Greg Bedard has worked on the beat for the Dolphins, Packers and Patriots for more than a decade in several publications, including Sports Illustrated and Boston Globe. Bedard currently covers the Patriots on a website he founded, called the Boston Sports Journal.
Earlier this week, Bedard said the ideal situation for the Patriots for the 2021 season is for Jimmy Garoppolo to be the starter. Here is the full four-minute video:
Bedard said Patriots fans should hope the 49ers make a change as a defender, as Garoppolo cannot play for New England if he is still under the center in San Francisco. Bedard also weighs who wears his pants in the front office of the 49ers, Teddy Bridgewater as Niner, what kind of quarterback Kyle Shanahan prefers and more in the video above.
Why the 49ers signed again with Ross Dwelley – Cohn
And Dwelley did extremely well as a replacement for Kittle. Check out these numbers: Dwelley averaged 12.9 yards per catch in 2020, and Kittle averaged 13.2. Dwelley averaged 5.6 yards after receiving, and Kittle averaged 6.2. And Dwelley took 79.2% of his targets, while Kittle took 76.2%.
Dwelley made an admirable impression of Kittle and improved tremendously in the process. And Dwelley still has room to grow. He just turned 26 in January and could become much more involved in the passing game next season if Kyle Juszczyk and / or Kendrick Bourne sign with another agency.
Will Jimmy Garoppolo return to the Patriots? – Florio
In any case, 49ers is certainly looking discreetly for an update. Why not? Of all positions, except kicker and bettor, defenders like rules that maximize their ability to stay healthy. Garoppolo failed to do this.
He also failed to do that in New England, which makes the Patriots’ interest in handing him the keys to the crime a little confusing. Garoppolo had a four-game test in 2016 during Brady’s #Deflategate suspension, and Garoppolo was injured in the second game.
It is also impossible to forget the fact that Garoppolo’s performance in a divisional round victory against the Vikings in January 2020 scared coach Kyle Shanahan enough to take the ball out of Garoppolo’s hands, running hard for the rest of the victory over Minnesota and making Garoppolo look like Bob Griese in the NFC championship, with just eight passes thrown in the 37-20 win over the Packers.
Sorting 49ers offseason needs – SI
1) Cornerback
This is a no-brainer. The 49ers currently have zero cornerbacks who started a game for them under contract for 2021. To make the situation even more dire, in addition to Emmanuel Moseley, all 2020 beginners are unrestricted free agents, which means that the 49ers will need to outperform other teams for your services.
Look for 49ers to add at least one cornerback through the free agency and another through the initial part of the draft.
49ers NFL Draft: 4 teams that could trade for 12th overall choice
49ers Trading Partner No. 4: Chicago Bears
The Bears are passing quarterback Mitchell Trubisky this off-season. And after yet another lackluster offensive season in Chicago, coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace will be under the microscope towards 2021. If there was a time to be aggressive, it probably involved a move to get one of the big names in one terribly top-heavy quarterbacking class, it is now.
Chicago has each of its choices from Round 1 to 3, then the selections from the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. It would take at least one choice in the first and second round for San Francisco to be interested. And maybe Lynch would be able to squeeze out another choice in the middle of the round in 2022 to add to the array while taking advantage of Nagy and Pace’s desperation.
Why Louis Riddick prefers Justin Fields to Mac Jones for the 49ers attack
“Look, I love Justin Fields, I just think Justin Fields would be perfect in the same kind of scenario as Trey Lance, so for San Francisco, I think it would make more sense,” said Riddick on Friday in “Get Up”.
Given the success the 49ers had with Garoppolo in the totally healthy season he gave the franchise, fans should be confident that whoever lines up for the center in Week 1 next fall will be in good hands with Shanahan and new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel .