The San Francisco 49ers waived tight end Brayden Willis Saturday to make room for long snapper Jon Weeks on the active roster.
Per the NFL's transaction wire, Willis went unclaimed. Willis showed positional versatility during the preseason, but he was also a 7th-rounder from '23 with as many regular-season receptions since then as you and I.
That means the team can bring him back to the practice squad and potentially elevate him to the active roster for this upcoming week against the Rams. He's expected to practice with the team after re-joining the practice squad, as he did not leave Australia, per Matt Maiocco.
Willis's best chance to contribute offensively is at fullback. During this past preseason, he lined up at fullback 15 times. Kyle Juszczyk recently returned to practice after breaking his finger. If Juszczyk can't perform his usual duties or gets hurt again, Willis is his logical backup — ***** uming the team would have him on the active roster so he can play special teams.
Juszczyk is entering the final year of his two-year contract. He's 35. It makes you wonder if the 49ers want to keep Willis around to take over for Juszczyk if this ends up being Juice's final year as a Niner. In my opinion, Willis offers more out of the backfield than as a tight end. That was likely part of the reason he was waived.

#willis #juszczyk #roster #team

From Travis Scott and David Harbour to Tory Burch, stars gathered at the 2026 US Open game dressed to their nines. Among them was New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's wife, whose outfit grabbed fans' attention and is receiving tons of praise.
"Okay, outfit of the day going to the U.S. Open," Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's wife, Ann Michael Maye, said on her TikTok account. "My dress is this little white mini dress from Abercrombie. The sweater is J Crew. These little cute flats are from Marshalls, and then my bag is Distry. So, yeah, let's go. Okay."
This isn't the first time Ann Michael Maye turned heads with her outfit. She came to Santa Clara in 2026 to cheer for her husband, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, as he prepared to face the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium.
For the big day, Ann Michael stole the show in a custom cropped navy Patriots jacket made by Kristin Juszczyk, the wife of 49ers star Kyle Juszczyk. The jacket had the Patriots logo, and she matched it with studded white jeans, a slicked-back bun, gold earrings, and oversized sunglasses.
Drake Maye's Patriots are worth following, especially with all the storylines brewing in New England. Subscribe for more interesting stories.

#maye #quarterback

After weeks of uncertainty, a decision has been made: San Francisco 49ers stars George Kittle and Nick Bosa will board the team's Wednesday flight to Melbourne, Australia, for the Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
That does not necessarily mean both players are locks to play Sept. 10. Kittle is in the late stages of his recovery from a torn Achilles suffered in January; he took part in San Francisco's final three practices ahead of the team's departure. Bosa is dealing with the lingering effects of a second ACL tear in his right knee; he participated in drills during the open portion of Wednesday's practice for the first time since Aug. 3, sporting a black sleeve on his right knee.
Even if Bosa and Kittle aren't yet guaranteed to take the field at Melbourne Cricket Ground, these developments signal there's a strong chance they will. It seems unlikely the 49ers would send either player to Melbourne without - at the very least - intending for them to suit up against the Rams.
Asked Monday if the decision to play or sit Kittle had to be made by Wednesday's flight, head coach Kyle Shanahan said, "It'd be much nicer to make that decision before we go instead of having him go through all that." But he noted that Kittle spending 10 days away from the medical staff and out of team meetings is a "big deal," even if he isn't going to play.
Other players who returned to practice Wednesday: wide receiver Mike Evans (adductor), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (finger) and defensive back Ephesians Prysock (shoulder). Evans, who worked off to the side Tuesday, appears to be on track to play in Week 1.

#play

With just days ahead of a flight to Melbourne, Australia for their season-opening showdown with the Rams, several 49ers stars descended upon St. Francis High School in Mountain View to watch Kyle Shanahan's son play.
George Kittle and his wife Claire, Kyle Juszczyk and his wife Kristin, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Mac Jones were all in attendance for the first St. Francis game of the season with a field-level view against Manteca High School. Instagram Stories posts by Kristin Juszczyk and Claire Kittle show the pair en route to and in attendance at a high school football game, and the group of 49ers can be seen sitting underneath the scoreboard on the school's livestream of the game.
While there were many games going on across the Bay Area on Friday night, the connection with their coach's family appears to be a big reason why all the 49ers went to the Mountain View private school for a game. Shanahan's son, Carter, is a junior this year who takes after his dad, who was a wide receiver at the University of Texas, and plays the same position for the Lancers. Carter Shanahan was a starter on Friday night as the Lancers beat Manteca, 31-23, and even was the team's primary kick returner.
The 49ers ties at St. Francis run deeper than just the coach's kid, too. Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and Hall of Fame defensive lineman Bryant Young were hired as ******* istant coaches for the varsity team over the summer, and both are in their first seasons on the Lancers' staff. And two former St. Francis players are currently with the 49ers: the team signed defensive end Villami "Junior" Fehoko Jr. last week and employs Michael Lauck, a former quarterback at the school, on the 49ers' video team. Other former 49ers stars have also sent their kids to St. Francis in the past, including Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott and former head coach Steve Mariucci, and were frequently seen at the school's sporting events.
It isn't the first time the 49ers have made their presence felt on the St. Francis football field, as Shanahan also attended his son's junior varsity game last season after his team's Week 5 dramatic win against the Rams.

