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Latest On 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo

August 8th, 2022 at 9:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Jimmy Garoppolo continues to practice on the sideline as the 49ers front office continues to seek a trade for the veteran QB. However, assuming a trade doesn’t materialize, the 49ers may be willing to wait until the last second to move on from their former starter. Per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers may wait to release Garoppolo to prevent him from acclimating with a new team…particularly the Seahawks.

Garoppolo’s contract doesn’t become guaranteed unless he’s on the roster for the first game of the 2022 campaign. As a result, the 49ers could truly wait until the Tuesday before their season opener to release the QB, allowing the organization to create an immediate cap savings of $25.55MM. If they release Garoppolo between September 6 and September 10, they’d owe him a game check worth $1.34MM, which is still a minor fee to prevent him from immediately going to, say, a division rival.

As Barrows notes, the last thing the 49ers want to do is release Garoppolo, watch him sign with the Seahawks, and allow him to “get acclimated and become the starter early in the season.” For what it’s worth, the 49ers play the Seahawks in Week 2. Assuming Garoppolo is released before Week 1, there would still be a week for the QB to prepare for a start with Seattle. However, in this scenario, there’s a better chance Seattle rolls out one of Geno Smith or Drew Lock for that division showdown.

If a deal doesn’t materialize, could the 49ers look to rework Garoppolo’s contract instead of cutting him? Unlikely, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, who could only envision the 49ers committing to the QB if Trey Lance or Nate Sudfeld suffer an injury. Garoppolo has one year remaining on his contract, with a non-guaranteed salary of just over $24MM.

While it isn’t much of a surprise, it sounds like the quarterback has mentally moved on from San Francisco. According Barrows, Garoppolo was offered the chance by the 49ers to attend meetings with his fellow QBs, but he declined. Throughout this ordeal, there haven’t been any hints of tension between the two sides, and Garoppolo’s decision to stay away from meetings makes sense when he could better spend his time physically preparing for the upcoming season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/22

August 5th, 2022 at 7:04pm CST by Ely Allen

Here’s today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Will Dissly Received Extensive FA Interest

August 5th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks‘ Will Dissly contract — a three-year, $24MM deal featuring nearly $16MM in total guarantees — surprised most, but the injury-prone tight end indeed generated interest outside of Seattle. The Broncos and Buccaneers were two of Dissly’s other suitors, according to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, who detailed the former fourth-round pick’s path to that $8MM-per-year contract. Dissly, who experienced early-career injuries and put up light receiving statistics in his two healthy years (45 receptions, 482 yards since 2020), was both concerned about his free agency value and wondering if he would need to wait a bit into free agency for teams to take care of higher-priority players, Jude adds. But Dissly struck a deal on Day 1 of the legal tampering period, re-signing with a Seahawks team that had acquired Noah Fant days earlier.

A reunion with Russell Wilson in Denver was on the table, per Jude, who notes another offer Dissly received was “in the ballpark” of what Seattle proposed. At least six teams expressed interest as well, though it sounds like the Broncos were the Seahawks’ top competitor here. But the team, valuing Dissly as a blocker, made the Washington alum a priority. The Broncos drafted Greg Dulcich in Round 3 a month later.

Seahawks Not Planning To Sign Reuben Foster

August 4th, 2022 at 3:16pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The Seahawks‘ Reuben Foster workout does not look to signal an immediate signing, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. This appears to be a case of the Seahawks kicking the tires on the former first-round pick. Foster has not played in a game since the 2018 season. Although Washington claimed the once-high-profile linebacker during the 2018 season, he never played a down for the team. An ACL tear during Washington’s 2019 offseason program led the Alabama product out of the league. However, the Seahawks are the fifth team to work out Foster since his Washington contract expired following the 2020 season. The Jets, Jaguars, Browns and Dolphins have also brought him in.
  • Former Jets quarterback James Morgan also worked out for the Seahawks, auditioning Thursday. The team, which is holding a long-scrutinized Geno Smith–Drew Lock competition, is not planning an immediate Morgan signing, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. A Green Bay native, Morgan, 25, also worked out for the Packers recently.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/22

August 1st, 2022 at 6:40pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the first minor moves of August:

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from active/PUP list: WR KJ Hamler

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

The Lions’ new running back, Jackson, has found a second home after playing out his rookie contract in Los Angeles. The former seventh-round pick out of Northwestern spent his time with the Chargers backing up starting running back Austin Ekeler, earning a few starts during Ekeler’s more injury-riddled periods. Despite not receiving many touches, Jackson has made the most of each one averaging 5.0 yards per carry during his four-year career in the NFL to total 1,040 rushing yards and four touchdowns, adding 508 yards receiving on 65 receptions. Jackson will compete with Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson for the reserve positions behind the top-two backs, D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.

