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New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
49ers abruptly pull plug on kicker competition as injuries hit RB, D-line
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers' summer kicking competition was billed as one that would push, sharpen and strengthen Jake Moody, and it had everyone — from Kyle Shanahan to Nick Bosa to the media — suddenly paying attention to special teams drills. And now, after nine training camp practices, it appears to be over. Advertisement The team released veteran Greg Joseph on Monday amid a flurry of roster moves made to keep a banged-up roster healthy enough to scrimmage the Denver Broncos on Thursday and open the preseason against them on Saturday. The 49ers are light at wide receiver and along the defensive line, they were down to three tailbacks in Monday's practice and they conducted the session without a fullback 'I would love to keep him here longer,' Kyle Shanahan said of Joseph. 'But we had 13 guys out of practice today, we've got five guys on (the physically unable to perform list). It's just too many people to have that luxury. It's awesome to have two kickers … but we need more guys to take reps.' In addition to the move at kicker, the 49ers also waived quarterback Tanner Mordecai. The team uses only three quarterbacks in practice, and, for now at least, newcomer Carter Bradley, the son of assistant head coach Gus Bradley, will fill the No. 3 role. 'Maybe there's a chance we can get Tanner back,' Shanahan said. 'We'll see how this roster goes. But we'd like the chance to work with Bradley right now.' When it came to field goals, Joseph appeared to be slightly ahead of Moody in training camp, connecting on 22 of 24 attempts while Moody was 21 of 24. Still, Moody is a 2023 third-round pick who caught new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer's eye when he was coming out in the draft. Boyer has made changes at punter and longsnapper, and he brought in new coverage aces during free agency. Moody, the 49ers' most embattled special teamer in 2024, is the only incumbent who's kept his job. He missed 10 of 32 field-goal attempts last year, with all but one of those misses coming after he returned from a Week 5 high-ankle sprain. 'I've seen a guy that lost his confidence a little bit, but I've also seen a guy that was injured half the year,' Boyer said of reviewing Moody's game film. 'He's a super-talented kid, and I think that he's just got to get his stinger back, so to speak.' Advertisement Shanahan said Monday that Moody has ' been kicking the ball very well' in recent practices, 'and hopefully that continues.' He said that though Joseph is no longer in camp to push Moody, the third-year kicker still must deliver. 'Kickers always know they're competing with whoever's out there,' Shanahan said. 'So I don't see much of a difference.' These are the problem spots that prompted the moves at kicker and quarterback: A number of 49ers were absent Monday, including starting defensive tackle Kevin Givens, who suffered a pectoral injury and will miss a chunk of the regular season, Shanahan said. Givens missed nine of the final 10 games last season, including the final five because of a pec injury. With Givens out, the team will turn to veterans Jordan Elliott, Evan Anderson and Kalia Davis as well as a trio of rookies — C.J. West, Alfred Collins and Sebastian Valdez — at defensive tackle. Anderson is dealing with a knee bruise and didn't practice Monday. Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, meanwhile, has a groin strain and will miss a couple of weeks, Shanahan said. To boost its defensive line numbers, the team signed Bradlee Anae and Bruce Hector. Another defensive end, Yetur Gross-Matos (knee), has been working out on a side field recently and is scheduled to return to practice within the next two weeks. Rookie Jordan James (knee) was back in practice Monday but was limited to individual drills. Meanwhile, Isaac Guerendo injured his right shoulder during a kick-return drill Saturday and will miss 'a few weeks,' Shanahan said. Also on Saturday, a teammate stepped on fullback Kyle Juszczyk's Achilles, opening a cut on the tendon. He's considered day to day. With no other true fullback on the roster, the 49ers used a lot of three-receiver and two-tight-end formations Monday. Advertisement The tailbacks who took part in team situations were Patrick Taylor Jr., Ameer Abdullah and rookie Corey Kiner. Christian McCaffrey had a rest day, as did offensive tackle Trent Williams and Bosa. The team has been practicing without Brandon Aiyuk (ACL), Jauan Jennings (calf) and Jacob Cowing (hamstring), while newcomer Andy Isabella suffered an ankle injury Monday. The 49ers also cut undrafted rookie Isaiah Neyor, who made a spectacular catch on the second day of training camp but who'd been quiet since. The 49ers have been practicing without Malik Mustapha (ankle) and on Monday didn't have Ji'Ayir Brown, who sat out the spring sessions with an ankle issue and has missed two practices so far due to the same problem. Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant played with the first-team unit. The 49ers also re-signed safety Jaylen Mahoney, whom they cut last week. • A bright spot in the receiving corps: Ricky Pearsall continues to look sharp. He caught three of the four passes that went his way Monday, including a deep ball from Mac Jones on which Pearsall got behind cornerback Tre Brown and safety Marques Sigle. The lone incompletion to Pearsall came when Brock Purdy's out-route throw was broken up by Upton Stout, who's been the best looking rookie in camp so far. • Purdy had another good day, completing 9 of 13 throws in team situations. Like he has in several practices this year, he opened the 11-on-11 period with a deep shot to George Kittle. The tight end, however, couldn't manage an over-the-shoulder catch, perhaps because linebacker Fred Warner was on his heels as the ball arrived. Jones, meanwhile, continues to look efficient. He was 11 of 14, while Bradley was 4 of 9. Bradley began the day 0 of 3 but finished with a flourish — a deep, sideline connection to receiver Terique Owens, who scored on the play. • The 49ers signed offensive tackle Isaiah Prince, a