NFL Player News

The second-year back will be out at least a few more weeks with the injury. Once he’s healthy he can work on trying to get some run behind Jeff Wilson in the 49ers backfield. Also inactive for the 49ers are TE Tyler Kroft (knee0, OL Daniel Brunskill (hamstring), DE Arik Armstead (foot), DE Kemoko Turay, and OL Nick Zakelj.

As Schefter notes, McCarthy was born in Pittsburgh and worked under Steelers GM Omar Khan during his time in New Orleans in the early 2000s. For a team that just moved on from Mike Tomlin because of his recent lack of playoff success, McCarthy would be a bit of an odd choice. He made the playoffs three times during five seasons in Dallas but managed to win just one postseason game. McCarthy was, however, more successful in Green Bay. He won a Super Bowl over the Steelers and made the NFC Championship three other times. His track record in the postseason is a mixed bag at best, but the Steelers could do worse in this head coaching cycle.

The Titans already conducted a virtual interview with Nagy. They will now meet him in person later this week. They are also pursuing Packers DC Jeff Hafley, who is likely their first choice. If Hafley doesn’t take the job, Nagy could get a second chance at leading a team. He went 34-31 with the Bears after a successful run as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach and eventually offensive coordinator. His latest stint as the Chiefs’ OC has not gone as well. With the best quarterback on the planet at his disposal, Nagy’s Chiefs have topped out at 15th in points per game over the past three years. It’s hard to see him doing better with Cam Ward under center.

Monken will have an in-person interview with the Browns on Tuesday. Making it to the second round of interviews is a good sign for his odds of landing the job. Even if he doesn’t, Monken is a highly coveted offensive coordinator who will have no issues finding work for 2026. He is already considered one of the leading candidates for the Giants’ OC job. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is also getting a second interview for their head coaching vacancy.

Hafley will meet with Miami brass on Monday before talking to the Titans on Tuesday. He has already met with both virtually. These meetings will be in person. Schefter added, “As was the case with Kevin Stefanski in Atlanta, a deal could come together quickly.” It sounds like these two teams will have a bidding war early in the week before Hafley makes his decision. Hafley does have a connection to Miami via Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan. The latter was just hired by the Dolphins after spending over two decades in Green Bay’s front office. We suspect that’s where he winds up, but this is still an open race between the Titans and Dolphins.

Charbonnett left the Seahawks’ Divisional Round win over the 49ers with a knee injury. The team listed him as questionable to return, but he never reappeared in the blowout game. Macdonald said Charbonnet will undergo an MRI on his knee and the team is optimistic. He at least has a shot at playing in the NFC Championship game. If he doesn’t, Kenneth Walker, who just ran for 116 yards and three scores, will be in line for another massive day.

Pineiro missed just one of his 29 attempts on the season — 32 if you count the postseason — after the 49ers finally moved on from Jake Moody following Week 1. He now has hit 139-of-155 regular season attempts in six years in the league. It’s very funny that he was freely available to anyone before Week 2 and had a season this good. A 2026 free agent, the 49ers will probably prioritize re-signing him after this performance.

Juicecheck had his most prolific regular season in terms of catches and touches since 2021, recording a 24-213-2 receiving line in the regular season and a 4/49 performance in the Wild Card round against the Eagles. He’ll enter free agency again this offseason and figures to be a low-priority target for the 49ers entering his age-35 season.

Bourne went for 142 yards in Week 4, 142 yards in Week 5, and 180 yards from Weeks 7-18. It was a fun ride. Bourne enters free agency as a respectable outside depth receiver, but he hasn’t cracked 600 yards since 2021 and will need extreme circumstances to be fantasy-relevant going forward.

Robinson came on as a depth piece late in the year (after a brief DUI suspension) as he played over Kendrick Bourne and shined in the NFC Wild Card game to the tune of a 6/111/1 receiving line against the Eagles. He’s under contract with the 49ers for 2026 but should only be a depth piece unless several rehab assignments go long – which, given that it’s the 49ers, perhaps we shouldn’t pretend that won’t be the case.

He left the game just after halftime with an injured ankle, playing only 29 of 60 snaps. Filling in admirably for George Kittle when he went on IR early in the season (and again when he missed Week 17), Tonges caught five touchdowns and averaged 4.5 catches for 44.5 yards before Kittle returned in Week 7. He’ll be a restricted free agent in 2026, and the 49ers would likely love to have him back to fill in while Kittle rehabs his torn Achilles. Tonges’ situation would leave him as a low-end fill-in TE1 while Kittle is hurt assuming no one tries the rarely-seen “steal away a restricted free agent” gambit.