#school #high #view

Several 49ers WAGs didn't let the looming season stop them from savoring summertime.
This was made very clear by the summer getaway that George Kittle's wife, Claire, and Kyle Juszczyk's wife, Kristin, took to Italy, while their husbands were in the thick of training camp.
Per usual, Kittle and Juszczyk were active on social media throughout this vacation. And Kittle posted an Instagram collage of the trip that includes several bikini photos.
Claire Kittle taking a selfie while on an Italian vacation.
The post was captioned, "Loves an Italian summa

#kittle #wife #wags #kyle

The San Francisco 49ers' short-term future doesn't look great, according to ESPN. An expert panel consisting of ****** ysts Louis Riddick, Aaron Schatz, Ben Solak, and Seth Walder ranked the 49ers No. 14 in ESPN's Future Power Rankings.
ESPN's methodology evaluates how well all 32 NFL franchises are set up for sustained success over a three-year window spanning the 2027 through 2029 seasons. The panel rated each team's quarterback situation, non-QB roster makeup, front office, and coaching staff on a 1–100 scale. Those grades were then calculated into a weighted overall score: roster makeup (30%), coaching staff (25%), front office (25%), and quarterback (20%).
The 49ers earned an overall score of 82.4, placing them behind NFC West rivals Seattle (No. 1, 88.7) and Los Angeles (No. 5, 85.3). San Francisco's category breakdown features elite respect for their coaching staff (93.5 score, second in NFL) and a top-10 quarterback rating (87.0 score, 10th in NFL). However, lower marks for their non-QB roster (77.0 score, 16th in NFL) and front office (74.0 score, 23rd in NFL) pulled down their overall grade.
The primary reason for optimism centers around head coach Kyle Shanahan's play-calling brilliance and a young defense. Solak noted that as long as Shanahan remains at the helm printing high-caliber offensive schemes, San Francisco will stay dangerous regardless of offensive line inconsistencies or playmaker injuries.
Conversely, Riddick highlighted roster age and durability as major causes for concern. Crucial veterans like Trent Williams (38), Kyle Juszczyk (35), Mike Evans (32), and George Kittle (32, returning from an Achilles tear) face steep longevity questions. Paired with a history of significant annual injury bug issues, the 49ers will lean heavily on Shanahan and his staff to continuously develop unheralded talent to remain in contention over the next three-year cycle.

#overall

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle's wife, Claire, is on a European vacation with some of her friends. The 49ers star, on the other hand, is nursing himself back from the Achilles tendon injury he suffered last season during the wild-card Round matchup against Philadelphia.
Kristin Juszczyk, a fashion designer and the wife of 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, posted a video on Instagram earlier today ****** led "Outfits we wore in Italy." Claire Kittle was next to Kristin and others as they showed off different outfits at scenic locations.
"& now it's time to trade in euro summer for game days!" she captioned the post.
At the time of his Achilles injury, George Kittle was expected to miss a portion of the 2026 NFL season. However, his recovery has been remarkable so far, and Kittle could potentially be available for his team from Week 1.
During a SiriusXM NFL Radio interview, Kittle said that he is ahead of schedule and could soon lace up for the 49ers.

#achilles #kristin #juszczyk #season

Now that NFL training camps are well underway, many wives and girlfriends of the league's biggest stars are giving behind the scenes looks about their training camp experience.
San Francisco 49ers WAGs Claire Kittle and Kristin Juszcyk are not among these. Instead, the two prominent social media personalities are on a girls trip in Italy, which has contained daily trips on boats while their husbands are dealing with injuries back in California.
George Kittle, left, and Claire Kittle attend the Michelob ULTRA Pitchside Club Hosts FIFA World Cup Final. Getty Images
Kittle and Juszczyk are all smiles on this trip, which was shown by an Instagram story post that Claire made on Tuesday morning.
The short video shared the two WAGs looking at each other and laughing while on the back of the boat. Both were wearing bold bikinis, with Claire's being some sort of halter-style top with shell-like embellishments. Kristin's was a multicolor, animal print look that included some purple tones and was mostly covered by a cream wrap.