sixth-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2019 who has been with five other teams since. Prince lined up at right tackle with the third-team offense. He looked light on his feet in one-on-one drills with wins over Robert Beal Jr. and Anae. However, he looked a bit too light against Mykel Williams, who threw the new tackle off balance. Advertisement Collins continues to struggle in the drill, losing matchups to Matt Hennessy, Connor Colby and Drew Moss before beating center Drake Nugent on his final repetition. General manager John Lynch and Gus Bradley were among those who watched the drill. Collins and West were the second-team defensive tackles for most of the practice. • Cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir (hip) and Darrell Luter Jr. (personal) were back at practice. Lenoir and Dallis Flowers got most of the first-team repetitions at outside cornerback with Stout at nickel cornerback. Renardo Green (hamstring) is still at least a week away from returning. • The 49ers waived tight end Mason Pline. That leaves Ross Dwelley, Jake Tonges and Brayden Willis to compete for the No. 3 tight end spot. The 49ers also waived cornerback Tre Avery, replacing him with cornerback Fabian Moreau. • Shanahan was asked about team radio announcer Greg Papa, who received a recent cancer diagnosis and won't be on hand to call Saturday's preseason game. The 49ers have not yet announced who will replace him. 'We love having Papa around,' Shanahan said. 'He watches everything, eavesdrops — sometimes a little too much. But no, we love Greg. I love doing my TV show with him. He's been awesome. I was telling my kids about that, and my youngest daughter didn't know his name and then (son) Carter imitated his voice when the Niners score touchdowns and stuff. So she knew exactly who he was then. We're all pulling for him, and he's in a battle, but a battle we know he is going to win.' (Photo of Jake Moody: Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
Associated Press
a minute ago
- Associated Press
Baltimore RHP Grayson Rodriguez to have season-ending elbow surgery
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will have season-ending surgery on his pitching elbow next week. Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino made the announcement before Monday's game in Philadelphia. Rodriguez started the season on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation that flared up in spring training. A rehab outing scheduled for April 17 was canceled because of a strained lat muscle. The 2018 first-round draft pick, who missed three months of the minor league season in 2022 with a lat injury, hasn't pitched in the majors since July 31, 2024. He finished last season on the IL with a strained lat. ___ AP MLB:
Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
Back With New England, USMNT GK Turner Is Ready To Turn Heads Again
It's a lot closer than you think. The kickoff of the World Cup might be 10 months away, but August could wind up turning into a vital month for the U.S. men's national team. Yes, there are no international friendlies scheduled until the international friendly against the Korea Republic at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6. But there will be important news transpiring off the field: As where various key players will be competing as they begin their tune-up and find their form for the 2026 World Cup. Over the weekend, it was reported that forward Tim Weah will be loaned by Juventus, where he wasn't getting much playing time, to Olympique Marseille in France. As it turns out, it is the same French Ligue 1 team that his father, the great George Weah, starred for, from 1992-95. On Friday, the New England Revolution announced that it had signed acquired goalkeeper Matt Turner for the rest of his Major League Soccer season and through June 30, 2026, with the Revs having option to buy his contract. No doubt he needs to play regularly if the 25-year-old native wants to be the U.S.'s goalkeeper for the second consecutive World Cup. A mercurial rise After signing with the club as an undrafted free agent out of Fairfield University in 2016, Turner played the next seven seasons with the Revs. During that span, the 6-foot-3, 180-lb. keeper earned 2021 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS Best XI honors, secured the MLS All-Star Game MVP Award, and helped lead New England to its first Supporters' Shield title. Since venturing over to England to perform for Arsenal in 2022, Turner's playing time has been limited to a paltry 17 league matches. He bounced around to Nottingham Forest and then to Crystal Palace, making a handful of appearances, usually in cup competitions. He thought he finally found a team that he could call home when transferred to Lyon in France for $8 million. However, Lyon fell into financial trouble and the French Ligue 1 club and couldn't add Turner to its roster. So, he returned to New England. "My European adventure, it didn't go perfectly to plan but I did learn a lot along the way," he said during a Monday press conference. "So, I had some misfortunes. I had some opportunities that I didn't make the most of as well. It just didn't go perfectly to plan. However, like I said, I started my beautiful family over there, I have zero regrets about my time in England and I really loved it. I would never shut the door on a return either." Well, let's worry about the next year or so, please. Lyon not in the cards After thinking he finally found a home in Lyon, came the bad news that he could not play for the French side. 