Marquise Goodwin

49ers Notes: Breida, Goodwin, Sherman

The 49ers placed a second-round tender on Matt Breida earlier this month, but that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily going to be back with the team in 2020. San Francisco knew that at least one team was “circling” the running back, which is why they placed the tender on him to ensure he wouldn’t leave town without any compensation coming back, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Barrows writes that the team tendered him at that level thinking they’d be able to trade him later.

Barrows notes that he initially thought Breida would be traded for a “mid-round draft pick,” and that a deal could get done sometime during the draft. They have a very crowded backfield with Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, and Jerick McKinnon all in the room as well, so a Breida trade would make plenty of sense. Breida has shown lots of flashes, and has averaged at least 5.1 yards per carry in each of the last two years, but the Georgia Southern product is also seemingly always battling some type of injury. He’s currently set to make around $3.1MM under the tender in 2020.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

  • In the same piece, Barrows indicates that receiver Marquise Goodwin is on his way out as well. The 49ers are going to look for a trade partner for the receiver, but Barrows thinks it’ll be tough for them to find a take and that they’ll ultimately end up cutting him. Goodwin has a $5MM cap hit this year, and Barrows thinks they might cut him whenever they need to make room for a George Kittle extension. Goodwin had a career year with San Francisco in 2017 with 962 yards, but has been injured and ineffective the past two seasons. In 2019 he had only 186 yards.
  • The last we heard back in January, 49ers left tackle Joe Staley had no intention of retiring. But he still hasn’t necessarily definitively told the team he’ll play in 2020 and could be taking the offseason to deliberate, according to Matt Maiocco of NBCSports.com. Maiocco thinks the team might try to play up the mystery to keep teams guessing as to whether or not they’ll draft a tackle early in what is regarded as a strong offensive tackle class. Thanks to the DeForest Buckner trade, San Fran currently holds the 13th overall pick in addition to the 31st. Maiocco also writes that Mike McGlinchey “appears locked into right tackle” and won’t be switching over to the left side whenever Staley does retire. Staley, a starter for the past 13 seasons, will turn 36 in August.
  • The 49ers “certainly will not pick up” the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, Maiocco writes. Thomas has been a massive disappointment since the team drafted him third overall back in 2017, so this isn’t too surprising. It also means that the Stanford product will be entering free agency next offseason, although Maiocco cautions that doesn’t mean he won’t be back with the team and that they might try to re-sign him cheaply. Thomas started at least 12 games in each of his first two seasons but only started three last year, playing just 41 percent of the defensive snaps. With Buckner out of the way, he could get one last shot to establish himself.
  • One last 49ers note. The team is doing right by Richard Sherman, giving him an extra $1MM signing bonus to “account for the 90% play-time incentive he narrowly missed out on last season,” Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a nice gesture from the team, as the cornerback’s resurgent play was a large part of the reason they made the Super Bowl.

49ers In Marquise Goodwin Trade Talks

Kyle Shanahan did not make it a secret he would entertain Marquise Goodwin trade talks, and the fourth-year 49ers coach is moving forward on this front.

The 49ers have discussed the veteran wide receiver in potential deals, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The three-year, $18.85MM extension Goodwin signed in 2018 contains just more than $10MM through 2021, and with all of the salary non-guaranteed, the 29-year-old speedster may not be long for San Francisco.

Despite Dante Pettis falling out of San Francisco’s rotation during its NFC championship season, Goodwin was still a non-factor for most of the slate. The former Olympic long jumper broke through in his first season with the 49ers — a 56-catch, 962-yard 2017 campaign — to earn his extension but fell behind younger 49er cogs Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne last season. Goodwin caught 12 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in 2019. A knee injury moved Goodwin to IR in December.