#instead

ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently went team by team projecting each franchise's realistic Hall of Fame candidates, and while several 49ers stars fared well, one veteran was tabbed as unlikely to reach Canton.
Barnwell explained his approach before sorting players into five tiers: players that are in, on the cusp, need to keep it up, have work to do and will be missing out on the Hall of Fame, based on historical comparables rather than personal opinion on merit.
San Francisco had plenty of representation across the spectrum. Barnwell listed receiver Mike Evans, running back Christian McCaffrey and tackle Trent Williams as locks, while tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner landed in the "on the cusp" group. Edge rusher Nick Bosa and quarterback Brock Purdy were tabbed as having "work to do" but remain on a promising trajectory.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, however, fell into the "missing out" category despite a decorated career in the Bay Area.
Juszczyk will be a fascinating case to see whether that keeps up, given that he just earned his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl nod in 2025. Of course, while Juszczyk is a good player, it's fair to wonder whether he's racking up Pro Bowl appearances by virtue of being the most conspicuous player at a position where there simply aren't many others, just as Mike Alstott became a six-time Pro Bowler with the Bucs. Juszczyk plays only about half of the offensive snaps in a typical game, and it seems telling that the 49ers were willing to cut him this offseason before re-signing him, saving about $500,000 in the process. I'd be a little surprised if he made it in just given how the league has valued fullbacks.

#hall #cusp

The San Francisco 49ers list of injured players surged during Wednesday's practice when offensive lineman Nick Zakelj and defensive end Sam Okuayinonu both exited the session early with unknown ailments.
Zakelj and Okuayinonu joined DE Nick Bosa, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, OL Carver Willis, wide receiver Jacob Cowing, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, OL Brett Toth among the players who were new to the injury list before and during training camp Wednesday. That's on top of WR Mike Evans, WR Christian Kirk, WR De'Zhaun Stribling, RBs Kaelon Black and Jordan James, OL Vederian Lowe, DL Keion White and S Malik Mustapha all already sitting out practice with various injuries.
However, while the list of San Francisco's injured ballooned to 20 including the trio of players on the PUP list, ESPN's Nick Wagoner had a note that shows the injury situation might not be as bad as it looks on paper.
Wagoner posted a different sort of injury update in his daily practice recap on Twitter:
For the record, many of these guys, including Evans and Kirk did some work on the side, including some full speed running. Guerendo and Mustapha, in particular seem to be close to back. Greenlaw also seemed to be fine as he got a bit of a rest today with soreness. He watched practice from the defensive back field.

#list #including #zakelj

It's fantasy football draft season.
What a glorious sentence. Training camps are underway in earnest, preseason kicks off this week and the season will be here before you can spell "Kyle Juszczyk" (which takes me about 25 business days on average). Whether you've been following the beats all summer or are just now tuning back in, one of your best tools for taking the temperature of the fantasy football community is Average Draft Position, or ADP.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
But that ADP is subject to change — quite a lot — over the next month. So, as we hit the heart of mock drafts (and eventually real drafts) and these ADPs continue to shift, here are 10 players whose draft cost I'm watching closely.
The closer we get to September, the more ADP shifts away from the brainchild of degenerates and diehards — like me — and closer to the consensus of the average fantasy player. Oftentimes, that comes with a notable shift in perception on rookies. Running back Jeremiyah Love was drafted third overall out of Notre Dame and is the top rookie in fantasy ADP — a potentially game-changing talent. But the Cardinals entered training camp with a lot of question marks on offense and have raised even more with recent comments about James Conner and Tyler Allgeier. Historically speaking, Love's draft capital suggests he will be a workhorse, but a long look at Arizona's roster raises some red flags about efficiency and scoring chances. The breakdown of snaps and touches will likely remain something of a mystery until Week 1 (or beyond), so fantasy drafters will have to work off conjecture for now.

