LEAGUE MEETINGS TO TALK CHANGES

What’s ahead for the NFL in 2021? Not even the teams know.

They’ll begin finding out this week when the 32 team owners hold virtual meetings today and Wednesday.

Two items top the agenda: increasing the regular season to 17 games and decreasing preseason games to three per team. Both are nearly certain to be approved after a pandemicstressed season that severely cut into the league’s revenue stream.

Many players, however, aren’t thrilled with the idea.

Regardless, it’s about to happen. The owners want it and don’t need the union’s permission. The media partners who just spent about $10 billion annually for NFL rights fees will get more content that counts, and fewer exhibition games.

With the preseason reduced, plans basically call for a bye week after the final August games and before the season begins in the second week of September. Also coming is a reduction in such offseason events as minicamps, organized team activities and preseason work.

Another major offshoot of playing 17 games will be moving the Super Bowl back one week, in this case from Feb. 6 in Los Angeles to Feb. 13. That would place the title game in the middle of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Coincidentally — or maybe not to the network — NBC has both.

49ers to take QB

For 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, the biggest risk wasn’t trading three firstround picks for the No. 3 selection where he could take a shot on the franchise quarterback of the future.

The chance he didn’t want to take going forward anymore was going into a season without an elite quarterback who he believes can consistently carry a team to a Super Bowl.

“It’s a risk every single year you go into an NFL season without one of those top five guys,” Shanahan said in his first public comments since last week’s big trade for the No. 3 pick.

“It’s very tough to win in this league. There’s only a few quarterbacks that you’re going to win because of just the quarterback. Very few. Even those guys still need a good team around them. So you’ve got to take risks. This is a risk we willing to take.”

This was by far the biggest chance the 49ers have taken since Shanahan and GM John Lynch arrived in 2017. San Francisco traded the No. 12 overall pick, plus additional first-rounders in 2022 and ‘23 and a compensatory third-round pick in 2023 to Miami last Friday for the No. 3 selection in a quarterback-rich draft.

Lynch acknowledged that the Niners likely paid a premium to get the deal done a month before the draft but he followed an edict from Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh to “to beat your opponent to the punch” and didn’t want another team to swoop in and steal that pick away.

Notable

The Cowboys signed free agent safety Damontae Kazee (San Diego State), adding another player from new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s time as coach in Atlanta.

• The Chiefs and defensive tackle Jarran Reed agreed to a $5 million, oneyear contract that could be worth up to $7 million and gives the AFC champions another interior pass rusher to play alongside Chris Jones.

• The Giants signed veteran defensive tackle Danny Shelton. A first-round draft choice with Cleveland in 2015, Shelton has played in 87 career games with 72 starts.

• Veteran safety Josh Jones re-signed with the Jaguars on a one-year contract, giving the team another experienced starter at the position.

• The Colts continued reinforcing their offensive line by re-signing backup center

and adding