San Francisco 49ers 2024 Season Preview | Insider Insights with Kyle Madson

we're talking 49ers football San Francisco 49ers here on the r Lads football network R Lads football YouTube channel and when we talk 49ers football Kyle Madson is with us from the ners wire and also host of the Candlestick Chronicles podcast which you can find on YouTube so uh yeah Kyle good to have you back again yeah happy to be back I know I know that uh being on with you is always exciting because it means there's something happening whether it's the draft coming up or the seasons right around the corner just always always good vibes when we're chatting yeah which means that we need to chat a little bit more so we have something going on during the season but I hear you uh this is uh this is when I can get the most out of here instead of those little 105 minute maybe during the season interviews I can get you for a good half hour to kind of go over the depth chart and see how the team is reacting to either the offseason the draft or the upcoming 24 season and that begins real shortly so let's go right to it because this is cutdown day so uh I tell you what let's start with that are there any particular cuts that you think are going to be the big ones that fans are kind of excited about yeah um I don't I don't really think so with the Niners this year I've been trying to go through and and you know we do different 53 man roster projections throughout the offseason at at Niners wire and I've been I've been going through and this team is just so topheavy where they have so many question marks uh down their death chart where I don't I don't think maybe maybe at linebacker I I have them keeping six instead of five and I think they're gonna they're going to cut a player who who will Who can contribute in the NFL whether that's Curtis Robinson or D Winters or Jaylen Graham or Tatum bethon I'm not I'm not totally sure which one of those guys is going to is going to get let go but I think that'll cause some reaction I think they're going to get rid of a of a cornerback whether that's Rocky aen or Samuel wac or derell lutter that might cause a little bit of a reaction but other than that I I really Greg don't think that there's a ton of players uh up and down this 90-man roster that that have have earned a 53 man roster spot that aren't going to make it yeah because when we last spoke there were actually a handful of players that you said that were last year's picks and I think it was another maybe as a 2022 pick that the team liked and you know wouldn't know what kind of an offseason they were going to have but uh and you mentioned two of them already being uh you mentioned lutter you mentioned Winters there was also Jaylen Graham Taylor Hawkins and Samuel wack those were guys that you said the team liked they like the future of these guys but again whether or not they've looked good enough to continue that Trend uh I don't know I guess we'll see yeah Hawkin Hawkins got let go so that one that one didn't that one didn't work out too well for but but lutter uh very much in the mix at corner and I think a player that they like long term maybe not necessarily this year per se especially after they drafted Renardo green out of Florida state in the second round but I don't know that they're going to be able to afford javarius Ward and diamor Lenor in the off season one or both of them depending on how the Trent Williams and Brandon auk stuff go so uh I think they're looking at lutter I think they're looking at Renardo green to kind of be those those two corners to take them into the future and then Winters and Graham same deal uh good good good offseasons by by all accounts but for some reason never really got chances to compete for the the starting strong side linebacker job that's in their their base defense when they have three linebackers on the field the Sam linebacker is the one who comes off the field when the nickel Corner comes on and so that that player is on the field for whatever it is 20% of the snaps okay uh it it looks like they're going to go with Demetrius Flanigan FS there just a veteran a former undrafted free agent he was a safety at University of Arizona that they've transitioned to linebacker a good special teams player I've never seen anything super special from him as a as a Defender okay but maybe they just like the the veteran of it all and the fact he knows the defense but uh I I was I was pretty surprised that that neither Winters nor Graham got a real crack at that at that starting job uh back to Corner because Ambry Thomas uh he's an interesting guy mentioned the fact that if they can't afford one of those uh veteran starters uh is Thomas somebody that could also make a move and how is he is he uh is he on a on a list or something I see he's in red on the dep chart yeah he broke his forearm during the first preseason game I'm pretty sure is that yeah it was it was the first preseason game against the Titans uh he didn't play particularly well in that game which was not encouraging he missed a couple of tackles he he gave up a he had a holding penalty in the end zone uh it down down deep in the Red Zone okay on a on a third down play that that uh that gave the Titans a first and goal at the one I just a just a a tough tough go for him just throughout his career H now he's dealing with a broken forum and never really got a chance to compete in the preseason for for a roster spot I I think best case scenario for him is uh he he goes on IR for the year and gets to to stick around and maybe resigns for for cheap in the off season okay I I would guess he gets released and tries to catch on elsewhere I think a change of scenery would do some good for him he's shown in his career he can be a starting NFL corner you go back and look at the end of his rookie year the last like five weeks of his rookie year he just kind of got a little bit better each week but since then he's been in and out of the lineup he wasn't really a factor at all last year um so I I I think Ambry Thomas' time with the 49ers is probably done and I think that's probably uh best for for both parties okay well we'll see if uh horo picks him up uh all right let's talk about I might as well start with that secondary then because you mentioned green they got two rookies there Musta Mustafa and green how have they looked uh Mustafa has been good uh running mostly with the second team I know he got some first team burn in Monday's practice after after their preseason finale Friday so so yesterday we're recording this on Tuesday I we got some burned with the first team but George Odum who's been running with the first team with taleno hunga out was dealing with an ankle thing so I think Mustafa just got just got the the Reps there while while they held out Odum um I don't think he's going to start but he might contribute to some three safety packages at some point depending on how creative they want to get um and ronard green was the other guy you asked about ronard green might start wow so he played he played outside at Florida State the Niners day one of rookie mini camp said no you're playing in the slot and the goal was to to make sure that he's like de they want him to be like deor Lenor where they can move inside or outside and it just gives him some some flexibility and he picked that up pretty quickly where they feel comfortable running him in the slot he's he's run with the first team in practice out of the slot he's played in the preseason there he's played a little bit outside and defensive coordinator Nick Sorenson has talked about how moving him inside has actually slowed the game down for him outside um so I I thought that was I thought that was really intriguing that that they they heaped so much praise on on the rookie but um Isaac yadam is the other player in the mix there to start and because of diomor Lor's ability to play inside or outside it gives yadam or green the the the ability to start so yam would play outside with travarius Ward with Lenor playing in the slot whereas I think if Renardo green winds up starting he'd be in the slot with Lenor and Ward outside so they've got some options I think this are good secondary and May and certainly the the deepest one they've had in the Kyle Shanahan John Lynch era okay so um they have a couple of options there I I I would lean toward Isaac yadam starting just because I I think they would lean toward the veteran but it wouldn't it wouldn't shock me at all if Renardo green is the starter in week one or or at any point this year either way we we'll see a little bit of him of course even in week one uh versus the Jets okay uh huanga how's he feeling what's his status so I it sounded at the start of at the start of training camp like he might be back in time for for the middle of the the middle of camp and he a doctor visit on August 16th I think and everything apparently went well uh he's still not been activated as of Tuesday morning at 811 a.m Pacific time um he's on the pup list he's recovering from the torn ACL in week 11 last year I man the more the more the longer this goes on and the fact that he hasn't practiced at all yet leads me to believe that he might start the season on the on the pup list where he's out for four weeks gives him some real ramp up time where they can open his practice window and he can get a couple of weeks of practice in and then he can he can really get after it or they could activate him and say uh we're just going to have him as a as a healthy and active uh not a healthy and active necessarily but just as a as a inactive for week one and then maybe play him in week two I I'm I'm leaning toward him not playing week one okay um by way that familiarize myself with this with the rule so if you're on pup and I are the beginning of this season it's still four weeks each but what I you can't practice pup you can uh no P pup is from what I understand it's it's like IR so they would have yeah yeah I I I believe so in my understanding of the rules maybe there's some kind of Quirk that's different but uh no they would have to activate him for him to be on the practice field okay all right let's uh speaking of pup green law let's move to the linebacker position how is he looking uh because uh he's is he still a little bit ways to go yeah I think so he's been out bopping around on the practice field just in Street close there's video of him like hitting a a blocking sled you know getting down on a Crouch and hitting the blocking sled a couple of times just in again in Street Clos not doing anything formal I he just bored um but all accounts are he's he's coming along fine with his rehab I would be I would just given this is not reporting this is not talking to people but this is just being a sports fan and knowing how Achilles tears go he tour his Achilles it dur during the Super Bowl yeah I would be shocked if he's back anytime before like late December or January I hear you yeah that that's that's kind of what I'm operating under I'm just in the back of my mind Dre green law isn't going to play for the 49ers this year that's just kind of how I'm operating and I'll be pleasantly surprised you know if they do activate him and he and he gets some games in in his in his what is this his Fifth Season sixth season um I guess this is six year cuz he's 29 yeah so I would I would love to see him back on the field uh certainly hope he's healthy but in my mind like I said what an Achilles tear especially for a linebacker where you're cutting and moving the way that and and being explosive the way they have to be uh I I'm just I'm ruling Dre green law out in my in my head makes sense and if he returns then then I'll operate accordingly okay up front uh heard that there were some minor injuries uh to both Floyd and the new Edge gross Mot they're okay uh yeah gross motto week to week uh they're hopeful that'll practice for week one week to week for me always sounds like multiple weeks being out but I don't again I don't I don't know I'm not a doctor uh and Leonard Floyd is day today he was doing some side work during Monday's practice um he didn't participate in the session but he was doing some work on the side so uh my guess is Leonard Floyd is there week one uh it's a tossup for me with gross Matos in week two which is a problem because as we see on this depth chart uh it's not great for for such an important position for San Francisco their their defensive end depth is is lacking pretty severely yeah they cannot afford to have either Bosa or Floyd miss a significant amount of time that would not be good there's another player too that they can't afford to miss but that's on the flip side okay so uh Drake Jackson by the way what's up with him speaking of edge rushers uh he's on IR he's done for the year he's done for the uh yeah he had he had the patella tendon surgery during the off season it knocked him out the the injury knocked him out in week I think eight last year he had the surgery in the offseason he was all he did an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area out here uh with Matt mayoko who covers the team and said he was all Juiced up to be ready to go for training camp and then he wasn't ready to go for training camp and they put him on ir and uh and his season is over so that's a uh a bummer for him and I think I think something a little bit of a curveball for the 49ers too I think they were going to be relying on him to to at least be a rotational Edge player and uh he he's not he's not going to be able to contribute this year uh are there any free agents that are still out there for any position uh including Edge that you could see the Niners and it could be look this is the day also last couple days where we could see some trades uh I don't want to cut the guy I want to get something Forum etc etc can you see a position or a player that the Niners add veteran yeah I think I think we see them try and and make a play at defensive end uh Jordan Willis who's been with the 49ers some uh if you if you'll if you remember the the divisional playoff game in Green Bay a couple years ago he had the big pump block that led to the game tying touchdown late in that one Jordan Willis has has been with the 49ers before uh and I think as a player that they'd be okay plugging in as a rotational end he's a free agent I know Derrik Rivers just got cut by the Colts uh he kind of profiles as as a he has the size that that think they like on the edge okay and the motor that I think they like on the edge he hasn't been a super productive player but I could see I could see that being the the type of player they go get and try to plug in uh and then I was talking with our with our Saints guy uh John Sigler over at saintswire Isaiah fosy I don't think they're gonna the the Saints will be interested in trading him because he he is a second round pick in his second year um and he he's not been productive yet but I I think they're going to give him another year uh but Payton Turner the former first round pick out of Alabama uh played like 15 games I he has three sacks and 15 games over over three years he just not been great and that's the kind of player that the 49ers I think would would love to send a sixth and get him and a seventh back and they'll try and plug him in in Chris kerk's uh defensive line room and see if they can get to some of that untapped potential that's another that's that that's that's kind of the name that I've I've circled okay as as if the Niners are going to go trade for somebody I think it's I think it's a guy like pyton Turner former first round pick hasn't really played up to up to par yet we've seen him do it with Deion Jordan we saw him do it with Arden key uh that it's it's something that they they like to do and I think that uh if given the opportunity I think pton Turner is a is a player they' like yeah the Saints uh they they've been having all sorts of problems over the years finding Edge rushers so yeah uh Collins a uh the defensive tackle the team picked up uh for a seventh round pick uh I think he's still only 29 he's played bolt loads of games lots of experience coming off actually one of his best years uh a lot expected for for Collins and hardgrave in the middle there yeah man they've got to replace Eric Armstead and Malik Collins said it in his in his introductory press conference or Zoom call or or whatever whatever it was he said like you don't replace Eric Armstead with one guy uh and I think that's part of why they went and got Jordan Elliott from from Cleveland because they think that in the aggregate those two guys can can kind of make up for the Eric Armstead loss I think frankly given some of armstead's injury stuff and playing through injury and the level that that he was at while playing with those injuries I think Collins and and Elliott in the aggregate can be better than Armstead and and more productive on the interior Collins had a had a couple of Splash plays in the preseason now again against what version of these team's offensive lines I don't know but uh I I think Collins and Elliott are are two players that they're going to lean a ton on and then and then Javon Hargrave too he was fine last year but I think overall given the contract he got I think I think it was a little bit disappointing he has said as much and I think the ners you know if you gave them gave them truth serum I I I think they would probably tell you the same so I think they're hoping for a bounceback year from Jayvon hardgrave and then having Collins and Elliott to shore up uh Collins as a as a pass rusher for sure but but Elliot and Collins both helping out a run defense it was pretty shoty by the end of last year okay give me uh the top issue on defense that you're concerned about the pass rush without without question they have they have harped on that for the entire John Lynch Kyle Shanahan tenure now I do think we talked about the secondary earlier I think their secondary is going to be good enough to yeah to to help out a a pass rush that might be not be as dominant as we're used to seeing from San Francisco uh but man we talked about the Floyd and gross matados injuries earlier if those guys were both out for let's just say two weeks like they were going to miss the first two weeks of the year I look at this look at this depth chart it's Nick bosea it's Robert Beal complete question mark um Sam OK unonu has done nothing as an NFL player Alex Barrett career uh practice squad guy Jonathan Garvin nothing special as an NFL player I I mean that's tough so I I I I really think that that's going to be if we see the Niners go like nine and eight this year I think that's going to be a key reason why well I will tell you this though if there's a team that you can call to make a trade for believe it or not it is the Jets because we are over because that's my team we are overstocked with Edge rushers I mean we have so many Edge rushers that it's like we don't know how I mean I'm looking at the dep the cuts today and I'm going I don't know how they G what they're gonna do here so yeah yeah maybe maybe they'll tap in with with Robert sa and try rusher from the Jets for sure that could be interesting okay uh Rice go too yeah they let and then they reck was the guy that they basically replac him with and reck's playing hard ball with his so yeah he's not reported yet no yeah but again it shows you how deep their The Edge Rush is though is that even without reic they're actually I mean I think it's actually okay if he even misses the first week or two because he gives you some time with the roster so dang yeah nice um problem to have it is uh but they've got other problems of course uh let's talk about breakout player on defense give me one somebody that uh has not broken out yet that could break out this year man I think Jer Brown's going to be really good Jer Brown and deomore Lenor Lenor I think kind of had his breakout last year but but Jer brown man he just has a nose for the football uh he generated a ton of turnovers in college I think he had three I think he had three interceptions in in seven games last year including the playoffs uh this year in the preseason uh he forced a fumble in in limited snaps uh again just running in being around the ball and just putting his hat on the ball and and popping it out he just he has a knack for that and it wouldn't shock me at all if he winds up having six seven interceptions couple of forced fumbles and winds up making a Pro Bowl in his in his first year as a as a full-time starter I'm I'm looking forward to watching him play all right offense now here's the guy in red the only guy in red on offense and it's the most maybe important guy and that's Trent Williams who did not report I don't blame him he he should be like hey man what are you gonna do I mean on the team really I mean what are you g do without me so um what's what's going on that's what he's doing he he looks I I promise if if you're if you're Trent Williams you are taking tape of the starting offensive line during the preseason and you're highlighting the left side and you're just sending it to the 49ers with a number written on it whatever number he's looking for uh and I think the 49ers know that and that's that's kind of the thing there's no there's no question in the building what Trent Williams means to this team I think it's just a matter of they have to figure out the Brandon auk thing they know that they're going to be paying Brock pie upwards of $60 million a year starting uh next off season uh or starting next year um so I think that there's there's a ton they have to try and figure out and uh figure out while doing while establishing or maintaining the sustainability that's allowed them to be a Super Bowl Contender for for basically six seasons now it's tough but at the same time this is why those guys get paid the big bucks and I just don't think there's any excusable reason that they don't figure it out with Trent Williams before week one yeah like that's just you you have a franchise quarterback that you're planning on paying a ton of money to and you're going to line him up against a Jets defense that might be the best in football and you're going to line them up with Jaylen Moore at left tackle okay cool that just that doesn't make a lot of sense to me so uh man they they they as as ugly as the Brandon iuk thing is and as as convoluted and as much of a roller coaster as that has been the Trent Williams one is the one they they need to figure out by the time the season starts and before we get into iuk uh which I want to close with uh let's uh look at that offensive line so is there Improvement at all with any of these guys including the rookie yeah man I I think Dominic Poney can play I think he is a legitimate NFL starter potential Pro Bowl track type of guy they they didn't start him as the starting Right Guard he got kind of pushed into action because Spencer berford broke his hand and John Feliciano is dealing with a knee thing that required surgery he's going to be out about half the year so Dominic puny just kind of I I I think he was going to get starters reps eventually he just got them earlier than I think they anticipated and he stepped in day one and and Nick Wagner for who covers the 49ers for ESPN and he's covered the NFL for a long time said he just looked like a veteran day one just the way he handled his business in team drills in individual work uh never looked overwhelmed you know sometimes you'll see an offensive linan where his head's just spinning and he's missing assignments and uh puny never really had that uh learning curve and maybe we see it in the regular season you know you don't you can't really evaluate a guy until you see him uh in live reps in a game that matters against against an opposing defense but everything we've seen out of puny so far is is is very very encouraging and I think they're going to be better at Right Guard this year uh we'll see with Colton mckivitz I think he's a probably replacement level offensive tackle um and and Jake brindle is like probably a replacement level NFL Center um so I think I think that's kind of a little bit of a question mark up front but I do think puny being good is is going to help them a lot and Banks yeah good player may but might make a Pro Bowl this year Aaron Banks Aaron Banks is really good it wouldn't surprise me if he if he goes the lake and Tomlinson route where he makes a Pro Bowl this year in his in a contract year and then and then gets a a fat contract in free agency cool uh uh okay then everything of course in the back field the talk is Mason is gonna jump Mitchell is that true seems like it and maybe maybe there's something that the 49ers because Mason's run this way in the way he has in the preseason he's run this way in the regular season uh but he only has 83 carries in two years he just hasn't been able to Eclipse Elijah Mitchell on the death chart but man he just looked so good throughout training camp and throughout the preseason I given given Elijah Mitchell's injury history and his his lack of availability or his lack of regular availability I would just I would rock with Mason day one and and call it good but maybe there's something that the ners like more with Mitchell I don't I don't know it would it would be tough to justify though given how their respective training camps and preseason went uh they use a lot of 22 Personnel so uh is saber the number two definite is he locked in there no uh this is one of those positions you know what at the top when I said I don't think that they're going to have to cut a lot of like NFL players yeah tight end is the poster child for that position it is George KD and then it is Cameron latu and Braden Willis seconde tight ends who are fine I think Willis makes the team and then maybe sabert makes the team I think Jake tungas has been has been uh pretty impressive in the preseason he's played a couple different positions he's filled in at fullback some he showed some pass catching chops okay but they're gonna prioritize blocking there and then Logan Thomas is the other interesting one they they signed him before training camp cut him after he got hurt and then just resigned him right before their preseason finale but then he didn't play in the preseason finale okay so I don't know if the plan is to cut him and get him back to the practice squad or if they really like what he can do as a pass catcher and they want him to be on the team I have them keeping three tight ends with KD Willis and tungis but um maybe they go KD Willis with Thomas and sabert and keep four I'm not uh I'm not totally sure but I I don't love their depth at at tight end is it possible that the tight end number two isn't on the roster o um I I mean it's it's possible I would be I would be pretty surprised if they're wheeling and dealing and making a trade I I I don't think it would be for a tight end okay but if if one comes available they really like I think they would happily uh replace one of the players on on their roster with with a with the tight on that L okay and then uh we're going to wrap up a couple quick ones uh first of all the three rookies on offense strap picks have any of any of them stuck out Jacob coing had a really really nice the fourth round pick out of the University of Arizona had a really really nice last couple of preseason games I had him down as a player that they might try and just stash on IR for the year because he got hurt so early in Camp and wasn't contributing at all uh but then he got a week of practice tore it up in his first preseason game and then in his second preseason game was really good again caught a touchdown is a reliable punt returner and and might be an electric type of punt returner if he's if he's given some