Category: NFL

49ers’ 2018 NFL Draft: Round 1

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Ana Kieu

The 2018 NFL Draft was held in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which made the annual event the first ever in franchise history to be held in an NFL stadium and in the state of Texas.

So this year’s draft was held in the home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys, also known as America’s Team, and the red carpet was rolled out for the top prospects in the nation.

John Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers entered the draft with a total of nine selections, but let’s just focus on Round 1 Thursday night. The 49ers selected offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey, who stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 309 lbs, with the ninth overall pick. McGlinchey’s stock has risen over the last 48 hours after he emerged as the consensus top tackle in this year’s draft class. McGlinchey played college football at Notre Dame.

With this pick, the 49ers have now acquired the obvious heir to offensive tackle Joe Staley. Staley is reportedly more eager than ever in Year 12. Not only that, Staley was named to the Pro Bowl six times in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. That being said, San Francisco completed a flawless touchdown when they drafted Staley with the 28th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after they traded their first round with the New England Patriots.

After that, the 49ers were certainly ready to make Jet McKinnon and company, which includes McGlinchey.

NFL Network draft analyst and former New York Giants safety Mike Mayock commented on McGlinchey, saying, “He is a pile driver in the run game.”

 

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders draft–Can Gruden and McKenzie get what they want?

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Photo credit pro32.ap.org: Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie right and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden left will be making decisions on today’s draft

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 For today’s draft, what are some of the positions that Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Reggie McKenzie will be looking for?

#2 The Raiders were taking drills with quarterback Derek Carr and the Raider offensive players and it was Gruden’s first practice drill to run since he was a head coach in 2008.

#3 For general manager Reggie McKenzie, how much success will he and Gruden have in recruiting and selecting players out of the draft on defense?

#4 Receiver Jordy Nelson said that the energy level that Gruden brings to camp is amazing. Knowing what you’ve seen of Gruden when he was in Oakland before and listening to Nelson, what’s your take on that energy level?

#5 The Raiders said that Khalil Mack remains absent from the Raiders camp as he wants to negotiate a contract extension. Mack was the Raiders 2016 Defensive Player of the Year.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers LB Reuben Foster not only hurts girlfriend, but also the team’s image

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Photo credit: @barstoolsports

By: Ana Kieu

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster has been charged with three felonies, but he’s still with the team. The former 2016 Butkus Award winner was drafted 31st overall by the 49ers at the 2017 NFL Draft. He was previously a consensus High School All-American and often regarded as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect of that class.

Those charges of domestic violence include inflicting great bodily harm, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime, possession of an assault weapon, respectively. Foster appeared in court Thursday. His bail remains at $75,000. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim, which is his live-in girlfriend. Also, a plea hearing was set for April 30. If convicted, he could face more than 11 years in prison.

The allegations against Foster are horrific. Yeah, the obvious disclaimer is that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty, but there’s virtually nothing that could compel a judge to let him be a free man…unless if that judge doesn’t know what they’re doing. There should be no excuse to defend a male who has ruptured a female’s eardrum nor should there be another excuse when it comes to punching a woman in the head eight to 10 times. Even if there were such excuses for malicious behavior, the 49ers would escape from trouble, but head coach Kyle Shanahan would basically contradict what he said at his introductory press conference on February 9, 2017, at Levi’s Stadium.

I was in attendance for the conference and I can remember a part of Shanahan’s opening statement.

Shanahan said: “There’s really two things that are important to me and that’s my family and that’s football and that’s really all the things I think about. As sad as that is, it’s true. That’s all you guys will get from me. You don’t always make the right decisions, but I can promise you guys we’re going to do everything we can to do that. We’re going to hold people accountable. We’re going to do it the right way. Everybody who’s in this from the top to the bottom will be going in one direction. What does it take to win now and what does it take to consistently win over the long haul. We will be committed to that 100 percent.”

Apparently, the words “accountable” and “responsible” were just corporate buzz words used by the 49ers coaching staff. Now, I know there are other things that the team needs to work on, but repeating those words isn’t going to help anyone. It’s a shame that Foster has the world in his hands, but is seemingly throwing it all away. I hope the victim will recover and the defendant will get all 11 years of that possible sentence.

Aldon Smith can’t seem to stay out of trouble, so what’s next?

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Photo credit: @Newsweek

By: Ana Kieu

Remember when linebacker Aldon Smith was drafted seventh overall by the San Francisco 49ers at the 2011 NFL Draft?

In his college years at the University of Missouri, he was considered to be just a three-star recruit, but was somehow considered to be the fifth overall prospect in the state of Missouri. In his freshman year in 2009, he started 11 of 13 games, finishing the season with 60 tackles and 11 sacks. In his sophomore year in 2010, he played in nine games, recording 48 tackles and six sacks. He forwent his final two years of college eligibility.