With the 49ers trying to keep Arik Armstead, Goodwin’s contract would be one to move. The 49ers can save nearly $4MM by jettisoning the deal. San Francisco, which currently carries less than $14MM in cap space, has also not ruled out bringing back 2019 trade acquisition Emmanuel Sanders. Slot receiver Trent Taylor also due back in 2020, further minimizing Goodwin’s role with the team going forward.

The 29-year-old wideout averaged 17.2 yards per reception in both the 2017 and ’18 seasons, however, and could well be an intriguing auxiliary piece for a team with less depth at receiver. With the 49ers having until March 12 to use their franchise tag on Armstead, that looks like the timetable for the Goodwin talks.

49ers To Shop WR Marquise Goodwin?

Marquise Goodwin has struggled to replicate his 2017 numbers, and that could lead to a ticket out of San Francisco. When asked if the team could trade the wideout, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t play coy.

“We could, yeah,” Shanahan told Matt Barrows of The Athletic.

“You also don’t get rid of valuable people just for nothing. So we’ll have him come back and compete and if that doesn’t work out we could always possibly trade him. There are lots of things that are open. But I don’t know that exact answer yet.”

After falling out of favor in Buffalo, the former third-rounder had a breakout campaign in 2017. During his first season in San Francisco, Goodwin set career-highs across the board with 56 receptions for 962 receiving yards in 16 starts. He inked a three-year extension prior to the 2018 season, and the wideout hasn’t been able to hold up his side of the bargain. Goodwin was limited to 395 receiving yards in 2018 before getting phased out of the offense in 2019. He finished last season with 12 receptions for 186 yards and one score in nine games before landing on the injured reserve.

As Barrows notes, Goodwin is set to count for $4.9MM against the cap next season, a big ask for such limited production. Plus, the team will look to re-sign Emmanuel Sanders, and they’re hoping for big things from both Deebo Samuel and Dante Pettis. Despite the significant cap hit, the team won’t simply cut Goodwin.

“We wouldn’t release Marquise. He’s too valuable,” Shanahan said. “I know he fell out of the rotation last year, then he had an injury (and) wanted to go on IR so he could get it cleaned up. I think it is right now. I haven’t seen him for a while. Marquise is a guy who can play in this league. If he’s on this team, he’s going to be competing with that group and, if not, I feel pretty confident another team would want him.”

West Notes: Jacobs, Jordan, 49ers

The Raiders are not completely eliminated from playoff contention just yet, but it may be in the team’s best interests to shut down rookie RB Josh Jacobs for the final two games of the year. Jacobs, who has rushed for 1,150 yards on 4.8 yards-per-carry this year, has been battling a shoulder injury, and head coach Jon Gruden said that Jacobs had trouble getting his shoulder pads off yesterday (Twitter link via Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group).

Per Gruden, Jacobs’ status for Oakland’s last two games is in doubt. The Raiders finish up their final season in the Bay Area with divisional contests against the Chargers and Broncos.

Let’s round up a few more West-related items, starting with another note from the Silver-and-Black:

  • Dion Jordan, who signed with the Raiders in November after serving a 10-game suspension for a PED violation, has performed well in his first five games with his new team. Playing in a rotational role, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2013 draft has posted two sacks and has earned positive reviews from Gruden. Jordan will be a free agent at season’s end, and Gruden said the 29-year-old is playing his way into a new contract with the Raiders (Twitter link via McDonald).
  • No surprise here, but Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area does not believe the 49ers will use the franchise tag on Arik Armstead, which means that Armstead may be plying his trade elsewhere in 2020. Maiocco also believes that the team will cut running back Jerick McKinnon and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin during the offseason.
  • Seahawks DB Quandre Diggs has been a boon to Seattle’s defense after being acquired in an October trade with the Lions, but Diggs sprained his ankle in the team’s win over the Panthers on Sunday and will likely miss next week’s matchup against the Cardinals, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s still too early to predict his status for Week 17, but given the potential magnitude of that bout with San Francisco, the Seahawks will want to make sure Diggs is as healthy as possible.

