We’re back with another mailbag, and WOW! We had a lot of questions this week. Apologies, I can’t answer them all. I do appreciate everyone participating. Seems like we have a lot of questions about the 2025 San Francisco 49ers.
As always, head to the feed when I drop the mailbag post and get your questions in there. I’ll answer a few on the next Golden Fool (which is right here).
Ok, onto your questions:
Now that the trade deadline is passed, will JL sign a FA? Will JL poach a player from a PS ?
—Seb
The trade deadline has passed and our D-line needs are still significant. Do you see the Niners pursuing other teams’ practice squad players? Will we sign a free agent or two?
—Flydyl
Well, the 49ers are looking at cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., with a meeting planned for the following Monday. And I doubt they stop there. While the trade deadline is over, the team still has a half-season of football left, and injuries are not anyone’s friend. There will be some poaches or free agent signings at some point.
Getting other practice squad players COULD happen. Since the 49ers have to open roster spots (something they might have a lot of if these injuries continue), they may want to develop some players in Santa Clara. And the bonus is that those practice squad players can get gameday experience.
The 49ers will likely limit transactions the rest of the way to preserve cap space.
Why isn’t Tatum Bethune getting the credit he deserves? He’s been playing way beyond what almost everyone expected.
—49ers1981
Darn it, 49ers1981. The plan was NOT to give him credit, so he doesn’t get poached. But now, since you had to talk about his awesomeness, that plan is out the window.
I’m kidding. Bethune is the 49ers’ new version of Azeez Al-Shaair. That’s the problem, Bethune is having a career similar to Azeez Al-Shaair. One where he’s fighting with Dee Winters and…uh…Fred Warner for playing time. The latter is injured, which allows Bethune to shine, but when Warner gets back into the thick of things, where does Bethune go? Do they put him into Winters’ spot (AKA: The Dre Greenlaw role) or does he sit?
Bethune is under contract until 2027, so the 49ers have a couple more years with him. It’s safe to say he’s no Fred Warner —, and that’s not a knock on Bethune, it’s just how good Fred Warner is. The defense has been severely weakened by all the injuries —not just Fred Warner —but Bethune has been awful in no way. He’s played exceptionally well despite a few mistakes.
I see a lot of people freaking out over the lack of trades by SF. As much as it pains some people to admit, the injury gods have dealt this team a fatal blow this season. Do you think it was a year to burn future draft picks for big money rentals or lick our wounds and try and use that capital for the future?
—bigtime22
I’ve been saying this for a while: there was absolutely no reason to burn future draft capital on one-year rentals and/or players that had two years left, and the 49ers would be giving them a massive contract. The 49ers are trying to get their salary cap under control, and the last thing they want to do is bring in additional expensive players who would circumvent it.
As I’ve said, the 49ers are not a single piece away from a Super Bowl. And a huge trade like that doesn’t change anything for this team at this point. Smaller trades don’t help either for the same reason; they only burn future draft capital on players the 49ers can get on cheaper contracts. When you make a trade—or at least a big trade that we all want—you are trading for someone with a shorter contract, and either has a massive salary in place or will need more money in a year or two. That’s how you enter salary cap hell, and that’s also how you ruin the future of a football team.
So with that in mind, I look at it this way: This is probably the best thing to happen to the rookies and second-year players. Give them game experience, see what they can do in these adverse conditions, see what you got, so all those draft picks you saved up in 2025 can be used on the positions that need them. I doubt the 49ers need another linebacker until a later round unless they can get Dee Winters extended (his contract is up in 2026). Connor Colby? There’s a lovely extended look of him as a rookie to see if he’s got enough to make it as an unquestioned starter next year, or for the 49ers to draft a guard.
If they’d made trades, we wouldn’t have this developmental data. The 49ers are in their first year of a rebuild and are 6-3. I’d say that’s almost like playing on house money. Almost.
So, the injuries. Did you buy jerseys of every player on the Team?
In all seriousness, what sort of steps should the 49ers take in the future to reduce the number of injuries? I get this is a violent game and injuries happen, but this year has been really bad.
—Ak4niner
Ahhh, the former president of the General’s Bandwagon. Those were the days. I only have a George Kittle and Fred Warner jersey.
*Pat looks at what he just wrote and thinks about it*
So the steps. I know during preseason, the question was why they weren’t stretching or stretching certain body parts. Whatever. That’s only what we see on the field. While I’m not too hot on the 49ers’ strength and conditioning department, I’m more inclined to think it’s a mismatch between training philosophy and player workload, not incompetence — especially with Stanford’s sports medicine program down the street.
I think the steps the 49ers need to take are to diagnose issues better before they become bigger problems. I again bring up Nick Bosa’s ACL tear. That is a freak accident that no one can control, but the context of it can be applied to all the injuries.
If you recall, Bosa limped off the field, gave the thumbs down, and the 49ers thought it wasn’t an ACL. It wasn’t ruled out, but initial tests indicated it wasn’t. Bosa said he knew he tore it the moment it happened. Next day, torn ACL. Now, replace ACL with something like a groin or hamstring. How are they diagnosing that? Is a player complaining of tightness, pain, etc., and they say “nah, you’re good” and roll him out when maybe he should be given the day off or at least a half-day? Is the extra stress from not doing so what causes these hamstring issues, pulled muscles, etc.?
Remember, a lot of this is just bad luck. That’s not the answer anyone wants, but it just happens. I don’t know what you do to prevent an ACL tear besides calling in sick the day your team plays at MetLife Stadium. I don’t know what you do with these numerous hamstring issues. All I’m saying is, is there a different philosophy or practice, and maybe a more conservative approach to injuries, that lets the 49ers recover better and avoid all these trips to the bench during the season?
I imagine something will change in the offseason. I just don’t know what. I’m not a doctor.
What do you think are the chances we can hold onto Saleh for another year? I think he’s done a pretty great job considering all the defensive injuries and young players to coach up, but perhaps he won’t shine as much as he would have to those outside the Niners?
—BullyBaller
Not good. Robert Saleh wants to be a head coach. The New York Jets are a disaster and a terrible barometer to gauge how he’d do at his next stop.
That said, it’s a matter of teams and draft positioning. If the new head coaches are getting quarterbacks in the first 10 picks, a GM might want an offense-minded coach to develop that quarterback rather than someone with a defensive mind who has an offensive coordinator gone in a year (See Smith, Alex).
Saleh has also been with the Jets. So I don’t think he’d take the next head coaching job after that experience. That’s just my own observations from what I read.
Saleh’s defenses have been filthy off the Niners, and I imagine there would be no difference wherever he goes.
The good news is, the 49ers may be able to transition to Gus Bradley should that happen. It’s not set in stone or anything, nor is it what is expected, but if Saleh leaves, the 49ers can put Bradley in that seat, and it won’t be another Steve Wilks or Nick Sorensen. I hope anyway.
This video by Matt Maiocco explains things far more eloquently and succinctly than I ever could.