In 2011, Smith made his NFL debut in the 49ers’ game against the Seahawks. Despite not starting a single season his rookie year, he was only a half sack shy of tying the all-time rookie sack record held by defensive end Jevon Kearse. The Pro Football Writers of America named him Defensive Rookie of the Year. As for the Associated Press‘ NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, he finished in second place, trailing just linebacker Von Miller.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Smith became a full-time starter. In Super Bowl XLVIII. he had two combined tackles as the 49ers lost to the Ravens 34-31 on February 3, 2013.

Things took a turn for the worse after Super Bowl XLVIII. Smith got involved in a single vehicle accident in San Jose, California, and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. As a result, he voluntarily entered a rehab facility, which caused him to miss five NFL games. Despite his early public struggles, he finished the 2013 season with 34 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He was also ranked No. 33 in the NFL Top 100 Years of 2014.

The following year, Smith was reinstated in Week 11 after serving a nine-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies, but the 49ers released him following his third DUI arrest.

After that, Smith signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders on September 11, 2015. He finished his first season with the Raiders with 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks in nine games and seven starts.

In 2016, Smith re-signed with the Raiders and later applied for reinstatement, but no reinstatement occurred, so he sat out during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, respectively. Following a domestic violence incident, Oakland released him on March 5, 2018, and that domestic violence incident was the first of three arrests for Smith in the past two months alone.

Smith violated a court order on March 23, 2018. He was ordered to stay away from a woman (who was later revealed to be his fiancee) he assaulted earlier that month.

Smith was also arrested on April 8, 2018. He reportedly violated the terms of a protective order from his previous domestic violence arrest. He was held on $500,000 bail.

The question isn’t “who can bond Smith out of jail?” It’s “can Smith stay out of trouble?” The 28-year-old has time to turn things around for the better, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon. His fiancee–who has only know him for three months–is reportedly going to leave him and keep the ring that he gave her.

A short (or long) jail stint is going to protect the people, but it’s likely not going to save Smith. He has to want to stay out of trouble in order to try to make a comeback in the NFL.

If Jon Gruden is “surprised” that Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned, then he should sign him

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Speaking from the coaches breakfast at the NFL owners meetings Tuesday, Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden offered his thoughts on why Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned.

“I think there’s a lot of intrigue,” Gruden said via ESPN staff writer Paul Gutierrez. “His performance on the field wasn’t very good, on tape. I think, Robert Griffin, a rookie of the year, [I’m surprised] he’s out there. Tim Tebow takes a team to the playoffs, there’s some surprise that he never came back. You know, Johnny Manziel, he’s out there.

“Back to Kapernick, he got beat out by [Blaine] Gabbert to start the [2016] season. I think that say’s something. [But] I am surprised he’s not in camp with somebody. He probably will be soon.”

Memo to Gruden: No one, not even you, should be ‘surprised’ that Kaepernick remains unsigned by an NFL team.

Not due to the fact that he knelt during the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality, but he’s got a pending lawsuit against league owners for collusion, which was filed last October by Kaepernick.

But if Gruden is truly that ‘surprised’ that Kaepernick isn’t on an NFL roster, my only question to him is: why haven’t the Raiders signed him?

It’s a good idea, right?

No one is saying that Kaepernick would overthrow Derek Carr as Oakland’s signal-caller in 2018, but Kaepernick is much better than E.J. Manuel and Josh Johnson combined.

Both Manuel and Johnson are on the Raiders roster.

Since being drafted by the 49ers in 2011 out of Nevada in the second round of the NFL draft, Kaepernick has thrown for 12,271 yards with 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions while completing 59.8-percent of his passes in 58 career starts.

Manuel does have a career completion percentage of 58.1 to go along with 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 18 starts (which includes one start for Oakland last season), while Johnson is 0-5 in his  five career starts.

But Kaepernick would provide better insurance for Gruden and the Raiders in the event that Carr was injured than either Manuel or Johnson in my opinion. I know I’m not the only one that feels that way too.

It wasn’t too long ago that Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback in Super Bowl XLVII, was making defenses look foolish trying to tackle him in the open field with the dreaded read-option. In 2016, Kaepernick’s last season in the league, he was recovering from three surgeries when Gabbert beat him out for the starting the job.

But once he proved to be healthy, Kaepernick replaced Gabbert as San Francisco’s starting quarterback and posted a 92.6 passer rating in his final six starts of the season. Kaepernick threw for 2,241 yards with 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions with a 90.7 passer rating, but the 49ers were just 1-10 in his 11 starts as the team dealt with injuries and inconsistency along the offensive line.