49ers Place Marquise Goodwin On IR

The 49ers got pretty banged up during their win over the Saints this past week, and now another player is headed to the shelf. The team has placed receiver Marquise Goodwin on injured reserve, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 

Goodwin had been dealing with a knee injury, and even though he hadn’t been playing much recently, it’s a significant depth blow. The speedster and deep-threat had a breakout 2017 campaign with the 49ers, racking up 962 yards and averaging an impressive 17.2 yards per catch while starting all 16 games. Injuries hampered him last year and limited him to only 11 games, and he fell down the depth chart this season.

He still made six starts in nine games in 2019, but he fell out of favor as the season went on. The Texas product had at least 41 yards in three of San Francisco’s first four games, but he failed to top 15 after that. Rookie Deebo Samuel began to emerge, and then the 49ers added Emmanuel Sanders as well. All that being said, if they were to now suffer another injury to the group they’d be getting pretty thin. This was the first year of a three-year, $20.3MM extension that Goodwin signed in March of last year.

Injury Updates: Crawford, Gurley, Foles

Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford was carted off the field today following a scary collision with Buccaneers offensive lineman Ryan Jensen. Fortunately, it sounds like the veteran will be alright. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes that a scan and MRI of Crawford’s neck came back as negative, and the lineman has been released from the hospital.

“Everything checks out very good,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I’m really pleased with the initial MRIs, all the examinations. He went on to the hospital and had those examinations. . . .He doesn’t seem to have structural issues at all.”

Crawford is having another productive season in 2018, compiling 34 tackles and a career-high 5.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus currently ranks Crawford 36th among 116 eligible interior defenders. If the lineman is forced to miss any time, the Cowboys could turn to former first-rounder Taco Charlton to fill in.

Let’s check out some more injury notes from around the NFL…

  • Rams running back Todd Gurley was forced to miss today’s win against the Cardinals, but it doesn’t sound like the Pro Bowler will be out for an extended amount of time. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reports that the injury is “really a day-to-day thing,” and the team will continue to evaluate the ailment. While Gurley’s status for next weekend is still up in the air, it sounds like the running back will be good to go come playoff time. Fortunately for the Rams, the team’s running game didn’t seem to miss a beat without Gurley, as recently-signed veteran C.J. Anderson finished today’s contest with 167 rushing yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.
  • Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was briefly knocked out of today’s win over the Texans after suffering a hit from Jadeveon Clowney. While backup Nate Sudfeld made a brief appearance, Foles was able to return to the game and lead Philly to a much-needed victory. It also sounds like the veteran’s status for next week isn’t in doubt, as Foles told reporters that he is doing “great” (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). The signal-caller did acknowledge that he had X-rays taken after the game.
  • DeSean Jackson played today despite being list as questionable with a thumb injury, but the Buccaneers wideout was knocked out of the second half of his team’s game against the Cowboys with a foot injury. As Williams points out, the veteran lost his shoe on his only reception of the game, and he subsequently limped to the sideline before “collapsing in pain.” It sounds like Jackson doesn’t have much of a future in Tampa Bay, and today may have marked his final game with the organization. If the receiver doesn’t play next week, he’ll have finished the season with 41 receptions for 774 yards and four touchdowns.
  • Vontaze Burfict‘s return from a concussion didn’t last very long. The Bengals linebacker was knocked out of today’s game against the Browns with a concussion (via Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com). The veteran had just returned from a two-game absence, and he showed his dissatisfaction with today’s concussion by “angrily snatch[ing] his arm away from a member of the team’s athletic training staff.” This would mark the 28-year-old’s seventh reported concussion since he entered the NFL in 2012.
  • A pair of 49ers wideouts suffered injuries today, but they don’t sound as bad as they may have looked. Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets that rookie receiver Dante Pettis suffered an MCL injury, which is much better than the ACL injury that some were expecting. The second-round rookie has been productive in recent weeks, and he’s hauled in 24 receptions for 446 yards and five scores this season. Meanwhile, teammate Marquise Goodwin suffered an Achilles injury, but Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that the injury isn’t serious. After a breakout season in 2017, Goodwin has struggled this year, compiling 20 receptions for 366 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games.