#draft #average #season #drafts

Fred Warner has been to two Super Bowls and two additional NFC Championship Games with the San Francisco 49ers, and he's walked away empty-handed every time. Now entering his ninth season under head coach Kyle Shanahan, the All-Pro linebacker says the group around him understands the opportunity in front of it isn't guaranteed to last.
"There's only so long that we're going to have these opportunities together as this group," Warner said on KNBR. "It's funny though, 'cause I feel like every year our sense of urgency is through the roof. Ever since I've been here, we've had the standard of winning a Super Bowl. It's always been Super Bowl or bust for us."
Since Shanahan took over in 2017, San Francisco lost two Super Bowls to the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC ****** le in consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022 to the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. Warner has been part of that core the entire way, and the roster around him has only gotten older in the pursuit.
With Deebo Samuel's return this offseason, the 49ers are positioned to potentially start five non-quarterback skill players age 30 or older: Samuel, Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk. That group size and age has been matched by only a handful of teams in Super Bowl-era history, none of which found much postseason success doing it.
Warner said the volume of accolades this roster has compiled over the years — All-Pro nods, Pro Bowls, conference ****** le appearances — carries no weight once the season starts.

#bowl #kyle #since

The San Francisco 49ers' reunion with Deebo Samuel pushed the team into historically unusual territory when it comes to roster age at the skill positions.
According to the ******* ociated Press' Josh Dubow, the 49ers could now start five non-quarterback skill position players age 30 or older in the same game: Mike Evans, Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk.
That would put San Francisco in exceedingly rare company. Per Dubow, only three teams in the Super Bowl era have started five skill position players 30 or older in a single game: the Buccaneers did it once in 2004 with Tim Brown, Charlie Garner, Mike Alstott, Joey Galloway and Ken Dilger, the Broncos did it once in 20023 with Mike Anderson, Ed McCaffrey, Rod Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Dwayne Carswell and Washington did it twice in 1992 with Gary Clark, Art Monk, Earnest Byner, Don Warren and Terry Orr.
The track record for those teams was mixed. The 2004 Buccaneers finished 5-11 and missed the playoffs, a steep decline from their Super Bowl ******* VII run two years earlier. The 2003 Broncos went 10-6 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2000, but were routed 41-10 by the Colts in the Wild Card round. Washington's 1992 club was the most successful of the three, going 9-7 and beating Minnesota in the Wild Card round before falling to the 49ers in the Divisional round.
San Francisco was already trending toward one of the NFL's oldest rosters heading into 2026 before the Samuel move, and adding a 30-year-old wideout to a group that includes 32-year-old Evans only reinforces that profile.

#mccaffrey

The Arizona Cardinals open training camp on Wednesday, July 22, and have a few questions facing them. One involves the offense.
With Mike LaFleur as head coach and bringing a new offensive system, what will it look like?
LaFleur has worked under LA Rams head coach Sean McVay and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Both have similarities in their offensive schemes.
We have heard that pre-snap motion will be a big part of it.
Now, will we see more multiple tight end formations, like the Rams did last season? Will they use multiple running backs like the 49ers often do, although that is with fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who operates more like a tight end than a running back?

#head #coach

49ers tight end George Kittle has targeted Week 1 for his return since tearing his right Achilles in a Jan. 11 playoff game against the Eagles. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk expressed optimism over the weekend that Kittle will play in the season opener against the Rams in Australia.
"I really [do] feel that way," Juszczyk told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area at the American Century Championship. "I was so impressed by the way he was moving [at Tight End U], and I was impressed the last week of OTAs, how he was moving. He was doing this zigzag drill, and he told me he had reached like 16 miles an hour that day. I was already impressed with that.
"But then, seeing him go through that warm-up, I was like, 'Wow, I really do think there is a chance that he's ready for Week 1.'"
Kittle made his seventh career Pro Bowl last season despite playing only 11 regular-season games due to hamstring and ankle injuries. He then required surgery to repair his Achilles after the playoff victory over Philadelphia, missing the divisional playoff loss to the Seahawks.
Kittle has repeatedly said he is ahead of schedule in his rehab, but the 49ers are sure to be deliberate with his practice schedule.

Would George Kittle be ready for training camp? Probably not. But as far as his readiness for Week 1 goes, Kyle Juszczyk is pretty hopeful.
The San Francisco 49ers fullback met with Matt Maiocco at the American Century Championship golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe to discuss the rookies and Juszczyk's appearance at Kittle's Tight End University. Juszczyk was optimistic then, and he remains optimistic now in his response to Maiocco:
"I really did feel that way. I was so impressed by the way he was moving, and I was impressed the last week of OTAs, how he was moving. He was doing this zigzag drill, and he told me he had reached like 16 miles an hour that day. I was already impressed with that. But then, seeing him go through that warm-up, I was like, 'Wow, I really do think there is a chance that he's ready for Week 1.'"
Kittle already provided a rehab update a couple of weeks ago, saying he was ahead of schedule. The thing is, the ahead-of-schedule target was set for mid-November. Not Week 1 of the 2026 NFL Season, which is in early September. It would certainly help Kittle reclaim his No. 1 spot in annual tight end rankings if he had a whole season to tear up the field.
The 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, in an international Week 1 game. If there ever was a Week 1 where they need their star tight end, this is the game.

