5 49ers players who benefit most from the bye week
The San Francisco 49ers have the latest possible bye week in the 2025 season. With a team that had as many injuries as they did, this could be seen as a blessing and a curse. They would have enjoyed a week in the middle of the year to reset, but now that they are 9-4 and made it this far, it is a great chance to be the most rested team when the playoff stretch comes.
Still, these 49ers have to be happy that the week finally came.
Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy is slowly but surely starting to play better. Still, with five touchdowns to three interceptions and an average of 187 yards per game, it is fair to say that he is not quite firing on all cylinders.
He may not be completely healthy, or at the very least, he is rusty. So, it is good that he got three games to shake off the rust, and now gets a full week to reset, come back healthy, and hopefully play his best football in the last five weeks.
Ricky Pearsall
Ricky Pearsall was one of the most productive receivers in the NFL over the first four weeks of the season. In the three weeks that he has been back from his PCL injury, he has 20 yards combined. Some of this is due to outside factors, but Pearsall is in the same boat as Purdy. He was able to shake off the rust, but now a week to reset, make sure he is completely healed, and have a strong stretch run is needed.
Spencer Burford
Burford started the season as the backup left tackle, and now he is going to finish the season as their only hope at left guard. Burford was on IR from Weeks 3-8, and during that time, Connor Colby was unplayable at left guard. They immediately benched him for a healthy Burford despite limited practice time for the fourth-year guard.
Burford went from full-time to splitting snaps when Ben Bartch returned, but now Bartch is out for the season with a foot injury. So, Burford has been switching positions, trying to get healthy, jumping in and out of the lineup and now is a key to the 49ers' playoff success. A week to get his mind right may help.
Eric Kendricks
The 49ers may be without Tatum Bethune for another week or two after the bye week, although a week without games does buy him time. Still, they want to move on from Curtis Robinson playing and Kendricks may be the guy to do it. Kendricks was signed off of the street, so playing him this week was not happening.
Now, he gets a full week to adjust. If he can practice well next week, he may get on the field by Week 14 or 15.
Yetur Gross-Matos
Yetur Gross-Matos was placed on the IR with a hamstring injury, but Kyle Shanahan seemed optimistic about his chances to return after the bye week. Of course, with Shanahan, we never know until he is on the field practicing.
Sam Okuayinonu is also rehabbing his high ankle sprain, so both edge rushers will take value in the time off. If one or both can come back soon, it would make a notable difference.
Cubs Predicted To Add $154 Million Japanese Ace After Shota Imanaga Deal
The Chicago Cubs came into the offseason needing to add to their pitching staff. They were able to retain Shota Imanaga on the qualifying offer after he opted out of his contract to begin the offseason. But the Cubs could dip back into free agency to improve their rotation even more.
There are a few quality options on the board, and the Cubs could be a fit for any of the top pitchers.
Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com recently predicted the Cubs would land international free agent Tatsuya Imai this winter. Imai is projected to sign a massive $154 million deal, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic.
“Despite the interest in New York, L.A., and Boston, the market’s top Japanese pitcher lands in Chicago,” Caldera wrote.
This would be the perfect addition for the Cubs. Their rotation struggled a little bit last season, so improving that unit would be the top priority.
With Kyle Tucker likely to leave town in free agency, money shouldn’t be the issue for the Cubs signing Imai. They should be able to afford it, and it would give the international star a chance to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Imai might not want to join a team with loads of Japanese talent, but having Imanaga in Chicago could bring some familiarity to the free agent righty. The fit makes perfect sense. Only time will tell if the Cubs will spend the money to make it happen.