49ers Notes: Foster, Mack, Goodwin

We know that soon-to-be-former 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested on a domestic violence charge last night following an incident at the team’s hotel in Tampa Bay, and that the team is going to put Foster on the waiver wire tomorrow. GM John Lynch has since given an interview on the situation, and he indicated that the decision to cut Foster was made because Foster failed to uphold the standards set for him after the issues he had earlier this year (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). Lynch added that he and team ownership agreed on the move.

Now for more from San Francisco, starting with more Foster fallout:

  • Matt Barrows of The Athletic provides a series of tweets with more detail on the Foster incident and Lynch’s reaction to it.
  • Former NFL agent Joel Corry notes that the 49ers will carry roughly $2.35MM in dead money for Foster on the 2019 cap (Twitter link). Foster’s two-game suspension that he served at the beginning of this season wiped out his base salary guarantees, so the dead money figure stems entirely from signing bonus proration.
  • In two separate pieces, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk examines Foster’s chances of being picked up by another club. Florio notes that any team interested in Foster’s services would first want to know if the league plans to place Foster on the Commissioner Exempt list, which is a device for keeping players off the field when those players face certain types of criminal charges, including allegations of domestic violence. A player cannot be placed on the list unless he is on a team, but he would be eligible to be paid during his stay on the list. Any team is free to call the league office to determine what its intentions are with respect to Foster, but unless the league is able to definitively say that Foster is not a candidate for the list — which seems unlikely — it does not appear that Foster will be claimed on waivers. It also seems that no one will be interested in signing Foster even when he clears waivers until his status with the league is determined.
  • We knew that the 49ers were interested in trading for Khalil Mack before he was dealt to the Bears, but we also heard that San Francisco had simply been outbid by Chicago. However, Lynch indicated during a radio interview with 95.7 The Game on Friday that he continues to believe that the 49ers had a better offer on the table for Mack (audio link). To get Mack, the Bears gave up two first-round picks, a 2019 sixth-rounder, and a 2020 third-rounder (though some draft capital came back to Chicago as well), so Lynch is apparently suggesting that he was prepared to give more than that to land the elite defender.
  • Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin traveled with the team to Tampa Bay, but he is not present for San Francisco’s matchup with the Bucs, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Goodwin was reportedly excused from the team to address a personal matter, and he was also excused from practice earlier this week due to a personal matter, though it is presently unclear whether it is the same issue.
  • Ahkello Witherspoon, who was selected two rounds after Foster in the 2017 draft, is at something of a crossroads with the 49ers, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Witherspoon has been benched twice this year and has regressed in coverage and tackling after a strong rookie campaign, and while it seems unlikely the 49ers would cut him at the end of the season, his play over the course of the team’s final six games will have a big impact on how aggressively the 49ers pursue cornerback upgrades in the offseason.

NFC Injury Notes: Rodgers, Falcons, Eagles

Aaron Rodgers will enter Sunday with a questionable designation on the Packers‘ injury report. The two-time MVP can improve his chances of playing, obviously, by practicing Saturday — when the Packers do more than the typical walkthrough — but not doing so won’t prevent him from playing. Mike McCarthy said he’d have no issues deploying Rodgers even if he doesn’t practice all week, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The 13th-year Green Bay coach said his quarterback feels better than he did at the beginning of the week. Despite Rodgers’ performance on Sunday against the Bears and his history of playing through left knee pain, he’s not a lock to face the Vikings.

Here’s the latest from the NFC’s injury situations.