space to operate so I think Jacob coing has been been really impressive especially considering how truncated his Camp was okay and then Isaac rendo same kind of deal literally got hurt hurt his hamstring the first day of training camp and didn't get back until the week before the preseason finale in Las Vegas uh in the preseason finale showed you know good instincts as a runner one cut downhill type of Runner it's exactly what he was at Louisville uh or or throughout College he went to a couple different schools but that's exactly what he was in college uh and then he had a 93 yard kickoff return the longest kickoff return of the preseason under the new Dynamic kickoff rules yeah where uh you know he showed off good speed he showed off the ability to to run through contact and maintain his speed through contact uh so I was really impressed with Isaac gendo and again he was a player that I kind of expected to to either not make the team or to be an IR stash and now it looks like he's not only going to make the team but but might be their starting kick returner so those two those two fourth round picks for sure okay and then give me a breakthrough player on offense and also the biggest uh issue breakthrough player on offense uh man if it's not if it's not Dominic Poney maybe it's Aaron Banks maybe one of those two guys makes a pro bowl I would lean Banks considering he's he's not a rookie cool but I I think this dovet Tales into kind of what what you might want to talk about next it might be Jan Jennings because and and this ties into the the other the other part of your question men their biggest issue right now is is Trent Williams 1 a Brandon iuk 1B and if Brandon auk is not on the field week one Jan Jennings gets thrust into a pretty significant role in this offense where he only has 78 catches as a pro but I think 50 of them have gone for first down or a touchdown I think that I think that's right maybe that maybe that number's high but it's a it's just a it's a really really high number of first downs or touchdowns that that jwan Jennings has has pulled down in his career and I think I think going to be a player who who immediately immediately gets pushed up to wide receiver 2 like he's a player that Brock py trusts he gets open he's tough operating over the middle of the field uh if jwan Jennings has to be wide receiver to for them either because auk is out or because uh you know somebody else is unavailable for whatever reason yeah it could it could be it could be Jawan Jennings having having a career year for the 49ers and of course also very important with San Francisco very good blocker so yes oh yeah basically basically like a when it all right so we're going to wrap it up with maybe the biggest story everybody's going how could you not talk about PR nuk what are you what are you waiting for anyway so here it is and by the way I must remind everybody that when we did the show a few months ago I asked this uh this gentleman here what did he think about all the trade rumors what's going on with auk and Kyle you basically said uh he's not going anywhere uh this is all smoke this is all talk uh we we've seen it before with Debo and so forth and he ain't going nowhere and I asked you the question again a couple of weeks ago because I knew we were going to talk eventually and uh you yeah you you didn't change your stance even though there's so many oh he's he's going here he's going there what look at it's gonna happen but uh have you changed your mind at all you still think BR and nayuk is lock solid definitely more than likely definitely going to be a 49er I'm like 8020 he's gonna be a Niner okay it's come down just a little bit okay the only the it just the only the reason trading him never made sense and this has been the case really since the draft the only way that trading him makes sense is if you're going to get a piece back that helps you this year when they didn't trade him during the draft their chances to add a piece that was going to help them as much or more than Brandon auk is going to this year went down significantly so from what I understand they were trying to get a pick high enough in the draft that they could draft one of Malik neighbors Roma dun or Marvin Harrison Jr when that ship sailed they I I don't think they were interested in in trading Brandon iuk for draft pick anymore so I still I look at the Steelers roster and I I look at what they might be willing to deal and I don't see a player that can help the 49ers as much or more than Brandon auk not to say like TJ watt would obviously he's he's one of the three best defenders in the league but they're not trading him right so so the players who would be available aren't going to help the 49ers and and you have a Steelers team that's like yeah we'll take Brandon auk if we can get him for basically nothing and a Niners team that's going yeah hey we'll give you Brandon auk if you give us a Kings Ransom and and those two things just never never really matched so I I think that's the case they they had trades worked out with with Cleveland they had trades worked out with with New England and when iuk didn't want to go to those two places I thought it was kind of a wrap on the whole trade thing and everything else beyond that was going to be smoke because the Patriots were going to give him what whatever the reporting was 32 $33 million a year he wants to win he wants to be part of a team that's going to contend and I know the Steelers have contended for a while but they haven't won a playoff game since what 2016 true