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The San Francisco 49ers, though unusually healthy in recent seasons, had a hard time recovering from injuries to return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. and top defensive lineman Justin Smith over the past two seasons. Bill Barnwell drives home that point ...

The rookie wage scale and overall salary structure should increasingly make the NFL a young man's game, all else equal. Youth will be served during rookie minicamps beginning Friday, for sure. With that in mind, I've gone through NFC West roste...

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

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...

Pre-draft news conferences featuring NFL general managers provide a good opportunity to ask about issues beyond the draft. I was interested Wednesday in hearing the San Francisco 49ers' Trent Baalke explain what the team envisioned for Glenn Dorse...

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.

Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest mock draft , this one spanning two rounds instead of the usual one, appeared while I was away. A quiet (so far) Saturday provides an opportunity to run through Kiper's projections for NFC West teams. As usual, I'll sample fr...

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...

Our NFC West chat won't start til 1 p.m. ET, but one of the questions waiting in the queue caught my attention already. "Let's face it, everyone is worried about the 49ers' defensive line," Andrew from Minnesota wrote. "I think, however, most peop...

PHOENIX -- The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks have snagged the most NFC West headlines during free agency. Rams Left Tackles Since 2008 Rank LT Starts 1 Rodger Saffold 35 2 Alex Barron 16 3 Or...

The Cincinnati Bengals announced that defensive end Michael Johnson signed his $11.175 million franchise tag tender, which guarantees his salary for 2013 as well as his participation in the team's offseason workouts and training camp. If Johnson h...

Nnamdi Asomugha was widely considered to be among the best cornerbacks in the NFL before a disappointing two-year detour through Philadelphia. Might the 31-year-old veteran find a career rebirth in San Francisco? Asomugha's scheduled visit to t...

Corey from Florida wants to know the likelihood of the San Francisco 49ers adding Ed Reed to replace Dashon Goldson. "And how strange is it that the Niners seem to love signing players from teams that defeated them the previous playoffs?" Corey as...

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A few thoughts after checking out Todd McShay's latest first-round draft projections for NFC West teams: 7. Arizona Cardinals: McShay sends West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith to the Cardinals even though he says Smith doesn't get a first-round...