49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk called Mike Evans "unguardable" during the offseason practices. 49ers tight end George Kittle concurs.
Kittle lauded Evans' veteran leadership and football IQ.
"One thing that I was talking to [quarterback Brock] Purdy about a couple of days ago was that this is our first veteran wide receiver since we had Emmanuel Sanders," Kittle said recently on the New Heights podcast, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. "Like, I had Deebo [Samuel]. I had Brandon Aiyuk. But they were both like years one through four—Deebo was like year five.
"But Mike Evans is a guy, like, just watching him and his savviness—you know the concept; you have coverage in the red zone; one guy has the corner; the other guy has the 'now' route underneath it—and the way he sets it up versus a defender with outside leverage and then just gets wide open, and I'm just like, 'It's so fun to watch.'"
The 49ers, even with all their injuries last season, still finished fifth in passing offense. If Evans can stay healthy, he should make them even better.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is one of the best tight ends in the league and one of the most impactful players on any offense, as he can change the game in so many ways.
While Kittle is great, he acknowledges that there's one player on San Francisco's offense that's doing all of the dirty work and helping the team on nearly every single play.
“I don’t know how our offense would survive without Juice because the amount of stuff we put on his plate," Kittle told Travis and Jason Kelce on the "New Heights" podcast. "I’m just letting you know, that if I had to do the things that Juice had to do, I would be really upset all the time… Juice is really our fixer. Anything that goes wrong with the play, it’s usually him fixing something. He’s an incredible football player. Guys who watch him and understand football, they’re like 'That guy’s a ball player right there.'”
Juszczyk has been one of the greatest fullbacks in the league since the Baltimore Ravens took him in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft out of Harvard, where he earned All-Ivy honors twice.
In 13 years between Baltimore and San Francisco, Juszczyk has made 10 Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors three times. He's also rushed for 234 yards and six touchdowns while catching 305 passes for 2,877 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The summer tradition of the "NFL Top 100" continues this offseason. This week, players No. 90-81 are being revealed and, on Wednesday, player No. 85 was revealed. So far, no Arizona Cardinals have been named, but player No. 85 is one the Cardinals will face twice this coming season.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is No. 85.
Purdy was not in the Top 100 last season.
Purdy's 2025 season was riddled with injuries, as he missed eight games. In the nine games he played, the 49ers went 7-2 and he passed for 2,167 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for three others.
49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk raved about Purdy's energy and how he can handle the offense, knowing all the motions and snap points. He is loved in the locker room.

While the San Francisco 49ers are done working together on the practice field for OTAs and minicamp this offseason, but during their downtime, some of the players are still grinding.
This week, George Kittle is hosting his annual TE University in Nashville, Tennessee, alongside Greg Olsen and Travis Kelce.
While we don't have a full list of which tight ends are participating just yet, Kittle did share in an interview on "Pardon My Take" that several 49ers quarterbacks, past and present, will be throwing to the tight ends during the field sessions.
Included in the list of quarterbacks are Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard and Brandon Allen. While Purdy and Jones are currently on the roster, Mullens and Beathard both played for the 49ers from 2017-20, while Allen played for the 49ers from 2023-24.
On top of the quarterbacks and tight ends, Kittle also shared that Kyle Juszczyk will be coaching some fullback lessons at TE University as well. Former 49ers tight ends coach Jon Embree (2017-21) will also be coaching a bit.

It is only June, but the buzz coming out of Santa Clara is already hitting a fever pitch around veteran receiver Mike Evans.
Tight end George Kittle has already been fawning over the San Francisco 49ers' biggest offensive addition of the year, recently claiming that Evans is "cooking" everyone in practice. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has joined the praise frenzy as well.
Speaking on NFL Network, Juszczyk couldn’t stop raving about the newest weapon in Kyle Shanahan’s ******* nal.
"Mike has been so impressive, and I feel like that's saying so much because we were expecting so much," Juszczyk said. "Your expectations are already high, and I feel like he's already exceeded that. He has been unguardable at practice. Red zone has been an absolute problem."
Evans comes to the 49ers after a sensational career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He caught for more than 1,000 receiving yards in his first 11 seasons with the team but missed all but eight games in 2025 after a few injuries.