Pete Carroll Tests Positive For COVID-19

August 1st, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals and Seahawks respectively announced Kyler Murray and Pete Carroll tested positive for COVID-19. While coronavirus protocols are absent to start training camp, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes the league in June informed teams anyone who tests positive must isolate for five days (Twitter link). Carroll, 70, is experiencing mild symptoms, according to the Seahawks, who add he will continue to participate in meetings virtually. As for Murray, he will not be required to be moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list. After two years of use, the NFL did away with the virus list this offseason. Murray will remain on the roster but away from the team.

Seahawks Work Out LB Reuben Foster

July 31st, 2022 at 10:32am CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks will work out free agent linebacker Reuben Foster today, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Foster has not seen game action since the 2018 season.

A first-round pick of the 49ers back in 2017, Foster lived up to his billing in his first professional season, appearing in 10 games (all starts) and racking up 72 total tackles en route to a third-place finish in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Pro Football Focus was especially fond of his performance and assigned him a terrific 81.2 overall score, including high marks for his work as a run stopper and in coverage.

Things began to go south in 2018, however. Foster was arrested three times that year, and after the third arrest in November 2018 — which stemmed from a domestic violence charge — the 49ers waived him. Washington made the highly controversial decision to claim him off waivers, and he spent the remainder of the campaign on the commissioner’s exempt list.

In January 2019, Florida prosecutors dropped the November charge due to insufficient evidence, and Foster was reinstated several months later. It seemed the Alabama product would have a chance to reestablish himself as a frontline ‘backer in the nation’s capital, but in his first practice with Washington, Foster suffered a torn ACL, LCL, and MCL. He also dealt with nerve damage that left him without feeling in his toes for several months. He missed all of the 2019 season, and though he finally returned to the practice field in August 2020, it was clear that he was not anywhere close to his old self, and he spent all of 2020 on IR.

Foster took a few workouts last September and also auditioned for the Dolphins this April, but he remains on the open market. The Seahawks currently have 2020 first-rounder Jordyn Brooks penciled in as their middle linebacker without much proven depth behind him, so it can’t hurt to see if their former division rival still has anything to offer.

NFL Injury Updates: Woods, Patrick, Adams, Stingley

July 30th, 2022 at 2:17pm CST by Ely Allen

With Tennessee trading wide receiver A.J. Brown during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft in order to select Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks, the Titans will now look to former Bills and Rams wide receiver Robert Woods to serve as the team’s No. 1 receiving option. This puts lots of pressure on Woods as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in practice last November. 

While Woods was acquired for a sixth-round pick and Burks was acquired with a first (via the Brown-trade), Woods nine years as a starter and veteran experience places him atop the depth chart over the rookie, Burks, for now. Woods had been experiencing a run of the best football of his career over the last four years. Since 2018, Woods has recorded season receiving totals of 1,219 yards, 1,134 yards, and 936 yards, all higher than any totals from his first five years in the league. He also reached six receiving touchdowns twice in that span, setting new career highs there, as well. At a pace of 61.78 receiving yards per game before his injury last year, Woods was set for his third 1,000-yard season in four years, and, with five total touchdowns, was on pace to set a new career high in scoring, as well.

The good news is that Woods has been full-go at Titans camp so far this month, according to Ben Arthur of The Tennessean. Not only is Woods out there taking live reps at practice, but he’s using the off-periods to work with quarterback Ryan Tannehill on timing and chemistry.

“It’s strong enough. It’s repaired. It’s healed,” Woods said in regards to his knee. “So my mentality going out here and practicing is push it and go. You almost want to like push it to the limit and see what you can do and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NFL this preseason, starting with an update out of the Windy City:

  • It appears that Bears center Lucas Patrick will require surgery on his right hand, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The former Packer is expected to start for new Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, as he did during their time together in Green Bay. While surgery will take him out of the lineup for a few weeks, the hope is that, by treating it this early in training camp, Patrick will be able to possibly return before the season opener.
  • While it was originally expected that Seahawks safety Jamal Adams would miss time while dealing with previous hand injuries, further reports reveal that he is expected to return to practice soon, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Adams has been dealing with finger injuries for quite some time and, recently, broke a finger when it got stuck in a helmet during practice. Any surgery that may be required will be pushed to the offseason and, for now, he will return to the field “with a club and a special cast for games.”
  • The Texans’ No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., is attempting to bounce back from nagging injuries that limited him to only 10 games of action in his final two years of college. Houston was impressed enough with his freshman year numbers of six interceptions and 21 passes defensed to make him the first cornerback off the board from an impressive group of defensive backs. They also are hoping his injury woes have ended as head coach Lovie Smith said he expects the 21-year-old to be ready for the regular season opener, according to Mark Berman of Fox Sports.

G J.R. Sweezy To Retire With Seahawks

July 29th, 2022 at 3:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:48pm: This agreement may not be for Sweezy to give it another go in Seattle. Not long after signing K.J. Wright to a ceremonial deal to let him retire as a Seahawk, the organization is doing the same for Sweezy, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets.

