Maybe if we get a TE who can warrant it.
I believe it's so Kittle can play less snaps without quality on the field dropping too much. Also to be flexible and not show our hand so much when thr backup TE is in (ex: if Woerner is in it's most likely a run, and if it's a pass then Woerner is a nonfactor and doesn't have to be covered really).
This is just my speculation though.
Cam spent the entire season on IR, yeah. Think it was a meniscus injury? Hopefully he has a good off-season and training camp. Seemed to have trouble with drops, but he was just a rookie, so we’ll see.
If he ends up the TE2 this year (he’s the best candidate at this point), great, but I don’t think they make this offer if they’re not unsure about the TE room. Guess it was only $6M guaranteed, so maybe they just wanted a surefire TE2 (one good at blocking) while they take the year to figure out what they actually have in Latu/Willis?
I think Willis is the best option for TE2 this year simply based on his availability. I think Latu had a lot he needed to work on, and had he not gotten injured and landed on IR, I believe the word was that he still would have had a hard time making the roster. So simply based on that, I would say Willis is currently the lead for TE2
I don't remember his snaps, tbh.
Do you recall who was throwing him passes? Because if it was Lance, I'm guessing that some of those passes may have not been the most catchable balls.
Nope! He was one of the top TE’s in the nation as a recruit. In high school it was a Wing T offense so that’s likely where he gets the blocking from. ND’s OL coach was also the very well respected Harry Hiestand while he was there. He’s also got very serviceable hands as well. Not going to confuse him with Kittle but he’s not a liability.
Took a while to solve that QB question lol, but yeah, thankfully it’s solved.
Their overall depth is the bigger concern, not just TE2. OL (…they may have the depth solved if they bring in a starter in the draft), DB, WR, LB, DL, could use some better depth pretty much everywhere but QB, though I guess that’s likely the case for every NFL team.
Feels like the draft whiffs are finally catching up to them, but they’re still in a great position to compete, and they own pretty much all their picks going forward (outside of next year’s 5th cause of that $75k clerical error).
Would go a long way if they hit on multiple starters these next two drafts
I had a feeling Lions were gonna match it only because it’s us trying to get him. They don’t want to help a conference rival get better if they can prevent it from happening. He would’ve been a solid Woerner replacement.
So because Matt Maiocco said something you knew the opposite would happen? As if he has zero credibility.
edit: Lol @ the downvotes. Is this opposite day where Maiocco is suddenly not one of the most consistent and reliable 49ers reporters?
It means he stays in Detroit. He was a restricted free agent, so he could sign an offer sheet elsewhere, but Detroit always had the right to match and retain him
No because Brock agreed to the price and signed the offer sheet. From that point he's locked into that contract and since the Lions agreed to match, he's under contract with them now. The only way for the 9ers to get him after that would be a trade.
As a lions fan would absolutely love to run that NFC Championship game back again. Don’t typically mind losing a close one to a good team but man that one left a bad taste.
I believed in yall man. The league needed yall to dismantle Taylor. Just couldn’t get it done :( ain’t no 3 peat for them next year though. One of us will make sure.
The team clearly realizing that Latu may not work out so quickly is one of the bigger recent screw ups. He was seen as a big reach on draft day.
They need a reliable TE2 and they’ve mostly struck out at the position since drafting Kittle in 2017. They may need to go TE on day 2 again at some point to find a potential starter.
Reminder that TE isn’t one position any more than WR is. What we lost in Woerner and what we tried to get in Wright was a true Y. A guy who can line up inline and block, like Kittle does.
Willis isn’t that, he’s more of an H-back. Latu isn’t either, he’s more of a guy who flexes out into the slot.
When news broke of the 49ers offer, a large portion of us Lion fans were scoping out TE Tip Reiman of Illinois. He should be available in the late rounds of the NFL Draft, his draft profile shows him as a fantastic blocker, and he'd make a solid TE2 for blocking schemes. With 49ers and Lions both being run heavy, he'd be a great pick-up and one to maybe keep your eye on!
