Christmas is nearly here. The 49ers locker room on Thursday was abuzz with gifts and the sort of upbeat vibe that comes with clinching a division title with three weeks left in the season.
Below are notes heading into this Saturday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders.
Mike McGlinchey playing through pair of broken ribs
49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey told KNBR on Thursday that he’s been playing through two broken ribs since Week 8, the second game against the Los Angeles Rams, which kicked off the team’s seven-game win streak.
Before the 49ers’ Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks which saw them clinch the NFC West (the earliest clinch since 2011 and the first division secured in the NFL), McGlinchey was warming up and grimaced.
He consulted with strength and conditioning assistant Aaron Little, then walked back to the locker room. He came out about 20 minutes and finished his warmups and played the game with what seemed like no ill-effects.
While he suffered it in Week 8, McGlinchey said he didn’t realize his ribs were broken for another three games, until the pain flared up against the New Orleans Saints.
“We had a combination block where I got foot traffic and I landed on the ground and a linebacker was running through and just crushed my side,” McGlinchey said. “I didn’t really know it was broken until I re-aggravated it in the Saints week. And I went to get the CT scan, they showed it was bones that were already broken.”
His performance against Seattle netted a 76.7 Pro Football Focus (PFF) Grade, his second-highest of the season. PFF has given him a 71.4 overall grade on the year — 34th out of 87 qualified tackles.
PFF grades aren’t the end-all-be-all of assessing performance, but it’s one of the few useful metrics available for offensive line players. The eye test also supports the fact that McGlinchey, aside from a few ignominious moments, has been solid this season.
Trent Williams is PFF’s top-rated tackle and top-rated player, with a 94.5 grade on the season, for reference.
McGlinchey said he hasn’t had previous experience with broken ribs.
“If it gets flared up, it can get really painful, so you just try to do the best you can to keep it manageable,” McGlinchey said. “It’s pretty much done. It was a done deal until pregame against Seattle. So I must have hit something or did something to warm up that tweaked it and had to go take care of it so I could play.”
The 49ers had nine days of mostly rest between Seattle and this matchup with the Commanders.
McGlinchey indicated the long layoff was welcome, saying: “I’m all good.”
49ers visited inmates at San Quentin
On Monday, the 49ers visited San Quentin State Prison as part of the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative.
The team’s pastor, Chaplain Pastor Earl Smith, led a discussion on a panel of 49ers players and incarcerated people.
According to the team, attendees included 49ers Ownership, Jenna and Mara York, and the following 49ers players: Azeez Al-Shaair, Arik Armstead, Spencer Burford, Oren Burks, Robbie Gould, Talanoa Hufanga, Josh Johnson, Qwuantrezz Knight, T.Y. McGill, Curtis Robinson and Charlie Woerner.
After the discussion, players toured the prison to see the programs and trainings being offered. The day concluded with players joining children and their incarcerated fathers for a holiday party in the visiting room.
Spencer Burford, one of the 49ers players in attendance, said that he was impressed by the programs offered there.
“It was a different experience,” Burford told KNBR. “You hear a lot of stuff about prison, on the outside about how it’s this and how it’s that. But San Quentin’s way different as far as the structure and the programs that they have set up. They’ve got programs to where guys can learn coding. I don’t know how to code.”
Burford expressed sympathy for the incarcerated men that he and teammates got to meet in their time there.
While not excusing what landed them in prison, he approached the situation with humanity and appreciation for the fact that life can be unforgiving:
At the end of the day, they’re human beings. A lot of people like to label people as inmates or label them as convicts or this or that. They’re still human beings. At the end of day, everybody has a story.
Nobody’s perfect. You’ve probably made a mistake. It just wasn’t as costly as their’s.
It’s cool to get to know somebody, because that mistake may not be who they are. It may have just happened. They can’t control the outcome that came with it. Even though it was a choice, they’re still human.
The experience, Burford said, gave him perspective.
“You realize that you’ve just got to enjoy every minute that you have,” Burford said. “It makes you want to live a better life because you don’t want to be in that position or in that predicament. Don’t take things for granted. It really opens your eyes to a lot and just keeps you grounded.”
Christmas gifts
There’s a lot of buzz around the gift-giving in the 49ers locker room.
Each locker, on Thursday, had a hefty SONOS speaker, courtesy of Trey Lance. Lance also had cards placed in each one of his lineman’s lockers for a custom suit. Fittings were ongoing after practice.
When Jake Brendel was asked what rookie quarterback Brock Purdy got for the team, he said, lightheartedly: “Wins.”
For those of you out there who are reading too much into it (there is a surprisingly substantial contingent of folks online who took that answer the wrong way, as a perceived slight against Lance), please take a deep breath.
It was an obvious joke, acknowledging the fact that Purdy, the last pick of the draft, shouldn’t be expected to be racking out on gifts while on a rookie contract with a $724,253 cap hit this season.
Brendel said Purdy didn’t need to get them anything, but he and his roommates Nick Zakelj and Alfredo Gutierrez offered this gem (with an accompanying story from the Chronicle’s Eric Branch) of a Christmas card:
As far as Jimmy Garoppolo is concerned, Aaron Banks said he was certain that Jimmy Garoppolo would be getting them something, too. Christmas is a pretty good time to be an offensive lineman.
