. Former agent Joel Corry, writing for CBS Sports, brushed aside concerns about a potential drop-off in production while pointing to Pittsburgh Steelers edge T.J. Watt's recent contract extension. As Corry noted, Watt, who became the league's highest-paid non-quarterback when he agreed to a three-year, $123M extension earlier this offseason, is roughly two months older than Hendrickson. "Hendrickson also accounted for 48.6% of Cincinnati's sacks last season while Watt was responsible for 28.8% of Pittburgh's," Corry wrote. On Monday, Schefter shared that the main sticking point in Hendrickson's contract dispute is guaranteed money, with the Bengals hesitant to provide any guarantees beyond 2025 on a potential three-year deal. As productive as Hendrickson has been for the Bengals — his 57 sacks since 2021 only trail Watt and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett — the front office should be doing everything in its power to ensure he finishes his career in Cincy. Hendrickson ending his holdout is the first step to the sides reaching a resolution. The next is the Bengals giving him an extension commensurate to his production.
Green Bay Packers: Tucker Kraft Claps Back at Matt LaFleur After Getting Called Out to the Media
Pitcher bizarrely faces old team on same day of trade
Seranthony Dominguez certainly had an eventful day on Tuesday. The veteran MLB reliever began the day on the Baltimore Orioles and was with his teammates in the dugout during the first leg of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The O's went on to win, 16-4, at Oriole Park in Baltimore, though Dominguez did not pitch during the game. But the day took a bizarre turn when the two teams agreed to a deal in the middle of the doubleheader. The Orioles traded Dominguez to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league pitcher Juaron Watts-Brown. That led to a strange scene where Dominguez switched clubhouses after being traded, walking across the hallway to get to the Toronto side. Things got even weirder during the second leg of the doubleheader. Dominguez got the call to pitch for the Blue Jays against his former team. He had to walk past his ex-Baltimore teammates to get to the Toronto bullpen, and then entered the game in the seventh inning to pitch. Here is the unusual spectacle that saw Dominguez pitch against the guys that he began the day as teammates with. The whole thing was so bizarre that it even looked like Dominguez received a hastily-made Blue Jays jersey with the “8” in his No. 48 apparently stuck on backwards. Dominguez, a 30-year-old in his seventh MLB season, ended up striking out two in a scoreless frame against his former team. We have certainly seen instances of MLB players getting traded in the middle of games before, but that had to be the first instance of a player starting the first half of a doubleheader on one team and then pitching in the second half for the other team.
Yankees reportedly interested in Pirates left-hander
The Yankees have interest in Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman adds that the Yankees, and the Mets, have checked in on Joe Ryan of the Twins and MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals. However, he downplays the likelihood of anything coming from those pursuits. Similarly, Heyman mentions that the Yankees reached out to the Pirates about Oneil Cruz but says nothing is likely to come from that either.P The Yankees have been connected to plenty of starting pitchers recently. That includes some potentially notable upgrades like Dylan Cease or Mitch Keller, as well as more back-end types like Chris Paddack, who was traded from the Twins to the Tigers yesterday. Heaney is more in the latter category at this stage of his career. He’s had some tantalizing strikeout stuff in the past but that’s not the case this year. In 107 innings for the Pirates, he has a 4.79 earned run average and a subpar 17.2% strikeout rate. His season got off to a strong start but he’s been in a rough slide lately. Through his first 14 starts, he had a 3.33 ERA, though with a subpar 18.5% strikeout rate. He was getting a bit of help from his .234 batting average on balls in play and 81.8% strand rate. His FIP and SIERA were both 4.44 for that span, suggesting those metrics thought it was a mirage. They were proven correct when Heaney posted an 8.79 ERA over his next six starts. It’s not the most exciting set of numbers but the Yanks might just want a veteran to take the ball every five days. As mentioned, they were interested in Paddack, who has similar numbers to Heaney this year. Paddack posted a 4.95 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate before his trade. The Yankees have lost Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to Tommy John surgery but still have a strong one-two atop the rotation in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. They have been without Luis Gil all year so far but he’s on the cusp of a return. Will Warren is having a good season on the whole. Adding a vet would allow the Yanks to perhaps move Cam Schlittler back to Triple-A or bump Marcus Stroman to long relief or off the roster. It’s been a rough stretch for the Yankees, as they have fallen into a tight Wild Card race. Entering today, they are only a game and a half ahead of the Rangers, who are the top team not currently in possession of a playoff spot. Heaney wouldn’t be in the club’s planned playoff rotation but he could upgrade the staff for the stretch run. Schlittler has just two big league outings under his belt while Stroman has a 6.08 ERA in his eight starts this year. Heaney shouldn’t cost much in terms of prospect capital and is also making just $5.25M this year. There’s now less than $1.75M of that still to be paid out. Since the Yankees are a third-time competitive balance tax payor and are over the top tier, they face a 110% tax on any additional spending. The Yankees could pursue a more impactful upgrade and it seems like they have looked into the possibility. However, all reports have suggested that a trade of either Gore or Ryan would be a long shot. Both pitchers are affordably controlled for two years after this season, making them very valuable to their respective clubs. It would likely take a massive prospect haul to pry either player loose. It’s basically the same story with Cruz, who is controlled for three seasons after this one.
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