49ers vs. Saints: Darrell Luter Jr., young DTs and everything else we’re watching (Paywall)
“Sunday is Luter’s first preseason game. He struggled with knee problems last summer and sat out Saturday’s game at Tennessee with an ankle injury. This week he returned to practice, playing primarily as a left cornerback on the second team defense.
The 49ers like what they see from Luter in practice. However, he only played 64 defensive tackles as a rookie last season, most of them in the low-risk final game of the regular season against the Los Angeles Rams’ reserve team. Game replays, even in the preseason, are valuable to him.”
Kawakami: An optimistic light at the end of the 49ers’ long negotiating season
“To reiterate Shanahan’s point, the prospective new contracts for Aiyuk and Williams will have financial implications. The salary cap isn’t an issue this season, but starting in 2025 and beyond, the numbers will start to drop. And then there are those new contracts on top of that. So the 49ers may have to make sacrifices at other positions in the future, which could shorten the tenures of some well-known and highly valued players. But are any of those players likely to be more important in the future than Williams and Aiyuk are right now? And will any of those veterans be more valuable than Aiyuk many more seasons to come?
The answer to those questions is no. So a deal needs to be made with Aiyuk. It almost certainly won’t be a clear financial ‘win’ for the 49ers. But at this point, they need to win games, not negotiate.”
49ers optimistic Trent Williams’ contract dispute will end soon, says Kyle Shanahan (Paywall)
“I think we have to work out a contract thing,” Shanahan said. “And I think Trent – I haven’t talked to him – but I think we’ll be able to work that out.”
49ers training camp insights: Brock looks completely different than Purdy on Day 17
“He also had a few funny moments, including a play he described during his post-practice press conference. Purdy talked about a play called the ‘Pur-Dog,’ where he caught a pass downfield.
Purdy had a day on Thursday where the ball barely touched the ground at practice. Things didn’t go so well that day, starting with Ji’Ayir Brown’s breakup of a throw intended for Deebo Samuel.
He had a couple of plays that were uncharacteristic of Purdy. On one play, he was under pressure and backed off, throwing a pass toward the right sideline into coverage that was intercepted rather than completed.
Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir intercepted a ball while in coverage against Samuel.
Later, Purdy made his best throw of the day when he threw a beautiful long pass to Jauan Jennings against the coverage of Lenoir and safety George Odum.”
Hufanga overcomes injury hurdle and is close to returning to training with the 49ers
“Hufanga saw a specialist in Southern California on Thursday and the report was encouraging,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
“It was good,” Shanahan said. “They cleared him for the next steps, which means we can go a little harder, not on players, but more football stuff, dynamic cuts and everything.
“Hopefully he has a really good week and we can talk about slowly getting him back into training.”
Report: Aiyuk wants an adjustment to the 49ers’ contract offer in the last year
“They have significantly revised upward their offer from the spring. My understanding is that they are largely in agreement for the first three years of the contract, which is usually the difficult part. That is the guarantee, the cash flow, the APY in the first couple of years, the average per year, and that Aiyuk only wants … an adjustment in the last year of the contract, which is not guaranteed.
“This year is never guaranteed and we saw a lot of wide receivers and agents put big numbers into the year last year to inflate the yearly average. That doesn’t sound like it, but that’s exactly what we want. There’s a more meaningful adjustment for this year, but it’s still not guaranteed and something the 49ers could walk away from. That’s where the stalemate is right now. I’ve called it uncomfortable and contentious at times. I think it still is, but it’s really close to being finalized. That’s why the 49ers said, ‘We’re not going to do anything and trade him away because we feel like we could still get this deal done.'”
Lynch: 49ers feel ‘urgency’ to complete Brandon Aiyuk deal
“It’s been a long, arduous, hard process, a hard journey,” 49ers general manager John Lynch told San Francisco radio station KNBR on Friday. “We started so early and for some reason we couldn’t get it across the finish line. That was frustrating. But communication with Brandon and his agent has still been very good and we’re trying to find a solution.”
“I’m always hopeful. I’m an optimistic person by nature, so I always hope we can do it and soon. I can tell you, we feel the urgency to have him. The season is getting closer.”
Deebo believes Aiyuk will be on the 49ers roster this season
“Can we win a Super Bowl without (Aiyuk)? I think (Aiyuk) is going to be a part of this team, so we don’t have to worry about that,” Samuel told host Kay Adams.”
49ers hope Banks will be fit for Week 1 after breaking his finger
“The 49ers’ offensive line at Friday’s practice consisted of left tackle Jaylon Moore, left guard Nick Zakelj, center Jake Brendel, right guard Dominick Puni and right tackle Colton McKivitz.”
Why 49ers receiver Chris Conley is perhaps the most interesting man in the NFL (Paywall)
“Christina, a recently retired English teacher of 38 years, emphasized education and faith with Chris and his two siblings, and her perspective was shaped by her past. A former hurdler at Alabama State University, she had seen others in her family get a free pass because of their athletic ability, which sometimes led to problems after they played their last game.
“It didn’t matter if they could read, write or do anything else,” Christina said. “If they could run, if they could catch a ball or throw a ball, they were put on a sports team, regardless of the future… I didn’t want Chris to put all his capital into that sports basket. Because he had a brain.”
Conley, 31, has been in the NFL for nine years and has caught 220 balls in his career, but he is much more than that.
Conley is a comic book fan and guitarist who earned a 3.9 GPA at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia, where he was a three-time All-State chorister. At the University of Georgia, he wrote, directed and starred in the Star Wars-based film “Retribution,” and used the social media tag “#CallingAllNerds” to call for students to be extras.
Now an NFL player with a SAG card, Conley was a finalist for college football’s Wuerffel Trophy, awarded to the player who best combines community service with athletic and academic achievement. He has been a stuntman on “The Equalizer,” a CBS action/thriller series, and on “The Thunderbolts,” a Marvel film set to be released in 2025.
This summer, Conley shot and edited “Lucille,” a short film he wrote a few years ago about a grieving man. After post-production, “Lucille” will be screened at film festivals.”
