NFL insiders provide expert insight on the 49ers' biggest offseason priorities

Former 49ers director of player personnel and, most recently, general manager of the Tennessee Titans Ran Carthon sat down with "49ers Talk" co-host Jennifer Lee Chan to dissect the most pressing needs on San Francisco's offseason agenda. As a former front-office stalwart, Carthon takes us behind the scenes of the 49ers' braintrust and provides a unique perspective on how they evaluate talent and negotiate contracts, as well as their overall vision for roster construction. Next, Jennifer and NFL broadcaster Andrew Siciliano discuss the ways the 49ers could approach their biggest needs this offseason -- whether through free agency or the draft -- and how the 49ers can reconcile the rise in the NFL salary cap and players' salary demands with their overall strategy of getting younger and more affordable at impact positions throughout their roster. Also, Matt Maiocco and Jennifer break down the curious market for backup QB Mac Jones and which NFL teams could be in line for a new starting quarterback. -- (4:00) Where does Mac Jones fall into NFL starting QB carousel for this coming season? (6:00) Looking around the league, which QB starting situations might require a player of Jones’ caliber to come in and compete (12:30) The differences between Sam Darnold and Mac Jones, and why the system and situation has to be right for Mac (16:00) 49ers and Trent Williams have a successfully established relationship; it's mutually beneficial for Trent and 49ers to move forward together (25:30) With Mac Jones not necessarily being shopped on the market, it will take a big deal to entice the 49ers to move him given his impact last season (26:00) Carthon on Purdy’s development since his debut -- Shanahan had to call three different offenses with three different QBs in Purdy’s first season (30:00) How Fred Warner’s development from a big nickel into a box MIKE LB deserves credit from the defensive visions of Robert Saleh, DeMeco Ryans (32:00) From the top down -- Carthon said the 49ers as an organization were buttoned up in what types of players they sought and acquired Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can listen to NFL insiders provide expert insight on the 49ers' biggest offseason priorities online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

NFL insiders provide expert insight on the 49ers' biggest offseason priorities is an episode from 49ers Talk with Matt Maiocco by NBC Sports Bay Area.

This episode is 00:50:37 long.

This episode was published on Feb 27, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from 49ers Talk with Matt Maiocco when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.