Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Saturday, March 29th, 2025
Schefter provides recovery update, potential return timeline for 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk
““Nobody wants to take on the contract when you don’t know when the guy is going to be healthy again this season,” Schefter said. “But from what I understand, Dr. Neal ElAttrache is pleased with his progress. He’s coming along.”
Schefter shared a rough timeline for Aiyuk’s potential return to the field.
“I would think he’s ready to play by mid-season, and there might be a team out there that is willing to basically not give up very much to get a great player who’s coming off the injury.
“But the point is, if that trade doesn’t materialize by Tuesday of next week, it’s not happening at all because the 49ers aren’t going to pay a $23 million roster bonus, and then wind up dealing him this summer before the trade deadline. Just not going to happen.”
Ben Bartch and 6 other little-known 49ers who could have big roles in 2025 (paywall)
“We’ve listed them as a pair because we suspect they’ll spend the spring and summer competing for the left guard spot Aaron Banks manned the last three seasons.
Bartch, 26, might go in with the edge. He has more experience, having started 20 NFL games over his career (versus two starts for Zakelj), including a strong Week 13 start in place of injured Banks last season. And offensive line coach Chris Foerster said last season that Bartch was a bit better suited for guard while Zakelj, 25, was the slightly better center of the two.
Zakelj, however, handled himself well in his two end-of-season starts at left guard despite spending most of his practice time at center during the season.
“He’s made growth from his first to second year and developed into a good backup center, and now he’s showing that he can play guard, as well,” right tackle Colton McKivitz noted after Zakelj’s first start, which came against the Detroit Lions on “Monday Night Football.” “And he did it in a big, prime-time game. To be able to do that and also be able to swing in at center — it’s gotta be reassuring for him and for the front office, too.”
The 49ers haven’t added any outside offensive linemen in free agency. If they don’t make any significant moves at guard, it’s likely that Bartch or Zakelj will be the Week 1 starter at left guard and the other will be the top backup at the position.”
49ers showing pre-draft interest in Texas Tech TE Jalin Conyers
“I can do whatever is asked of me. I can run a five-yard route in the red zone and get open for my quarterback. If you want to throw me a jump ball, I’m more than capable of climbing the ladder.
“If you need me to win one-on-one against a safety or linebacker in the open field, I can do that as well. I think I bring a lot of traits to the table. I give my quarterback a lot of options in the passing game as a safety net for him.”
“McMillon (6-1, 203) spent two seasons at Florida before transferring to Pitt in 2023. Last season, he played in 13 games with 12 starts, posting a career-high 115 tackles (one for a loss), while logging one interception, a forced fumble, and eight passes defensed, per Sports Reference. Over his two years at Pitt, he recorded 220 total tackles, leading the team in tackles each season.”
“Steve Young, I think, was the first guy that I met, and just absolutely awesome,” Purdy said on the Built 4 More podcast. “We sat down, did a little podcast thing for the Niners. But the wisdom that he gave me out of the podcast, just in terms of handling the offense and processing, he’s like, ‘That’s the it factor.’ It’s not anything else.
“And he goes, ‘If you can continue to push yourself, with processing plays and defenses and all that kind of stuff mentally, that’s what separated all of us, from Joe to me to all the other guys. And so, awesome guy……And then Joe, I think I met on the field before the Chiefs [game] one time, during a regular-season game,” Purdy recalled. “And I was just starstruck. I just couldn’t even believe that that was Joe Montana. My dad grew up watching this guy and all the Super Bowls that he brought to San Francisco. Very humble, humble guy, not about himself.”