49ers Bulletin: Tall task ahead

Before fully turning on the page on the uneventful 49ers trade deadline, John Lynch joined Murph & Markus on Thursday morning to discuss the lack of late moves, of course the plethora of injuries, and Rams week. To say a lot in few words, he summed it up with a simple phrase. The 49ers weren’t going to get fleeced by an underwhelming offer at the deadline. 

Now that that’s officially in the rearview, Kyle Shanahan and his team can officially focus on the red hot Rams, who are sure to be hell bent on revenge after the Niners took their lunch money in October’s first matchup. 

Slowing down the Rams will be a tall tall task for a depleted 49ers defense that seems to subtract experience and athleticism weekly. Just when fans got used to Nick Bosa’s absence, Fred Warner went down with a season ending injury. No one has gotten used to that, but the Niners’ front seven was at least getting established in their roles. Now they’ll be without rookie DE Mykel WIlliams for the remainder of the 2025 campaign, as he became the latest victim of the Metlife Stadium turf monster in the waning minutes of San Francisco’s blowout win over the Giants. 

Matthew Stafford has aged like fine wine, building a legitimate MVP case through the first half of 2025. He’s thrown for 2,147 yards and 21 touchdowns in eight games. Many of those came without star wideout Puka Nakua. Since the Niners shocked the Rams in LA a month ago, they’ve largely been unstoppable while taking over first place in the West and looking every bit of a Super Bowl contender while doing so. Stafford will look to pick on a young inexperienced Niners defense on Sunday at Levi’s. 

Kyle Shanahan joined Dirty Work on Thursday afternoon for his weekly interview. While most of the trade deadline questions were left to Lynch on the morning show, Shanahan was able to provide some clarity on the Niners’ most high profile pending injury. Emphasis on the some. 

Lastly, Mike Silver wanted to remind everyone how good Brock Purdy is when healthy.