they're gonna finish above 500 every year we know that with Mike Tomlin he's one of the best coaches in the league totally get it but you look at that quarterback situation I don't think that's the place Brandon auk necessarily wants to go and I don't think the Steelers have anything to offer the 49ers where they're going to be jumping at the at the opportunity to move on from auk so you wind up with this staring contest where uh the 49ers in auk both believe they have the leverage the're reporting now is that they're close on a deal but they've got to overcome one hurdle in the final year of the deal I think auk probably wants some some guaranteed money sprinkled in there where the 49ers want that guar want to have no guaranteed money so they have some flexibility on either moving on or being able to restructure that contract or whatever it is uh to me if he wants a little guaranteed money in the fourth year give it to him because the risk reward of that uh is does not does not make a ton of sense yeah to me I I mean bran auk's a good player he's 26 sure keep him around okay and then by the way I just stopped here because I interviewed David Harrison uh locked on commanders and he talked about the rumors and when he told he reminded me about well first of all Peters is the new GM uh Daniels played with auk and his friends with him I was like you know what if there was a place that I could see IU going to and saying that you know and and then this would be a really good you know match well that did make sense to me actually more than the Steelers based on those relationships so what about what about the commanders all right so I I and just to tack on to that they just added a third round pick from the uh Johan doson trade so uh my my take on this is I don't I don't dis age like all of those puzzle pie puzzle pieces line up the problem is save for the third round pick for Johan Dodson yeah uh all of this was the case months ago true and the commanders were one of the teams that Brandon auk had permission to talk to one of the four teams it was Cleveland New England Pittsburgh and and Washington and the Niners worked out trades had parameters for trades with three of those teams Washington was the only team that didn't have the parameters for for for a trade with the 49ers oh okay which leads me to believe that either they value auk probably about the same way the 49ers do and they went well we're not going to pay him what he's asking for so we're just not going to get involved or they just don't think the 49ers are going to trade him so they don't they didn't want to waste their time they didn't want to be used as leverage I just I I think every every reason that the commanders would want to get involved in the auk sweep Stakes was probably the case along time ago and the fact that they haven't gotten involved to this point leads me to think that they are not going to get involved at all even if it does make all all all that sense sure I I hear I think and I think the 49ers would would probably if if the commanders called the 49ers would start with okay give us Terry McClaren and a pick and the commanders are obviously not going to do that uh because the whole the whole point would be having mcloren and iuk and I think once once you hit that roadblock then I I I think the docs are probably over yeah good points yeah I mean uh I could see why uh again the window is open we'll see what happens but hey yeah this is why I like talking to uh insiders like uh yourself because you've been around the program and you know the heartbeat especially with the with the regime and you know the comings and goings and outside guys especially even the national guys outside guys they don't know as much because they don't follow the team they don't watch every single play they don't you know listen to every single thing coming out of the organization and it's great to uh uh to get thise of insight from you Kyle and I really do appreciate it yeah man anytime you know you know where to find me oh by the way Jake Moody good yeah fine fine he needs to prove it on the field I know right I just look here's my thing with Jake Moody it was all about like man this guy's stone cold ice in his veins we put him through all these scenarios and man he's just and then his first game-winning kick he misses it yeah I know come on dude yeah well he was fine though he was good he was a good play yeah he did he hit the one of the Super Bowl so he did he yeah a couple of big ones he he showed he showed he could he could he could you know he's got ice in his I think he's gonna be good I think he's good Kyle appreciate it I look forward to talking to during the season at some point or maybe if there's some brandan auk news that uh I'm sure you don't want to hear about because then that would mean uh because I don't need to have yond thatd signed so uh if anything weird happens maybe we'll talk again I look I would like this to be over yeah I know I want this I just want it done whether he traded or signed yeah I don't want to worry about it anymore yes that's how Jeff fans feel about reic but of course we don't have the tie that you do to iuk so it's completely understand so uh again great job Kyle and uh you've got the podcast by the way how often do you do the podcast uh during the season we're three times a week okay does that include postgame uh yeah postgame pod midweek pod and then preview pod all right again at the Niners wire check that out on Twitter and uh we'll uh talk 49ers football again later this season with Kyle Matson