Pro Bowl nods and snubs
Few subjects are as dull as Pro Bowl snubs. The voting system never seems to work the way it’s intended, and the fact that Pro Bowlers — who no longer have an actual game to play in — are announced with three weeks to go is bizarre.
The 49ers had six Pro Bowlers and seven alternates announced Wednesday.
DL Nick Bosa, S Talanoa Hufanga, FB Kyle Juszczyk, TE George Kittle, LB Fred Warner and T Trent Williams were selected to the 2023 Pro Bowl.
OL Jake Brendel, K Robbie Gould, RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Ray-Ray McCloud (return specialist), WR Deebo Samuel, CB Charvarius Ward and P Mitch Wishnowsky were selected as alternates.
McCaffrey, who was named as an alternate, lost out to three running backs who have fewer all-purpose yards than him, and only one, in Tony Pollard, who has more touchdowns than him.
Here’s McCaffrey’s numbers compare to the three backs who made the Pro Bowl over him:
- Christian McCaffrey: 1,578 all-purpose yards 11 TDs, 927 rush yards, 74 receptions, 623 rec yards
- Saquon Barkley: 1,464 all-purpose yards, 9 TDs, 1,170 Rush Yds, 47 receptions, 294 rec yards
- Tony Pollard: 1,279 all-purpose yards, 12 TDs, 969 Rush Yds, 33 receptions, 310 rec yards
- Miles Sanders: 1,182 all-purpose yards, 11 TDs, 1,110 Rush Yds, 19 receptions, 72 rec yards
Trent Williams, who was named to his 10th Pro Bowl, said the McCaffrey snub was head-scratching, given that if you asked people who’s the most “effective and productive” back in the league, most people would say McCaffrey.
He said he understood Dre Greenlaw getting snubbed, saying Pro Bowl nods usually happen a year after they should, and that next year, he’ll likely start to make the team.
I understand Dre. To people not in the Bay, he’s kind of new. When you talk about name basis, his production has been there for last couple of years, but you know how it is. You usually make it one year after you deserve to make it and you make it one year after you don’t deserve to make it.
I think he’s he’s woke the league up now. His name is starting to ring bells. So I think once it happens to him, he’s gonna roll off rattle off a bunch of them, like his counterpart.
For Williams, though, the honor was a special moment, probably only second to last year’s nod — his first back after a season off from recovering from cancer.
“It means everything, man,” Williams said. “I think back when I went through my first training camp, I’m thinking like, man, I maybe can do 10 years in this thing., I’m gonna have to find something else. I don’t know if my body gone hold up and then fast forward 13 years now, having 10 years worth of Pro Bowls under my belt, I think it’s it’s an honor. I’m truly blessed. I never take it for granted. You know, it’s it’s one of those things that you know, no matter how many you get, it never gets old.”
Any hard feelings for Shanahan, Williams with the Commanders?
Of course, when the Commanders come to town, it’s impossible to not have old memories crop up with Kyle Shanahan — who’s dad, Mike, was fired in 2013 — and Williams, who had major issues with the Commanders’ medical staff and reportedly refused to play for the organization again after he felt they didn’t handle his situation properly.
Per former GM Bruce Allen’s deposition, which was made public December 8, owner Daniel Snyder, the team could have re-signed Williams to an extension.
Instead, per Allen, Snyder said, “Not a dime. Fine him to the max.”
Williams, though, said he doesn’t harbor grudges and that this game doesn’t mean more to him despite that tempestuous history.
“Nah,” Williams said. “I mean, it’s so hard to go forward when you’re looking back, right? If you drove home looking into rearview the whole time, you’d probably wreck.
“So, I mean, I’m looking forward to adding a ring, continue to stack accolades. I just made my 10th Pro Bowl looking, hopefully at back-to-back All-Pro seasons. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m not focused on turmoil, or or trials and tribulations that I’ve overcome, or anything like that. I don’t hold any grudge.”
He said that view “comes with maturity.” He’s got more perspective as a 34-year-old, he said, than he would have had at 24.
But he’s never had any illusions about the reality of the NFL. It’s brutal
“I’ve always been able to understand pretty quickly that this is a business and that nobody owes you anything,” Williams said. “Eventually everybody will meet their demise in this game, whether it comes via getting cut or via slowing down and having to retire. Very few people walk out on their own terms, so, I learned that early.”
Shanahan, for his part, shifted the focus to people in the organization he respects: head coach Ron Rivera, and former 49ers vice president of player personnel and current Commanders GM Martin Mayhew.
“My issues will never be different. They are what they are and that’s not changing, but I have no problem with there,” Shanahan said. “I love Ron Rivera, I think he’s awesome. I respect the hell out of him. I love Martin [Mayhew]. I think Martin’s the man.
“I know those guys are really trying to do it the right way and I’ve been really impressed with what those two have done in there these last couple years. Haven’t got to see them on tape really until this week and I can see why they’re where they’re at. They’re a good football team and I respect the people in charge.”
The people in charge, it can be safely assumed, do not include owner Daniel Snyder.