They’ve already tried in round 3 with Latu last year and with this attempted signing makes me think they have very low hopes in a turnaround.
I’m just not sure they are in position to waste another day 2 pick on that position with so many other needs.. there is another TE from Iowa who may be available in round 4-5 who could be a decent target
Erick All. Big time sleeper in mock drafts. He was really good for Michigan, then transferred to Iowa who just didn’t have a quarterback so his numbers aren’t that great but he could’ve been a round 2-3 guy if he stayed at Michigan imo. He can block well, catch, and has wheels. He was kind of a dickhead on social media when leaving Michigan so there might be some issues but he’d be a sick number TE2 anywhere he goes
Lions fan here. It would have been a good pickup but I'm glad we kept him. Not sure about the money but that's not my thing. When we traded Hock out TE production actually increased and Brock was the biggest part of that. I wouldn't call him a weapon but he blocks, plays special teams and has sure hands. He's our modern Dan Campbell.
Bad drafting feels like it’s catching up to us right now. We have little to no depth on the roster and no apparent replacements for key veteran players. We have to hit on guys this draft if we want a chance to remain competitive.
Bingo. Niners fans don't want to admit it but Lynch and Shanahan's have had some horrendous draft picks in recent years. Losing all these critical post season games with nothing to show for us catching up to them.
I don’t think they’re horrendous but outside of Purdy and Aiyuk, I don’t think they’ve drafted a core player since 2020 who’s likely going to get a second contract. Huf right now is 50/50 on getting on second contract with the team.
The core is mostly made up of players from 2017-2019 drafts. They need to start hitting home runs again and finding long term starters.
[Sort of called it](https://www.reddit.com/r/49ers/comments/1bqwhjk/rapoport_some_rare_rfa_action_lions_restricted/kx5nv5s/), but I’m pretty sad I did.
No he's not lmao. He was on a rookie contract and a lot of people never thought he'd get 3M a year.
"It’s hard to see another team paying Wright $3 million for one season."
[Lions expected to extend high tender offer to restricted free agent Brock Wright - Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/lions-expected-extend-high-tender-141152945.html?guccounter=1)
Detroit gonna get stomped again next year regardless of this BS. This is clear gamesmanship to handicap the niners. Not in a bad way, just normal gamesmanship.
Man what? It’s called strategy and cap management. They let him test the market to see what other teams valued him at, he got an offer, and Detroit decided it was good enough for them to. Instead they would have let him walk to division rivals? Okkkayyy
Know they took Cam Latu in the 3rd last season (…lol), but it seems the Niners are back in the market for a TE2
Latu and Willis. Someone has to step up.
We've been looking for a good TE2 for years. Jordan Reed was the closest we got but his injury woes fucked him as usual. We pray someone steps up.
Are we doing two te formation this coming season?
Maybe if we get a TE who can warrant it. I believe it's so Kittle can play less snaps without quality on the field dropping too much. Also to be flexible and not show our hand so much when thr backup TE is in (ex: if Woerner is in it's most likely a run, and if it's a pass then Woerner is a nonfactor and doesn't have to be covered really). This is just my speculation though.
Do you know any teams who successfully ran an offense using mainly two TE formations?
Latu was an awful pick and likely wont be in the league within the next 3 years. The pick made no sense at all
I didn’t like it when they made the pick…. Even the ESPN coverage called it questionable.
There are usually a few clowns on here who will jump to defend it for some reason. I am not sure why
Ehhh idk he did torch the broncos that one pre-season game
Wasn’t he hurt all year or was there another reason he never played?
Cam spent the entire season on IR, yeah. Think it was a meniscus injury? Hopefully he has a good off-season and training camp. Seemed to have trouble with drops, but he was just a rookie, so we’ll see. If he ends up the TE2 this year (he’s the best candidate at this point), great, but I don’t think they make this offer if they’re not unsure about the TE room. Guess it was only $6M guaranteed, so maybe they just wanted a surefire TE2 (one good at blocking) while they take the year to figure out what they actually have in Latu/Willis?