Part of the draft class that included Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson, Sweezy served as a regular on a Seahawks O-line that helped move Wilson toward the Hall of Fame track and give Marshawn Lynch a career-defining second act. Behind 1,200-plus-yard seasons from Lynch, the Seahawks ranked as a top-10 offense from 2012-14. Being part of this group helped Sweezy eventually top $30MM in career earnings.

3:31pm: J.R. Sweezy has not played since the 2020 season, but the former Seahawks draftee is going home. The Seahawks will give the veteran guard another chance, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

This stands to be Sweezy’s third Seattle stint. He arrived as a 2012 seventh-round pick and, after his Buccaneers free agent deal did not pan out, wound up back with his original team in 2018. The Seahawks let Sweezy walk in 2019, and he ended up starting two seasons with the Cardinals.

Sweezy, 33, caught on with the Saints in 2021 but did not make their 53-man roster. Despite Sweezy having missed two full seasons since 2016, the prior one because of injury, he has made 104 career starts. Sixty-four of those have come with the Seahawks, who deployed him as a first-stringer during each of their Super Bowl campaigns.

A starter in both Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl XLIX, Sweezy commanded a five-year, $32.5MM deal from the Bucs in 2016. An injury wiped out his first Tampa Bay season, and the Bucs eventually moved on after the 2017 slate.

The Seahawks used Sweezy as a starter again in 2018, after giving him a one-year deal worth just $1.5MM. He parlayed Seahawks stint No. 2 into a two-year, $9MM Cardinals pact and was part of the team’s first two Kyler Murray-protecting O-lines. Considering Sweezy’s full-season absence in 2021, his latest Seahawks agreement is likely at or close to the veteran minimum.

Injury Updates: Packers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Colts, Giants

July 28th, 2022 at 10:03pm CST by Ben Levine

Packers second-round wide receiver Christian Watson was placed on the PUP before training camp opened, and ESPN’s Rob Demovsky writes that the rookie could miss a chunk of training camp. Watson continues to recover from minor knee surgery that took place following minicamp.

“I think there was kind of a thought process [of] do you want to try to push through the season and finish this after the (2022) season or should we just go ahead and do it now?” said Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said. “And we just did it now. So he’ll miss a little bit of time in camp, but it’s nothing long term.

“When we invest what we invested in Christian, we’re obviously looking out for the long term. We always do. He’s a young player who’s got a big career ahead of him, so we want to make sure we protect that. It’ll be how he responds through the rehab. As soon as he’s ready, we’ll get him out there.”

The Packers used the No. 34 pick on the rookie wideout. This naturally led to high expectations for the wideout, especially with Davante Adams out of the picture. The rookie has had only three opportunities to practice with Aaron Rodgers, and the wideout will miss out on chances to click with his QB during the early parts of training camp.

More injury notes from around the NFL…

  • Seahawks safety Jamal Adams underwent left shoulder surgery for the second-straight year, but he also underwent multiple finger surgeries during the offseason. Adams will be sidelined for “some time” while he gets his previously-injured hand checked out, coach Pete Carroll told ESPN’s Brady Henderson (Twitter link). “Yesterday his hand just wasn’t right, so he’s getting some opinions about it,” the coach said.
  • Jaguars running back James Robinson didn’t start training camp on PUP, but he won’t be a full participant right away, tweets ESPN’s Michael DiRocco (on Twitter). The hope is that Robinson will be fully cleared to participate in games by mid-August, meaning he could be active for the start of the regular season. Robinson tore his Achilles in Week 16 of the 2021 campaign, putting his early-season availability in doubt. Meanwhile, DiRocco notes that linebacker Devin Lloyd tweaked his hamstring during a conditioning test and will be sidelined for a few days.
  • Colts All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard (previously Darius Leonard) was placed on PUP following offseason back surgery. The intent of the procedure was to relieve pressure on nerves in his back, and there was hope the surgery would also improve “functionality issues” in his left leg. Fortunately, Leonard said he immediately noticed a positive difference following the operation, and he said he’s focused on his rehab as training camp starts. “I’m not putting a timetable on it, but when I’m ready, you’ll see me on the field after that,” Leonard said (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star). “I’m ready to continue with my rehab, I’m happy with where I’m at right now, and hopefully we’ll continue to go forward with this process.”
  • Giants wideout Sterling Shepard was placed on PUP as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles. According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the goal is for Shepard to be ready for the start of the regular season, but it’s still unclear if the receiver will be ready by then. Offensive lineman Nick Gates is also on PUP as he recovers from a lower-leg fracture suffered last September. Duggan passes along that coach Brian Daboll was “surprisingly optimistic” about the status of the OL, revealing that there’s no guarantee that Gates will be forced to miss any time.
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