San Francisco finished 2-14 that year.

After sitting out all of 2017, does Kaepernick even want to play football or continue to bring awareness to social injustice and police brutality in 2018? Kaepernick has already gone on record saying that he wouldn’t kneel during the national anthem if signed by an NFL team.

There was the internet video recently of Kaepernick working out in Houston throwing the football appearing to be in tremendous condition. Maybe there’s a chance that Kaepernick does play again in the NFL after.

But could it be in Silver and Black?

Gruden and the Raiders should give the idea some serious consideration.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who won Super Bowl LII, showed how important having a capable backup quarterback like Nick Foles on the roster was after losing franchise quarterback Carson Wentz late in the year with a torn ACL.

It’s good to have an insurance policy in case of emergencies, Oakland.

Marshawn Lynch restructures contract with Raiders

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Photo credit: raiderswire.usatoday.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — Marshawn Lynch will be back in uniform for the Oakland Raiders in 2018, agreeing to a restructured contract with the team as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero Wednesday.

Pelissero reported that Lynch restructured his contract on Saturday before his $1 million roster bonus was due. The move lowered his base value in 2018 to $5.5 million, which is $500k less than before. Instead of having zero guaranteed dollars, Lynch is essentially guaranteed $4.5 million, per Pelissero.

In total, Lynch can earn up to $9.25 million total with incentives in 2018.

After the Raiders signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin during free agency, rumors swirled that Lynch’s days as the featured back in Oakland were numbered.

Not so fast.

Expect “Beast Mode” to remain Oakland’s top ball-carrier this upcoming season, and rightfully so as he enters his 11th season in the NFL.

Lynch was Oakland’s best running back in 2017, rushing for 891 yards on 207 carries (4.3 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns.

Oakland finished 6-10 in Lynch’s first season after coming out of retirement following the 2015 season after six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.

Sports Headlines Podcast with Tony Renteria: Nelson signs with Raiders Crabtree out; Peterson still not signed with a team; Brees picks up two-year extension

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Photo credit: @JSM8ith former Green Bay Packer Jordy Nelson joins the Oakland Raiders as both sides came to an agreement Thursday afternoon

On the Sports Headlines Podcast with Tony:

#1 Former Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson, who was let go by the team on Tuesday, is looking at getting picked up by the Raiders. Former Oakland Raider wide receiver Michael Crabtree was released by the Raiders

#2 Former Arizona Cardinals Adrian Peterson, aged 33, was let go on Tuesday. Peterson went 12,276 yards rushing as of Wednesday night, but has not been picked up by a team.

#3 New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees signed for a two-year, $50 million extension with $27 million guaranteed in his first season of the deal.

#4  The New York Mets’ Tim Tebow was reassigned to the Mets’ minor league farm system. Tebow went 0-4 striking out four times at the plate. Tebow, aged 30, has a left ankle strain.

#5 NFL Network announced that tight end Derek Carrier will come back to the Raiders. He last played with the team in 2012. He has 36 career catches for 327 yards.

Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines Podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers’ signing of Sherman is a stellar move

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Photo credit: @NFL

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Contributor

Not like the San Francisco 49ers needed any validation from this guy typing here, but the signing of cornerback Richard Sherman was a huge win for the organization and for Sherman.

According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Sherman and the 49ers came to terms on a three-year deal worth $39.15 million on Saturday after five hours of negotiating. Sources also mentioned that Sherman represented himself during those negotiations.

News broke out Friday that Sherman was having dinner with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and spent most of Saturday meeting with team officials in Santa Clara, where he also took a physical.

He became a free agent once the Seattle Seahawks released the veteran cornerback Friday to avoid paying the $11 million salary he was due in 2018. It will be very weird at first to see Sherman don the Red and Gold this season after spending his first six seasons in Seattle tormenting the 49ers for much of that time.

While in Seattle, Sherman was voted First-Team All-Pro three times and voted to the Pro Bowl four times and alongside safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, formed the feared “Legion of Boom” secondary. From 2012-16, Seattle led the NFL in scoring defense for four straight seasons.

Sherman, the 6-foot-3, 195 pound cornerback, will turn 30 on March 30, is coming off a torn right Achilles tendon suffered in November that limited him to just nine games. It was the first time in his career that Sherman didn’t play a full 16-game schedule. The original timetable for Sherman’s return to football-related activities was 6-to-8 months, which would make him available by mid-May to early-July.

Since entering the NFL out of Stanford in 2011, Sherman leads the league with 32 interceptions and 99 passes defended.  Opposing quarterbacks are completing just 47.4 percent of their passes with a 50.9 passer rating, which is first in the NFL among cornerbacks with a min of 300 targets in coverage according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Jacksonville’s A.J. Bouye (54.9), Los Angeles Chargers’ Casey Hayward (57.7), Los Angeles Rams’ Marcus Peters (60.7), and the retired Darrelle Revis (66.0) round out the top five.

