Beat writer rests; NFL does not
The NFL never stops, but this beat writer did for the past several weeks.
Now, after resting, recharging and reintroducing myself to my wife and daughters, it’s time to start my 12th season covering the 49ers. Before looking ahead, though, let’s look back at what happened during the league’s socalled quiet period:
Linebacker Fred Warner gets new deal
Patrick Willis wore No. 52. NaVorro Bowman wore No. 53. And Warner, No. 54, is clearly next in line when it comes to the franchise’s great modernday inside linebackers.
A fiveyear, $95 million extension with $40.5 million guaranteed is pricey for a player at what’s considered a nonpremium position. However, Warner proved his immense worth last year when the defense was unrecognizable due to injuries, but still finished fifth in yards allowed. Thendefensive coordinator Robert Saleh frequently pointed to Warner as the reason the unit remained formidable when it was expected to fall apart.
Three years ago, it didn’t take long to realize Warner, a thirdround pick, was a steal. After his NFL debut, a 12tackle performance in the 2018 season opener, I spoke with former Pro Bowl linebacker and thenFOX analyst Chris Spielman about the largely anonymous rookie. Said Spielman: “I was just a guy with feel. Warner is a great athlete with feel.”
A part of Warner’s bio that made the 49ers feel more comfortable about paying big money: He also has a knack for staying on the field. Warner has started his career by making 48 straight starts and logging 96.1% of the defensive snaps.
Richard Sherman arrested, faces charges
Everyone is dealing with something, even those who appear to have everything.
Wealth, fame and professional success aren’t shields against mentalhealth struggles. In fact, they can be contributing factors. Sherman reportedly threatened to kill him
self during a confrontation with family members and he also sent text messages to others saying he was going to hang himself. The release of disturbing 911 calls and the video of Sherman trying to break down his inlaw’s front door obscured other details surrounding Sherman’s situation. Among them: King County, Wash., prosecutors obtained an extremerisk protection order for Sherman in February. A judge determined he posed a danger to himself and others and he was barred from having firearms.
Sherman referenced ongoing “personal challenges” in an apologetic statement in which he noted the importance of mental and emotional health and vowed to get help. Sherman rose from Watts to Stanford to a likely spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame thanks in part to his indomitable will. He possesses a remarkable pain tolerance, even by NFL standards, and has explained his ability to play through injuries such as a torn hamstring by saying, “you’ve got to stop thinking about it.”
That won’t work with his current challenge. It will be among his greatest victories if he can get the help he needs, allowing him to offer his distinctive and intelligent voice to the vital conversation around mental health.
Kyle Shanahan wanted QB Matthew Stafford
Shanahan, the 49ers’ head coach, said he was “frustrated” when the Rams traded for Stafford in February because he
had an even greater appreciation for Stafford’s ability after studying him extensively in the offseason: “He’s better than I had realized. He was the man. And he’s underrated to me,” Shanahan said on the “Flying Coach” podcast on which he appeared with Rams coach Sean McVay.
Shanahan had mentioned in May the 49ers had at least explored the possibility of trading for Stafford and Texans QB Deshaun Watson, whose subsequent legal troubles took him off the market. But it wasn’t previously known just how eager Shanahan was to land Stafford. The revelation underscores how determined the 49ers were to replace Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason. And it highlights that trading up to get in position to draft QB Trey Lance wasn’t Plan A.
The Rams forced the 49ers to take the riskier path, investing threefirstround picks in Lance, a rookie with potential, rather than making a similar investment to land Stafford, a 12year veteran who is proven.
Ex49ers GM Terry Donahue dies at 77
I didn’t cover the 49ers when Donahue was a team executive. But Donahue was the first football coach I covered.
In 1995, as a senior at UCLA, I was the football beat writer at the Daily Bruin during the last year of Donahue’s 20year headcoaching tenure at the school. My biggest takeaway from that experience: Donahue treated me, a college student who didn’t know what he didn’t know, the same as the other writers who actually knew what they were doing. That is, he gave my questions the same consideration and respect as those from Steve Springer of the Los Angeles Times and Jon Wilner of the Los Angeles Daily News. Over the years, I discovered not all bigtime coaches had the same decency.
After Donahue’s final game, a loss to Kansas in the Aloha Bowl, his press conference was abruptly ended so the winning coach could hold court in the interview room. I assume a young publicrelations staffer didn’t know it was the last game for a coach who still has the most wins in Pac12 history. I felt it was disrespectful, but Donahue, gracious with those who didn’t know what they didn’t know, calmly walked away from the podium, looking unfazed.
Greg Clark dies at 49 The former 49ers tight end died from an undisclosed cause, and his family said in a statement he had recently been suffering from CTE symptoms. Clark — a Stanford grad who was married to his wife, Carle, for 23 years and had three sons — retired in 2000 at age 28 because of injuries.
Clark’s death came 18 months after 49ers linebacker Steve Hendrickson, who played at Napa High and Cal, died at 54 of an undisclosed cause. Hendrickson had been open about the damage football wracked on his brain, telling ESPN in 2013 that he suffered 15 blackout concussions in the NFL: “I can remember 20 years ago like it was yesterday,” Hendrickson said. “I just can't remember yesterday.”
Such deaths must have a chilling effect on so many NFL players, past and present. They appear to have far less impact on NFL owners, who fought hard for the current, expanded 17game regular season in last year’s collective bargaining agreement negotiations.