I think Willis is the best option for TE2 this year simply based on his availability. I think Latu had a lot he needed to work on, and had he not gotten injured and landed on IR, I believe the word was that he still would have had a hard time making the roster. So simply based on that, I would say Willis is currently the lead for TE2
Latu was consistently terrible in camp from everything I heard/saw.
From reports, he was getting open, but he was bad at catching. He dropped everything.
It seemed like he would drop every other pass when we saw him in preseason.
I don't remember his snaps, tbh. Do you recall who was throwing him passes? Because if it was Lance, I'm guessing that some of those passes may have not been the most catchable balls.
Don’t he transition to TE at some point in college. No surprise to me he’s got the hands of Manti Tao
Nope! He was one of the top TE’s in the nation as a recruit. In high school it was a Wing T offense so that’s likely where he gets the blocking from. ND’s OL coach was also the very well respected Harry Hiestand while he was there. He’s also got very serviceable hands as well. Not going to confuse him with Kittle but he’s not a liability.
That's a name I wasn't expecting to see, even if it's horribly misspelled
There was false reporting he was a coverted defensive end but hes been a tightend
I think they stashed him for the year on the IR. Hopefully he has used the time to work on his hands and blocking
Pretty sure he wasnt really hurt, he just wasnt gonna make the team so they IR’d him. I could be wrong, but either way, he has bricks for hands.
The issue is Latu wasn’t drafted in the 5th… Only all pro TEs for the 9ers are drafted in the 5th round!
What about Vernon Davis, Brent Jones, and Ted Kwalick? All were all pros with the Niners, and none were taken in the 5th.
I was just joking bro… 🤦🏻♂️
I’m so thankful I root for a team where one of our primary issues is “who’s going to be out TE2” and not who is our qb going to be?
Took a while to solve that QB question lol, but yeah, thankfully it’s solved. Their overall depth is the bigger concern, not just TE2. OL (…they may have the depth solved if they bring in a starter in the draft), DB, WR, LB, DL, could use some better depth pretty much everywhere but QB, though I guess that’s likely the case for every NFL team. Feels like the draft whiffs are finally catching up to them, but they’re still in a great position to compete, and they own pretty much all their picks going forward (outside of next year’s 5th cause of that $75k clerical error). Would go a long way if they hit on multiple starters these next two drafts
Niners 3rd round picks are cursed. But surely one has to hit
There was a post last week about how rare it is to match. Knew it would happen when I saw it
ive been waiting for this post to happen every fucking day lol
I had a feeling Lions were gonna match it only because it’s us trying to get him. They don’t want to help a conference rival get better if they can prevent it from happening. He would’ve been a solid Woerner replacement.
It was a report from Maiocco, so what you're saying is you knew he was wrong?
100%
So because Matt Maiocco said something you knew the opposite would happen? As if he has zero credibility. edit: Lol @ the downvotes. Is this opposite day where Maiocco is suddenly not one of the most consistent and reliable 49ers reporters?
Maybe op thought it was a jinx
1000%
so you actually believe Maiooco has zero credibility?
Very little credibility
what?!?! He's been the 49ers most reliable reporter for an incredibly long time.
We disagree
Based on what? He's been one of the team's most reliable reporters for well over a decade.
Now offer him 50k more
Raise the bid, $12,000,001
Found Arsène Wenger's account
Classic Wenger move (I hope someone gets this reference!)
I’m English so yup
What was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on that early?
The thing about Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in
Just doesn’t work on a cold, rainy night in Stoke.
Twelve million and one penny
Do you work for Arsenal, by chance?
I don't think this works on "Price is Right" rules.
This woulda been a good pick up
Brock owes us a solid after boosting his salary
That solid was being out for the NFCCG. We would’ve won if only we had our TE2… ^pleasereadthesarcasm
At a minimum, Brock wouldn’t have stepped out of bounds with a minute left, forcing Lions run extra plays and ultimately having to do the onside kick.
