SANTA CLARA — The 49ers don’t have a single player on the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP). The 49ers have a clear starting quarterback in Brian Hoyer. The 49ers employ a general manager and head coach who actually communicate together.
Times have been a hell of a lot worse around these parts, as short as seven months ago.
There will more newsworthy nuggets Friday on the practice field, but there are stories you should be aware of coming from Thursday’s press conferences.
Carlos Hyde is the lightest he’s ever been in the NFL
Unprompted, John Lynch said Hyde has completely transformed his body. Weighing in at a trim 228 pounds, Hyde says he even played above 230 at Ohio State. At point this summer, Hyde dipped all the way to 224 pounds. Amidst rumors about his job status, or a diminished role the 49ers noticed.
“At the least bit, it shows commitment,” Lynch said.
Hyde told reporters he spent the summer break in Santa Clara to focus on his body. A source tells KNBR.com Hyde has been working closely with Mike McDaniel, the team’s run-game coordinator. Former NFL receiver Andrew Hawkins called McDaniel the smartest position coach he’s ever had. There is belief within the building McDaniel’s creativity could be a strong pairing with a slimmed down Hyde.
As for the plan at running back? I asked Shanahan if he prefers a bell-cow to a platoon of backs — he’s used both styles effectively. He still hasn’t determined which direction would be best for his first season with the 49ers.
Eric Reid and the 49ers are not in contract discussions
A tougher decision on the horizon for Lynch and Shanahan will be Reid’s future. The team did not draft either Jamal Adams or Malik Hooker at the top of the draft, leaving the door entirely open for a return. Reid is set to make $5.6 million in 2017, his fifth season in San Francisco.
The 49ers obviously have the cap room to sign Reid to a lucrative extension right this second. What’s the hold up? Reid’s been one of very few reliable players on the roster during three years of chaos. Finding good safety play in the league has gotten harder throughout the years.
Essentially, the 49ers are rolling the dice here. The team wants to see how he plays in the new scheme at a new position, a normal hesitancy from a new regime. But if he excels and becomes part of the reason the 49ers’ defense finally stops the run, his price tag will go up. If Reid is playing well early in the regular season, don’t be surprised if Lynch and Paraag Marathe whip out the checkbook, but as of now, talks are mum.
An area where Kyle Shanahan has changed his playbook
Matt Ryan launched a touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. Hoyer, watching the postseason from his couch, texted his former offensive coordinator after another Falcons win.
“Hey, congrats,” the message read. “I wish we had that play in Cleveland”
Indeed, the biggest change for Hoyer manning the controls of Shanahan’s offense is the integration of running backs. Hoyer barely threw passes out of the backfield in Cleveland, whereas now, it’s an unflappable staple of the passing game. Devonta Freeman caught 127 passes in two seasons; Tevin Coleman even caught 31 last year. Cleveland leading receiver at running back in 2014? Terrance West with 11 catches.
It shows why Shanahan has been successful: he evolves.
‘That’s been really cool, to see how this offense has evolved,” Hoyer said. “Really, I played in similar offense in New England and then in Houston, each year something new evolves so to play with Kyle back in Cleveland and now with our system here, sure the core routes, formations, protections, those are still in tact. I think, an offense that is going to do well is always evolving to what is going on in the league. Kyle has been able to do that, getting backs involved. I think the backs we have, signing (Kyle Juszczyk) Juice, a guy who what label you give him? Guys like that will be important parts of our offense.”
Finally, Hoyer’s not worried about a quarterback competition
2013: Hoyer competed with Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell in Cleveland, eventually seizing the starting job.
2014: Hoyer competed with Johnny Manziel in Cleveland, eventually losing his job to a rookie who was nowhere near ready.
2015: Hoyer competed with Ryan Mallett in Houston, eventually seizing the job in leading Houston to the playoffs
2016: Hoyer did not compete with Jay Cutler, but eventually unseated him, before breaking his arm.
This time around? Hoyer finally isn’t stepping on toes. This is finally his offense without someone breathing down his beck.
“You don’t have to deal a little bit with the unknown when it comes to that,” Hoyer said. “That’s always nice especially being a human being. You can tell yourself not to worry about things as much as you want to. Those thoughts creep into your mind. Now to just be able to go out and focus and take control, and know that this is my team, this is my offense, it kind of eliminates that and you can just focus on football side of it.”
There will be tough cuts
I asked both Lynch and Shanahan who has final say over the 53-man roster. Shanahan says it’s something both will work on collaboratively, although Peter King’s draft profile piece revealed the head coach used his muscle to get Joe Williams back on the draft board and onto the roster.
There’s only one round of cuts this season, instead of the customary two. It’ll streamline things for the final preseason game, but it’ll also make Shanahan and Lynch’s job that much more excruciating at the end of the summer.
“You goal as a personnel department and as an organization is to build a team where you have to cut a guy who can play in the NFL,” Shanahan said. “It’s hard to do. Because you don’t like to get rid of players who can go help other teams. I do think we’re in a position where we have some depth at some spots and we’re going to have some tough decisions to make.”
