San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The 49ers and WR Deebo Samuel have agreed to a 3-year extension. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that it's a $71.55 million deal, with a max value of $73.5 million and $58.1 million in guarantees. The length of the contract means Samuel will hit another contract year at age 29. This should return the star WR to full practice, after a tumultuous offseason.

49ers beat writer Jennifer Lee Chan calls WR Brandon Aiyuk a training camp “standout.” Aiyuk, who was in HC Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse for part of last year, appears on the right track in year 3. “I like what I see out of B.A.,” LB Fred Warner said. “He works super hard. He’s starting to really getting into that mindset that he’s the guy, and he’s capable. I’m just trying to get the best out of him. That’s also just putting pressure on me. I’m also trying ways to get the best out of myself.” Only 24, Aiyuk could enter the WR3 mix if Trey Lance takes a big step forward.

49ers insider Grant Cohn expects RB Elijah Mitchell to remain the team's clear lead back this season. "Elijah's good. I don't necessarily think they're gonna dial back his workload," Cohn said on the Draft Sharks podcast. "The issue with him was that he was 205 pounds and kept getting hurt ... This year he's 215 [pounds]. He's way bigger ... So I think the idea is, he's the starter." Mitchell averaged a big 18.8 carries per game last year. If he gets anything close to that in 2022, he'll return value at his 5th-round price tag.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera told reporters Friday that DE Chase Young will "probably miss a little bit of time" at the beginning of the regular season, according to the Washington Times. Rivera reportedly talked about the PUP list initially before backtracking on that. It's clear that Young will at least miss Week 1, and we'd bet that the PUP remains a possibility. That would sideline the DE for at least the 1st 4 games. Young is still working back from a November ACL tear that included patellar damage.

Niners DE Nick Bosa says the beginning of this year's training camp has been "completely different" because of better health. "Last year, I didn't really take any reps until a couple of weeks before the year," he said Friday, per NBC Sports Bay Area. Last year's camp found Bosa still working back from the ACL tear that ended his 2020 campaign in Week 2. His rookie camp featured Bosa missing a lot of time with a hamstring injury. The beast still managed 15.5 sacks and a league-leading 21 tackles for loss in 2021. And he was no slouch as a 2019 rookie (25 QB hits). If we get an even better version of Bosa this year ... we might not even know yet what the ceiling is. Grant Cohn of All49ers.com told us on Friday's podcast that San Francisco has a shot to sport the league's best defense this season. Bosa is a key factor in that.

Commanders DE Chase Young remains on the PUP list, and HC Ron Rivera doesn't make it sound like he expects the player back soon. “He’s been working hard,” Rivera said Tuesday, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. “His rehab’s been going well from what we’ve seen and what we understand. But you never really know until you get to get your hands back on him. But Chase Young is probably the one that’s going to take the most time. It was serious, obviously, and any time you’re talking about an ACL, it’s just down the line. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.” In addition to tearing his right ACL, Young also damaged the patella in that knee. Young is expected to take longer to return than teammate TE Logan Thomas, who suffered his ACL tear in December. "Different type of injury," Rivera said, in comparing the 2. Young will make for a high-risk IDP selection at least until he's back on the field. At this point, he's far from a lock to be ready for the regular-season opener. We have moved him further down our 2022 IDP rankings.

Commanders DE Chase Young opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Young is still working back from the ACL tear that ended his 2021 season. He told reporters Tuesday, however, that "everything is going as planned," according to the team website. We'd bet on Young being ready for the regular season.

49ers WR Deebo Samuel reported for the start of training camp on Tuesday. He reportedly requested a trade earlier this offseason, but the team has said all along that it has no plans on moving him. "We've had productive and substantive talks [about a new contract]," GM John Lynch said. "Don't want to get people excited that we're imminent because we're not there yet. .... Deebo's here today and we're excited to move forward with him on this team. We're focused on getting something done." Until we get a new contract or trade, there's still some added risk on Samuel's fantasy outlook. But it seems to be a good bet that he'll play for the 49ers this year.

NBC Bay Area's Matt Maiocco says 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan "appears determined to deploy more of a backs-by-committee approach" this season. That would obviously hurt the touch count for RB Elijah Mitchell, who averaged 18.8 carries per game as a rookie. He also missed 6 games with multiple injuries, though, and needed a knee "clean-up" after the season. San Francisco added RB Tyrion Davis-Price in Round 3 of the NFL Draft and get Jeff Wilson Jr. back to full health after he basically lost 2020 to a meniscus tear. Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty also remain but will likely need to fight their way into contention for touches. Mitchell is going RB24 in FFPC drafting and RB23 on Underdog right now. That's not a terrible range, but we're not excited about his 2022 outlook -- especially in full-PPR formats.