  • Another key Falcons cog won’t be available Sunday. After the losses of Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, Atlanta won’t have the services of starting running back Devonta Freeman. He’s been declared out due to the knee injury he suffered against the Eagles. Tevin Coleman will start. The Falcons have rookie Ito Smith and recently signed Brian Hill in place as backups.
  • Once again, the Giants won’t have their top pass rusher available. While the Giants are hoping to have Olivier Vernon in Week 3, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter), his high ankle sprain will keep him out against the Cowboys.
  • Trai Turner‘s stay in Panthers concussion protocol will result in him missing this week’s game against the Falcons. He’s been declared out, putting Carolina down three starting offensive linemen — Turner and tackles Matt Kalil and Daryl Williams, both of whom residing on IR — going into its NFC South opener.
  • The already-banged-up Eagles didn’t come out of Week 1 unscathed. Darren Sproles will miss Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. The 34-year-old passing-down back sustained a hamstring injury against the Falcons. He’ll join Carson Wentz and Alshon Jeffery among Philadelphia’s high-profile Week 2 absences.
  • Already without IR-stationed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, the Bucs won’t have Brent Grimes available to cover Eagle wideouts, either. Tampa Bay used two second-round picks on corners, Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart, and could see an extended glimpse of the rookies’ development to this point in their careers.
  • The Lions49ers game will see the visitors without top guard T.J. Lang and the hosts missing deep threat Marquise Goodwin. Both players have been declared out. Kyle Shanahan said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, on Twitter) Dante Pettis will start in place of Goodwin.

49ers, Marquise Goodwin Agree To Extension

The 49ers have re-signed wide receiver Marquise Goodwin to a three-year extension, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal is worth $20.3MM with $10MM guaranteed. The Niners have also confirmed the deal.

Marquise earned this extension by coming in every day focused on doing his job and, as a result, he made himself and his teammates better,” GM John Lynch said in a press release.

Goodwin was already under contract for 2018 thanks to the two-year, $6MM free agent deal he inked with SF in 2016. The new pact will keep him in place for longer and reward him for a solid campaign in ’17.

Goodwin was the Niners’ most productive receiver last year, catching 56 passes for 962 yards and two touchdowns. He also jelled well with new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, which bodes well for his future in San Francisco.

The deal also bodes well for wide receivers as a whole. Although Goodwin is coming off of the best season of his career, his $6.67MM average annual value on the deal is an indicator that the wide receiver market is on the verge of exploding. Take Terrelle Pryor for example – last year, Pryor settled for a one-year, $6MM with the Redskins after topping 1,000 yards on 77 catches in the previous season. Even without testing the open market, Goodwin has bested that in AAV on a multi-year deal.

No Suspension For 49ers’ Marquise Goodwin

Marquise Goodwin may have run afoul of USADA’s drug testing guidelines for Olympians, but he is in the clear as far as the NFL is concerned. The 49ers released a statement on Tuesday explaining that Goodwin will not face punishment from the league. Furthermore, Goodwin shed light on what exactly happened with the testing agency. Marquise Goodwin

Never in my life have I failed a test,” Goodwin said in a statement. “I have never been opposed to testing and, in fact, have always been compliant with each and every protocol and policy associated with my competitive career in track and field. More than a year ago, I decided to cease competing in the sport in order to concentrate 100 percent on my NFL career. Therefore, I discontinued all practices associated with competing in track and field, including submitting my ‘whereabouts’ information. It appears that because I did not inform USADA of my plans, my name was inadvertently included in their 2017 testing pool. I greatly appreciate the support of the San Francisco 49ers and the National Football League as I work to clarify this matter.

After signing a two-year deal with the 49ers in which he could make up to $8MM, Goodwin has little motivation to buck the NFL in favor of track and field. The Niners have big plans for him too and he currently profiles as the team’s No. 2 receiving option, behind Pierre Garcon and ahead of Jeremy Kerley.

With the Bills, Goodwin totaled 49 catches and six touchdowns over four seasons. He set career highs last year with 15 appearances, 29 catches, 68 targets, and 431 yards. He also matched a personal watermark with three touchdowns.