Vic Tafur

Host at Just Win: A Podcast Covering the Las Vegas Raiders

Senior Writer @TheAthletic. Cover 49ers and NFL. Fade King of NFL picks. Boxing guy. ‘I walk the earth, meet people, get in adventures, like Caine in Kung Fu”

Articles

'Not going to retire with something left in the tank'

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Trent Williams has seen it all as he gets ready for his 16th NFL season, but he is admittedly new to the whole voluntary organized team activity thing he's participated in this offseason. The San Francisco 49ers' left tackle has been at team headquarters for a couple of weeks now, including Tuesday's start of the team's two-day mandatory minicamp.
49ers rookie returner Junior Bergen has big goals, out to prove he has the 'it' factor

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

Brent Boyer would hustle to Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Mont., last year to watch his son kick for the University of Montana. The then-special teams coach of the New York Jets, Boyer would have been watching the kick return teams anyway but one player, not his son, kept catching his eye. The one who kept scoring touchdowns - Junior Bergen. As in an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision career record of eight punt returns for a score.
Why the 49ers have faith in their offensive line

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - It's not really football yet, as defensive end Nick Bosa pointed out on Wednesday. The San Francisco 49ers players are wearing helmets for the offseason workouts, but there are no pads, and there is limited contact. But every now and then you hear a coach get after a player, so there is important work being done.
49ers' Jake Moody aims to trade distance for accuracy with new kicking approach

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

Jake Moody can't just pretend that last year didn't happen. In what was a frustrating season for the San Francisco 49ers, whose Super Bowl hangover consisted of 11 losses and even more injuries, Moody was the exclamation mark, as the kicker missed kick after kick down the stretch following his return from a high ankle sprain. But Moody can erase a key step as he looks to regain his footing for the team that drafted him in the third round two years ago.
49ers QB Brock Purdy had 'no drama' in negotiations that led to 5-year, $265M extension

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

Brock Purdy said there was "no drama" in his contract negotiations with the 49ers, as they came in with a "respectful" first offer that ultimately wound up in the five-year, $265 million contract extension that the quarterback signed Tuesday. He wanted the deal to be team-friendly, but he never faced the dilemma of being nice versus getting his worth. "There are only 32 starting quarterbacks," Purdy said in a news conference on Wednesday.
A 2-year window to chase a Super Bowl

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

Just two months ago, there was widespread panic about what the San Francisco 49ers were doing, as they lost starter after starter and seemingly their title hopes were washed away with each wave of free agency.
49ers rookie Alfred Collins is out of the shadows and ready for his NFL future

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

Alfred Collins spent his first four years at Texas in the shadows, starting all of 12 games as the Longhorns kept rotating in older studs on their defensive line. But Collins became a 6-foot-6, 332-pound shadow last season, keeping opposing offensive linemen and quarterbacks from seeing the light as he stuffed the running game and swatted away passes. It was as if he was back in the third grade.
Will a last-place schedule help produce a bounce back?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Matt Barrows |Vic Tafur

The NFL will release the 2025 schedules for all 32 teams at 8 p.m. (ET) Wednesday. Here is what we know about the San Francisco 49ers' schedule so far. The 49ers will play each team from the NFC South and AFC South, as well as the 2024 fourth-place teams from the NFC North, NFC East and AFC North. San Francisco also will see its NFC West division rivals twice, once on the road and once at Levi's Stadium, as part of its 17-game schedule.
49ers' Mykel Williams makes strong rookie camp impression; team adds 2 more veteran OTs

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

SANTA CLARA - On a day when 51 players hit the field for rookie camp on Friday, the real news for the San Francisco 49ers was back inside the building as they continue to address the biggest miss in their recent draft: the offensive line. The Niners signed seventh-year offensive tackle Andre Dillard, a 2019 first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, and former Tennessee Titans tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. This comes a week after they signed veteran tackle D.J. Humphries.
49ers rookie Marques Sigle eager for a new audience to get to know his name

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

He didn't have a lot of followers back then, but Marques Sigle took to what was then known as Twitter on Jan. 7, 2023, to let everyone out there know. And ... maybe the former reserve cornerback for North Dakota State was telling himself something, with a nudge, as well. If you didn't know my name, you will soon!!! pic.twitter.com/EbVmsmYA9h- Marques Sigle (@MarMar1k30) January 7, 2023Sigle had entered the transfer portal a month and a half earlier, just as North Dakota State's regular season ended.