When you fall as hard as the San Francisco 49ers have the last few seasons, you simply have to find a way to get up.
The Arizona Cardinals have not made a lot of noise this offseason but they did trade for New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones and signed Super Bowl 50 champion guard Evan Mathis.
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The Seattle Seahawks have the original “Legion of Doom” back after signing cornerback Brandon Browner. They’ve also been busy fine-tuning an offensive line that was a problem area in 2015.
The Rams have orchestrated a pair of huge moves this offseason. First, they traded St. Louis for the City of Angels. Last week, they topped that news by moving up to secure the first overall pick in the NFL draft. It came courtesy of a deal with the Tennessee Titans and by all accounts, general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher have their sights set on University of California quarterback Jared Goff.
And then there are the San Francisco 49ers. They’ve added Jacksonville Jaguars free-agent disappointment Zane Beadles to the team after losing guard Alex Boone to free agency. They signed quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, who was in uniform for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.
Of course, they also replaced head coach Jim Tomsula with Chip Kelly, who just under three-season tenure in the City of Brotherly Love didn’t end with a lot of affection.
According to Fox analyst Brian Baldinger, things have not gotten off to a rosy start between the former University of Oregon head coach and San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke. “I already hear there’s problems in the building between Chip and Baalke,” said the former NFL offensive lineman on 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week.
That accusation did not go over well in the Bay Area.
“I can tell you emphatically that is total B.S. That’s all I can say,” said Baalke to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “We’ve had absolutely a wonderful start to this relationship, and there’s really nothing else to say. He’s coaching ball, and we’re up there in draft room going to work. It couldn’t be better.
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“Where Baldy got that from, what his angle was, it’s ridiculous,” added the Niners’ executive “And you can quote me on that.”
In any case, there is the matter of what are the 49ers planning on doing in 2016. They’re coming off a disappointing 5-11 campaign in which they score a league-low 238 points and were a dismal 1-5 vs. their NFC West rivals.
A few weeks ago, there were discussions about the Niners dealing quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Denver. But Broncos general manager John Elway (via Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com) said this past week that those talks were now “dormant.”
With the NFL draft less than a week away, the 49ers have obviously decided that their best course of action is to rebuild through the draft. Of course, that would make a lot of sense considering both San Francisco and Cleveland enter next week’s three-day exercise in Chicago with a league-high 12 picks. In case you’re curious, those two teams are followed by the New England Patriots (11), Denver Broncos (10) and Detroit Lions (10).
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This is a club that has gone a combined 13-19 the past two years and Kelly will be the team’s third different head coach in as many seasons. With Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert, the franchise has an uncertain feel to it behind center. They could use the seventh overall pick on a quarterback but could also wait and continue to trade down.
The 49ers have arguably been the quietest team in the NFL this offseason. Starting April 28, they may conceivably be the franchise that makes the most noise.