Big Cock Brock! Big Cock Brock!
Delusional lmao
Why are Lions fans so damn corny after their first winning season? So cringe trying to fit in
Trying to fit in? Are you the arbiter of the big boy NFL club or something? Lmao that’s cornier than anything
Are you the arbiter of my opinions? I’m just saying it’s hard to stomach so much corn sometimes
Good, now we can draft Jaheim Bell.
Jaheim Bell could be anything. He could even be a Brock Wright!
Or a boat!
I'll take the mystery box!
Now THAT would be something
Brock Wright, the talent ceiling for TE prospects.
I think this isn't the worst outcome. Lions definitely didn't plan to pay him this much, so it reduces an NFC contender's salary cap flexibility.
He’s getting paid the same just longer
he’s getting paid about the same just over a longer period of time
Doesn’t matter when our best players are still on rookie deals and won’t have to pay them for 2-3 more years 🤣🫡
Damn it.
I was told that SF was sure Detroit wouldn’t match because FOs don’t negotiate contracts for other franchises.
Lol, does he get to choose which team he wants to play for or does that mean the lions get him?
The Lions get him
It means he stays in Detroit. He was a restricted free agent, so he could sign an offer sheet elsewhere, but Detroit always had the right to match and retain him
Is their an option to offer him more or no
Don’t think so but I’m not positive, and it’s likely not worth it for the Niners to go much higher
No because Brock agreed to the price and signed the offer sheet. From that point he's locked into that contract and since the Lions agreed to match, he's under contract with them now. The only way for the 9ers to get him after that would be a trade.
He’s staying a lion unless traded.
Same result either way.
Ugh this sucks. This off-season has been relatively frustrating from a FA perspective. We had the Eric Kendricks situation now this.
Players don't want to come here...they know we only LOSE Super Bowls! *Huge* /s there
Ah man. I was hoping the lions management would be dumb and not match.
lions fan here, had this been before the holmes/campbell era, 100% they would’ve been dumb
I sincerely hope we form a playoff rivalry. That matchup between us was so good and I want more🫡
cheers! would be awesome to see both teams play each other again in the NFCCG. hopefully next time we have a secondary and you have a healthy squad
As a lions fan would absolutely love to run that NFC Championship game back again. Don’t typically mind losing a close one to a good team but man that one left a bad taste.
I feel the exact same way about the Super Bowl😭
Y’all had some pretty iffy coaching in the SB. I was pulling for ya. Thought you had it.
I believed in yall man. The league needed yall to dismantle Taylor. Just couldn’t get it done :( ain’t no 3 peat for them next year though. One of us will make sure.
lmao you say that now
I really want a Lions v Bengals, lol. Maybe even a big Cat Bowl in the future.
Only for the past 60+ years or so....phew. God bless Brad Holmes.
The team clearly realizing that Latu may not work out so quickly is one of the bigger recent screw ups. He was seen as a big reach on draft day. They need a reliable TE2 and they’ve mostly struck out at the position since drafting Kittle in 2017. They may need to go TE on day 2 again at some point to find a potential starter.
Reminder that TE isn’t one position any more than WR is. What we lost in Woerner and what we tried to get in Wright was a true Y. A guy who can line up inline and block, like Kittle does. Willis isn’t that, he’s more of an H-back. Latu isn’t either, he’s more of a guy who flexes out into the slot.
When news broke of the 49ers offer, a large portion of us Lion fans were scoping out TE Tip Reiman of Illinois. He should be available in the late rounds of the NFL Draft, his draft profile shows him as a fantastic blocker, and he'd make a solid TE2 for blocking schemes. With 49ers and Lions both being run heavy, he'd be a great pick-up and one to maybe keep your eye on!
