The 49ers have brought back one of their previous draft picks.
San Francisco announced on Tuesday that the club has signed receiver/returner Trent Taylor to a one-year deal.
Taylor, 29, was a part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and G.M. John Lynch’s first draft class as a fifth-round pick in 2017. He appeared in 41 games for San Francisco from 2017-2020, recording 79 catches for 731 yards with three touchdowns in his first stint with the club.
Taylor has been effective as a punt returner, most recently serving in that role for Chicago last season. He averaged 8.2 yards per return on 23 attempts in 17 games.
In 78 career games with the 49ers, Bengals, and Bears, Taylor has averaged 9.4 yards per punt return. He’s also returned eight kicks, averaging 13.3 yards per attempt.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy set a franchise record with 4,280 passing yards last season. He rushed for only 144 yards with two touchdowns on 39 carries.
But Purdy, who ran for only 13 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries as a rookie, rushed for 48 yards on five carries in the comeback victory over the Lions in the NFC Championship Game.
It was the second most of his career behind 57 yards on six carries against the Bengals during the 2023 regular season.
It isn’t likely coach Kyle Shanahan adds running plays to the playbook for Purdy, but Purdy knows he’s capable of running if needed.
“I mean, if it happens, it happens,” Purdy said Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “Scrambling and all that, I’m all for it. But hopefully, Kyle’s watching this and we can put in some zone read and have [some more run plays].”
Purdy, though, is spending the offseason working on getting better at what he’s already good at.
“Obviously, continue to work on my arm and just mobility with my body and self, and maybe just get a little bit more agile with speed and all that,” Purdy said. “But physically, there’s always going to be more room for improvement, so that’s where I’m attacking this offseason.”
Heading into the last year of his rookie deal, 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason.
While San Francisco does not appear inclined to deal Aiyuk, there is still plenty of time for something to happen before the season — whether that’s Aiyuk signing a new contract with the 49ers or heading elsewhere.
At his youth football camp over the weekend, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said he has talked with Aiyuk about the situation.
“I just told him I’ll always have his back and support him in whatever he does,” Purdy said, via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “I want the best for him. It’s a business thing, so for me to say anything about that, that’s out of my pay grade. He and I talk through things and I hear him out.
“At the end of the day, what he’s done for me, giving me an opportunity to come in and throw him the ball, I’ll always be thankful for that.”
Purdy and Aiyuk have displayed undeniable chemistry over the last two seasons. In 2023, Aiyuk caught 75 passes for a career-high 1,342 yards with seven touchdowns in 16 games. He then caught nine passes for 149 yards with a TD in San Francisco’s three postseason games.
The No. 25 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Aiyuk was named a second-team All-Pro for the first time last season.
A strange but increasingly common kerfuffle erupted on X over the weekend, when a report emerged that 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk “has officially requested a trade from the 49ers, per confirmation from my San Francisco source.”
Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, responded to the claim with this: “You need better sources.”
Williams is right. Aiyuk has not “officially requested a trade.” He doesn’t need to.
With Aiyuk unfollowing the 49ers on social media, any team that has any interest in Aiyuk has reason to call the 49ers.
Several weeks ago, such calls were met (we’re told) with a response that Aiyuk isn’t available. At this point, with the draft 10 days ago and the situation still unresolved, why not make the call again?
There’s also reason to believe that, even though Aiyuk hasn’t requested a trade, conversations might be happening to determine whether other team(s) are interested in making a deal — with the knowledge and approval of the 49ers.
That could be useful to the 49ers. It could give both sides useful information as to what his market might be.
The biggest challenge for the 49ers and Aiyuk will be setting his number. He presumably (and justifiably) will want the same deal the 49ers gave to receiver Deebo Samuel, at a minimum.
It makes sense for the 49ers to figure this out now. Pay Aiyuk or trade him to someone who will, and get 2024 draft-pick compensation for him.
Trading him would fly in the face of the entire purpose of the draft/development model. Teams select players with the hope that they’ll become key members of the team. Aiyuk has; he was a second-team All-Pro in 2023. Why trade him?
The best-case scenario is that they’d flip Aiyuk for a rookie who ends up being pretty good, too. And then they’ll have to pay him, or trade him and do it all over again.
If the draft is a lottery and each player is a lottery ticket, Aiyuk was a winner. The difference for the NFL is that the jackpot then gets paid by the holder of the ticket. It’s time for the 49ers, or someone else, to give Aiyuk his jackpot.
George Kittle thinks the 49ers’ offensive continuity can help them be even better in 2024.
“Stay healthy, just continue to do our jobs, just try to get a little better every day,” Kittle said on ESPN. “Brock Purdy is a fantastic quarterback, and he’s only going to get better because he’s so young. And we were fortunate enough to keep our entire offense so far, which is very beneficial when your whole o-line stays together, everyone gets used to playing next to each other. So we’re optimistic our offense takes another step going forward.”
Kittle’s use of the words “so far,” however, is a reminder that things can change between now and the start of the season. And the biggest question is whether wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is seemingly unhappy with his contract, will remain with the 49ers. Both 49ers General Manager John Lynch and Aiyuk’s agent have publicly indicated that things are going smoothly, but until Aiyuk has a new contract, it’s fair to wonder how much longer the 49ers can keep their entire offense together.
Kittle also noted that the 49ers retain the key defensive players from last year’s NFC champions.
“On the defensive side of the ball, when you have Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, [Javon] Hargrave, Charvarius Ward, we have a pretty good defense over there too,” Kittle said. “Hopefully we keep playing at a high level.”
Getting Aiyuk locked in for another season would be another reason for optimism in San Francisco.