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The San Francisco 49ers have announced a contract extension for one of their best players. Defensive lineman Justin Smith, who turns 34 on Sept. 30 and is coming off triceps surgery, is now signed through the 2015 season. His contract was previous...

Insider NFL analysts Mel Kiper, Gary Horton, Matt Williamson, Field Yates and Herm Edwards break down every NFL team in five key categories to see how the league might stack up three years from now entering the 2016 season.

Story | Conversation | June 19, 2013

San Francisco 49ers fans should take a look at what Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has to say about the NFC Championship Game. Ryan sat down with Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com to analyze key aspects of the game that vaulted San Francisco to ...

Cleveland Browns outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo was running with the second-team defense at last week's mandatory minicamp. Mingo, the No. 6 overall pick, has his sights on starting the regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 8...

Jim McCormick previews individual defensive players (IDPs) for the 2013 fantasy football season.

Good morning, NFC West. Three items around the division caught my attention over the weekend. We take a quick run through them to kick off a new week: Around the NFC West: June 10, 2013 Arizona Cardinals Boivin: Mathieu on t...

The Super Bowl is coming to the San Francisco 49ers' new stadium in 2016, the latest victory for the organization. The announcement, delivered by the NFL on Tuesday, was expected because South Florida's efforts had faltered. That should not dimini...

As this Washington Redskins offseason unfolds, the former first-round pick on whom everyone will be focused will be Robert Griffin III, the dazzling young quarterback who followed up his rookie season with reconstructive knee surgery in January. But ...

Our post-draft amendments to pre-draft positional rankings continue with Matt Williamson, NFL scout for ESPN.com. Up next: linebackers. NFC West teams drafted six of them if we count the San Francisco 49ers' Corey Lemonier and the Arizona Cardi...

Another in a periodic series examining the roles of NFC North newcomers: We have all debated the potential for Ziggy Ansah's immediate impact as a Detroit Lions defensive end in 2013. Ansah was a late arrival to football, a late bloomer on the NFL...

The San Francisco 49ers used the 40th overall choice of the 2013 NFL draft for Florida State defensive lineman Tank Carradine, a player analysts connected to San Francisco in pre-draft projections. That move came one day after the 49ers used the 1...

The San Francisco 49ers placed three linebackers on the Associated Press' All-Pro first team for 2012. A fourth 49ers linebacker earned second-team All-Pro honors. Matt Williamson Ranks West by Position Team SF SEA STL ARI QB...

The San Francisco 49ers have fielded an effective, sometimes dominant defensive line recently, even without factoring outside linebacker Aldon Smith into the line equation. That's why it was shocking to see ESPN's NFL scout, Matt Williamson, rank ...

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith and linebacker Aldon Smith are working back from offseason surgeries, and general manager Trent Baalke expects each to be at full strength and ready for the start of training camp this summer.

The 2012 battle for NFC West supremacy between the San Francisco 49ers' and Seattle Seahawks' has turned into a perceived battle this offseason. "It just feels like the Seahawks make a move, then the Niners make a move," former NFL quarterback Dam...

Jay from Cincinnati wants to know how Colin Kaepernick's contract situation with the San Francisco 49ers might align with future increases in salary-cap allotments. "With the cap expected to jump for 2015," he writes, "that seems like perfect timi...