The 49ers held RB Elijah Mitchell out of the offseason program following a "clean-up" knee procedure. While an exact date is unknown, Mitchell underwent the procedure sometime in early 2022. Per team insider Matt Barrows, Mitchell is “expected” to return for training camp. Frankly, it’d be a major surprise if he’s not on the field for day 1. But we’ll keep a close eye on the 2nd-year back who’s fresh off posting 207-963-5 in 11 games (10 starts). He'll be pushed for touches by Jeff Wilson, Trey Sermon and rookie 3rd-rounder Tyrion Davis-Price.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that 49ers WR Deebo Samuel has not rescinded his trade request. The team has indicated it has no plans to move Samuel, and he attended the team's mandatory minicamp in early June. But this at least serves as a reminder that some tension remains. We'll see whether that forces a move.

The Athletic's Joe Person doesn't expect the Panthers to scale back RB Christian McCaffrey's volume this season, despite the injuries he's dealt with the last 2 years. Instead, "The Panthers plan to change their practice approach with McCaffrey, taking a lot of the reps off him during the week in the hope that the lightened workload will help him get through the season." Sign us up for that! McCaffrey didn't miss a single game across his first 3 NFL seasons and turned just 26 earlier this month. He's the odds-on favorite to lead RBs in fantasy points per game this year.

49ers WR Deebo Samuel is expected to report for minicamp on Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Samuel reportedly requested a trade earlier this offseason, unhappy with his RB usage last year. But it looks like the 2 sides have ironed things out at least for now. We'll continue to monitor the situation, but Samuel seems likely to be on the field for the 49ers come Week 1.

Per team insider Matt Barrows, the 49ers loved Tyrion Davis-Price’s burst on tape. He reached one of the fastest recorded speeds of the NCAA season on one run vs. Alabama, according to the team. “A lot of times, guys reach higher speeds because they have the opportunity,” assistant GM Adam Peters said. “They maybe aren’t as fast as other guys, but because they have the opportunity to run 60 yards in a straight line they reach a high speed. (Davis-Price) reaching his top speed in a short amount of space is more impressive.” A Round 3 pick, TDP also brings some much-needed physicality to the backfield. There’s room for him to carve out a year 1 role in Kyle Shanahan’s system.

Speaking at an event on Wednesday night, 49ers GM John Lynch confirmed that WR Deebo Samuel will remain on the team. “We haven't traded him, and I'd be a fool to trade him. So yes, Deebo will be part of the 49ers this season,” Lynch said. Now we’ll see if Samuel, 26, accepts a high-dollar extension from the 49ers this summer.

49ers RB coach Anthony Lynn gave his assessment of rookie RB Ty Davis-Price. “We saw a body type that we don’t have right now.” Lynn said at OTAs. “A bigger back that can run, and physical, who can block. You want that thunder and lightning approach. We have some guys who can move around. We’ve got lightning. Hopefully Ty brings that thunder.” Added Lynn: “He’s made a couple cuts on the field that shows his natural running ability. And for a big man to be able move the way he can move, and he’s shown some soft hands. I will get him right pass protection-wise, but right now, in shorts, we have no idea.” The San Francisco backfield is certainly one to watch closely over the next few months.

The Athletic's Matt Barrows expects to see "plenty of rotation" in the 49ers' backfield this season. That wasn't the case last year, when RB Elijah Mitchell dominated carries whenever he was healthy. But Barrows believes "the 49ers are hesitant to give Mitchell or any of the running backs too great a load this season" after Mitchell dealt with a variety of injuries in 2021. Barrows expects rookie RB Ty Davis-Price to be part of San Francisco's RB rotation. Trey Sermon, Jeff Wilson and JaMycal Hasty are also on the roster.

49ers TE George Kittle -- along with LB Fred Warner -- is sitting out OTAs with what HC Kyle Shanahan called a "lower-half" issue. "Both have similar issues, so we’re being smart with them," Shanahan said. "Could go. Being smart. Good chance we’ll hold them out until training camp. ... They’ll be alright." It doesn't sound like this is something that'll impact Kittle's 2022 season, but we'll keep an eye on him when the 49ers open training camp.

49ers RB Elijah Mitchell is looking to play this season at 215 pounds -- up about 15 pounds from last season. The added weight is aimed at keeping Mitchell healthier after he dealt with knee, rib, concussion and shoulder issues as a rookie last year. We've seen plenty of RBs lose burst and speed after packing on pounds, though, so Mitchell will be worth watching closely this summer.

Per beat writer Joseph Person, the Carolina coaching staff has “kicked around the idea” of giving Christian McCaffrey more slot snaps. During his injury-riddled 2021, McCaffrey played only 12 snaps out of the slot (4.6%). So there’s room for a bit more work inside. Regardless of where he lines up, however, the former All-Pro will remain busy as a pass-catcher. Current projections peg McCaffrey for over 100 targets.