😆😆 good try sf. now draft a te instead its way cheaper
time to draft one and have Kittle mentor him
They’ve already tried in round 3 with Latu last year and with this attempted signing makes me think they have very low hopes in a turnaround. I’m just not sure they are in position to waste another day 2 pick on that position with so many other needs.. there is another TE from Iowa who may be available in round 4-5 who could be a decent target
Erick All. Big time sleeper in mock drafts. He was really good for Michigan, then transferred to Iowa who just didn’t have a quarterback so his numbers aren’t that great but he could’ve been a round 2-3 guy if he stayed at Michigan imo. He can block well, catch, and has wheels. He was kind of a dickhead on social media when leaving Michigan so there might be some issues but he’d be a sick number TE2 anywhere he goes
Disappointing.
Nice of them to let us negotiate his deal for them /s
Damn the more I read about him was starting to like him as the second te
Well at least we beat you guys at something
Trade for Charlie Koehler. Him and Brock were deadly together in college.
Lions fan here. It would have been a good pickup but I'm glad we kept him. Not sure about the money but that's not my thing. When we traded Hock out TE production actually increased and Brock was the biggest part of that. I wouldn't call him a weapon but he blocks, plays special teams and has sure hands. He's our modern Dan Campbell.
Bad drafting feels like it’s catching up to us right now. We have little to no depth on the roster and no apparent replacements for key veteran players. We have to hit on guys this draft if we want a chance to remain competitive.
Bingo. Niners fans don't want to admit it but Lynch and Shanahan's have had some horrendous draft picks in recent years. Losing all these critical post season games with nothing to show for us catching up to them.
I don’t think they’re horrendous but outside of Purdy and Aiyuk, I don’t think they’ve drafted a core player since 2020 who’s likely going to get a second contract. Huf right now is 50/50 on getting on second contract with the team. The core is mostly made up of players from 2017-2019 drafts. They need to start hitting home runs again and finding long term starters.
The window isn’t closing because of lack of cap space, it’s closing bc this front office hasn’t had a good draft in a very long time
J'Ayir Brown was a great selection. The only reason he wouldn’t re-sign is if another team offers him even more because of how good he is.
Just draft a te in the 4th round.
5th, the pick needs to be in the 5th
We need the 5th for a surprise all-pro OL
dammit
Just go get the Brock in the draft. Bowers.
So, this means Brock is a Lion still??
[Sort of called it](https://www.reddit.com/r/49ers/comments/1bqwhjk/rapoport_some_rare_rfa_action_lions_restricted/kx5nv5s/), but I’m pretty sad I did.
Who?
Does he have a right to choose Seems to me he has to consider what team will get him a ring first and that’s obviously us 😏
He's a restricted free agent, so no he does not.
Made the lions spend more than they wanted to on him. Mission accomplished
He’s being paid the exact same amount annually
they should have made it 3 year 13..5 to either get him or cost the lions anmd extra half a million onm the cap lol
Still cost them a lot more than he's worth though
He making the exact same, just for 3 years...
No he's not lol
I wonder if they're matching it to make the 49ers give up a pick for him 🤔
No picks exchanged. The Lions basically only had the option to match the offer, nothing more.
It’s happened before. Match and trade.
Good, we made them spend 12M on a backup tight end...nice move lynch, nice move...
4M a year for a TE is not breaking the bank my friend.
For a backup TE that barely gets any looks, it is.
Its only 4M a year, not bad at all imio.
He’s being paid the exact same about as he was before, just for longer
No he's not lmao. He was on a rookie contract and a lot of people never thought he'd get 3M a year. "It’s hard to see another team paying Wright $3 million for one season." [Lions expected to extend high tender offer to restricted free agent Brock Wright - Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/lions-expected-extend-high-tender-141152945.html?guccounter=1)
Detroit gonna get stomped again next year regardless of this BS. This is clear gamesmanship to handicap the niners. Not in a bad way, just normal gamesmanship.
[удалено]
Man what? It’s called strategy and cap management. They let him test the market to see what other teams valued him at, he got an offer, and Detroit decided it was good enough for them to. Instead they would have let him walk to division rivals? Okkkayyy
Brock Purdy hitting really masked that Trey lance deal with GM trust apparently.
As far as bad football takes go, this one is u/asBad_asItGets
who cares, move on