Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
Taylor Jr. cherishes 49ers opportunity after challenging NFL journey
“The Packers waived him at the end of the following training camp. He quickly worked his way from the practice squad to Green Bay’s 53-man roster. Taylor found a role as one of the Packers’ core special-teams contributors.
“The biggest obstacle I overcame to get to this point was all the hard work, as far as the injuries I had in college,” he said. “Hurting my foot and having the Lisfranc injury in college and coming out and going undrafted in the NFL, being cut, getting signed and going through all that heartache.
“I feel like all of that prepared me to where I am today.”
49ers RB Patrick Taylor to make first career start Sunday after years of waiting (paywall)
“However, Taylor played on several special-teams units in college and that experience allowed him to play three seasons (2021-23) with the Packers before he signed with the 49ers in April. Taylor has played 387 special-teams snaps and 366 offense snaps in his career and credits former Memphis head coach Mike Norvell for his ability to stick in the league.
“Coach Norvell harped on that a lot in college as far as me being able to play special teams to possibly make (an NFL) team,” Taylor said. “I took that to heart and that’s what I’ve done to this point.”
Taylor has averaged 3.9 yards on 79 carries in his career and has 50 yards on 14 attempts with a touchdown this season. He’ll be backed up Sunday by Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who will be activated from the practice squad Saturday, and Israel Abanikanda, who was claimed off waivers from the Jets on Dec. 3.”
Why Dre Greenlaw’s return gave the 49ers’ defense its swagger back (paywall)
“It’s notable that Greenlaw, the defensive tone-setter, was replaced during his absence by De’Vondre Campbell, 31, who was suspended by the 49ers on Monday for refusing to play after Greenlaw was forced to leave against the Rams.
The difference in ability between Greenlaw and Campbell, who was signed in March, is a reason why the 49ers are ranked 15th in the NFL in rushing defense, which would be their lowest ranking since 2017. But their different mindsets highlight what Greenlaw said he noticed was lacking during a season in which team captains such as running back Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams have missed significant time.
Greenlaw said having such players sidelined was a reason the 49ers lacked some of their customary collective grit.
“When you’ve got a lot of new guys, and you’ve got a lot of young guys, they’re continuing to buy into the culture,” Greenlaw said. “And sometimes you’re going to make mistakes. Sometimes you don’t know the standard. Sometimes when you’re new and you’ve never seen it, or you’re young, you don’t really know what to expect.”
The expectation is that the 49ers will make a strong push to retain Greenlaw, whose market could be slightly depressed because he has missed 34 of 97 games due to injuries. Still, Greenlaw could elevate his asking price with more transformative performances in the final three-regular season games.”
Lynch remains confident in Purdy despite 49ers’ rocky season
“We have a lot of confidence in Brock. One of the things we love about him is his resiliency and his ability to come back after tough snaps, tough games. I think our whole team, that will be tested this year. We all got to do this together. We got to figure outthe reasons where things went wrong, we got to have some good fortune in terms of staying healthy. First and foremost we got to focus on Miami and finish out this year. We’ll be fighting and trying to scratch and claw for every win, whether it has playoff implications or not, because that’s what we’re paid to do and that’s who we are.”
Shanahan dismisses Purdy’s recent self-critique about competitiveness
“No,” Shanahan said when asked if he talked with Purdy about playing with a chip on his shoulder. “I heard about it because I had a radio show yesterday and they asked me about Brock saying he’s going to play with more of a chip on his shoulder. And so, that was the only thing I heard about it. He has as big of a chip on his shoulder as any player I’ve been around, so that throws me off. He’s probably just trying to answer a question and come up with something to say for you guys. But, Brock plays as hard and competitive as anyone I’ve been around.”
49ers activate Graham to replace suspended Campbell for Dolphins game
“San Francisco also elevated running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn and defensive lineman Alex Barrett from the practice squad to be available to play against the Dolphins.”