'It was a trying time, and it was difficult to be in limbo for a while," Turner said. "And thank you so much to my parents, and my wife's parents who are here today, because without them it would have been really difficult for our family. I mean, no one feels bad for a soccer player, right, because we make millions of dollars and it's all great and well and good, and your problems are insignificant." Turner said he was more concerned about his family, with finding the right schools for his two children and making sure his family had the proper health care insurance, regardless where they were. "Now, I turn to an extended family here in New England to take me in with open arms, and let me just focus on my work, and getting ready to achieve my ultimate goal, which we all know is to play in the 2026 World Cup here in the states,' he said. Not playing regularly wasn't the best way to prepare to play internationally, and especially for the USMNT. Unlike other positions on the soccer pitch, you can only use one goalie at a time. All the training sessions in the world can't make anyone into a world class goalkeeper. Games and vital decision-making under pressure when the game is on the line does. Playing for his country, not for his club Turner backstopped the USMNT for four games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and performed well. When he returned to Arsenal, the only action he saw was getting up and down from the bench. Observers, media and soccer aficionados feared he was going to lose that sharpness sooner or later. It came crashing down on him when Turner wasn't sharp enough to make a save against on what turned into the winning goal for Panama in a 2-1 win over the USA in the Concacaf Nations League as the three-time defending champions USA hit another devastating stumbling block as it continued to prepare itself for the World Cup. At the time, former USMNT goalkeeper and National Soccer Hall of Famer Tony Meola talked about the little nuances during the scoring sequence that was replayed for the audience. Cecilio Waterman, some 16 yards out on the right side of the penalty area, deposited the ball into the lower left corner just past the outstretched right hand of Turner. Meola felt that Turner should have taken another step from the goal to cut down the angle. "I look at the angle that Matt Turner took," he said on the Paramount+ postgame show. "I looked at the distance of the shot, where that shot was taken from. Okay, it was a little bit of pace. There's no doubt about that. I don't want to take anything away from the goal scorer, but in this moment … Matt Turner is a little bit tucked in near that in that near post. I had a perfect angle from my vantage point here. Just a little bit of a hop, just before he takes that. So, his feet aren't planted. He doesn't have some explosion to his right. "At the end of the day, in a moment like this, and I'm not I'm not blaming Matt Turner, but those are moments where you have to find a way. Just like a forward in the end, like [Patrick] Agyemang has to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Josh Sargent has to find a way. A goalkeeper on the other end of the field has to find a way to make a save." Sharpness matters, especially for a goalie. A wake-up call Turner received the ultimate slap in the face from USMNT Mauricio Pochettino, who anointed New York City FC keeper Matt Freese as the team's No. 1 for the Concacaf Gold Cup in June and July. Looking back at that time, Turner saw that as a wake-up call. Freese played in all six games as the Americans lost to Mexico in the final. 'Yeah, obviously I was frustrated," he said. "Anytime you're a competitor and you get the opportunity to play, you want to play. But I had multiple conversations throughout the summer with the gaffer there at the national team. Sometimes you're just in a cycle and you need somebody to help you snap out of it a little bit. I think it took [Pochettino] to sort of help me take a step back and look at things from a different perspective, because I obviously was not playing at my best leading into that. I think sometimes you just have to shake it up a little bit to help the player then launch forward and achieve what the coach knows that the player and the player knows that they can achieve. 'So, for me I know what I can achieve, and his support was massive. He helped me to create a new perspective, create new relationships with guys on the team that I might not have had the chance to, and in another sort of scenario where I was playing. And I think also just to look at things from a different side, and show my leadership through a different way. I was grateful for the opportunity that he gave me in that sense, and now I think I can sort of see, with this journey that I've been on, that being in New England was the right place for me to continue to hone those skills, to create new relationships, to play games, to find my happiness in the sport. And then in turn I can give my best to him and to the National Team as well. I think if you look back at some of my greatest national team games, obviously the World Cup was amazing, but some of my greatest National Team games happened when I was here playing in New England.' Turner hoped that history will repeat itself in time for the next World Cup. He is expected to get plenty of games with the Revolution, where he will replace regular keeper, Slovenian native Aljaz Ivacic. When asked if was going to make his MLS season debut against D.C. United on Saturday, Turner replied: 'I'll let the coach [Caleb Porter] make the decision at the end of the day. But, I'm eager to integrate myself with the squad, show my qualities to everybody, and earn my place on the field.' A game-changer Revolution sporting director Curt Onalfo had no doubt that Turner will make an impact immediately for a 6-11-7 team with 25 points that is mired in 11th place in the MLS Eastern Conference, 10 points out of ninth place and the final MLS Cup Playoffs wildcard berth. "Matt is a game-changer," he said. "He's one of these guys that can turn a shot that should be a goal into a save." Turner and Weah weren't the only USMNT players who were in limbo this summer. Several of their teammates need to find new homes as the start of the various European seasons is right around the corner, later this month. The list includes midfielder-forward Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), whose potential transfer to Parma (Italy) came apart last week because his Bundesliga side felt the offer wasn't big enough, and forward Josh Sargent (Norwich City), who nixed a move from the English Championship to Wolfsburg because he didn't want to move to Germany, even though it would be high level of competition. If their teams or agents don't get things sorted out soon, it could be a long, frustrating season for those two players with the World Cup looming closer than you think. Michael Lewis can be followed on X at Soccerwriter and on BlueSky at Soccerwriter.