Sherman is long and rangy with extreme football smarts that makes him one of the more feared cornerbacks in the game today, when healthy.

Sherman arguably made the biggest play in Seahawks history in the final minute of the NFC Championship game in January 2014 when he deflected a Colin Kaepernick pass intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone. Linebacker Malcolm Smith, now with the 49ers, intercepted the pass which sealed Seattle’s second NFC title and propelled the organization to its first and only Super Bowl title.

That season, Sherman finished with a career-high eight interceptions.

Since that game, the 49ers have lost nine straight head-to-head matchups with their bitter rivals from the Pacific Northwest.

With Sherman on board, the 49ers have a veteran cornerback that they can pair with Ahkello Witherspoon, who had a strong rookie season with two interceptions and seven pass breakups. At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Witherspoon is similar in size to Sherman.

Outside of the promising Witherspoon, the 49ers didn’t have a premier cornerback on the roster last season. By signing Sherman, the 49ers filled one of their biggest holes heading into this offseason and gives the team  a legitimate cornerback that opposing offenses will need to account for.

After watching their divisional rival the Los Angeles Rams add two top-flight cornerbacks in Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib in separate trades within the last two weeks, landing Sherman wasn’t a bad fallback plan for the 49ers and the vocal Sherman, who wanted to play for “a contender.”

With just over $70 million in salary cap space according to Overthecap.com, the 49ers can still address the offensive line and remain play for former Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who is an unrestricted free agent and the most coveted cornerback on the market.

The 49ers are expected to be one of the better story-lines heading into the 2018 season and have just gotten more interesting with the addition of Sherman, who gets to remain in the NFC West and face Seattle twice a year.

A win for Sherman, who will play with the ultimate chip on his shoulder, especially in those matchups. Motivation can be fuel for anyone. For Sherman, who many believe has lost a step due to the Achilles injuries (he had a “procedure” to clean up his left Achilles this offseason too), will be out to prove that he is still the best cornerback in football.

49ers Sign Cornerback Richard Sherman: Match Made in Heaven?

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Photo credit: @BaySportsOne

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The most exciting off-season in a decade is officially underway for the San Francisco 49ers, as they inked all-pro cornerback, Richard Sherman, to a three-year deal on Saturday afternoon. According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, the deal is reportedly worth up to $39 million.

The deal comes the day after Sherman was released by the Seattle Seahawks as the team continues to tear apart the Legion of Doom. Sherman spent all of his seven seasons with Seattle and made it his priority to sign with a contending team. He will now have the opportunity for revenge playing against the Seahawks twice a year.

Sherman is the ideal cornerback the 49ers were looking for. The big-bodied 6-foot-3-inch 195 pound defensive back can bring loads of experience with him to a rather young 49ers organization. Once the most-feared corner in the league, Sherman has 32 interceptions, 99 pass deflections, and 279 tackles in his career.

However, despite all of the experience and accolades, Sherman is not a lock, as he is coming off a torn Achilles after getting surgery on his other Achilles. Sherman is also turning 30-years old later this month, which leaves some to question how much more he may have in the tank. Last season was the first time he didn’t play all 16 regular season games when he finished with nine.

Regardless, the signing is an exciting one for San Francisco at a position that they desperately need. The move shows that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan think they aren’t far off from bringing San Francisco back to the playoffs and competing with Los Angeles for the NFC West title.

Tony Renteria Sports Headlines Podcast: Manning offered up to $10 million from Fox or ESPN; Jones’ rant and Goodell protest costs him $2 million; Is Aldon Smith done?

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Photo credit: @KNBR

On the Sports Headlines Podcast with Tony:

1 ESPN and Fox in a bidding war for Peyton Manning’s TV services the networks have offered as high as $10 million for Manning’s talents as an NFL analyst

2 Dallas Cowboys will have to pay the NFL $2 million for owner Jerry Jones speaking out on behalf of Ezekiel Elliott last season, who was suspended for six games last season. Because the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell would not lift or lighten the suspension and Jones went on a rant and also told the other owners not to renew Goodell’s contract which landed Jones and the Cowboys with a fine.

3 Oakland Raiders’ Aldon Smith–Will he be done or will he get another chance in football?

4 LeBron has selected four teams he is willing to considering during free agency the Cavs, Lakers, Rockets and 76ers where do you see LeBron ending up next season?

5 The Oakland A’s open their season at the Coliseum on March 29th a day game. It’s been years since the A’s played a home opener in the day time.

6 The A’s named former pitcher and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers as special assistant to team president David Kaval.

Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com