Culture
The 49ers’ shrinking window and how Brock Purdy fits (or might not): Sando’s Pick Six
Sunday provided an extreme example of what the San Francisco 49ers can look like, at their worst, with Brock Purdy left to fend for himself on offense.
Star running back Christian McCaffrey remained out. Starting receiver Deebo Samuel fell ill shortly before kickoff and lasted three snaps. The other starting receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, suffered a likely season-ending knee injury shortly before halftime.
If Purdy had carried the 49ers past the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs with all that stacked against him, what else would remain for him to prove? That Purdy tossed three interceptions in a dreary 28-18 defeat might not change how the 49ers feel about their QB.
But the moment does provide an opening to consider the 49ers’ future as they move closer to the day when the 2024 season ends and Purdy becomes eligible for a massive contract extension.
“It could get tricky for them,” an exec from another team said.
The Pick Six column leads with the 49ers’ future in light of their 3-4 start to the season and important decisions that await. The full menu:
• Brock Purdy and the 49ers’ future
• A new Deshaun Watson conversation
• NFC North fallout: Lions, Vikings, Pack
• Jerry Jones is no Al Davis (that’s a good thing)
• Saints’ cap problems aren’t cap problems
• Two-minute drill: Tomlin’s QB decision
1. The 49ers are 3-4 and suffering from injuries that could threaten their championship window. What happens when they pay Purdy?
Purdy and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes combined for zero touchdown passes and five interceptions Sunday. It was possibly a one-off game for both teams, unless the 49ers have reached a breaking point with injuries, which is possible.
Before Sunday, this 49ers season was largely a testament to Purdy’s ability to produce in an offense lacking McCaffrey, who remains sidelined indefinitely. Purdy was scrambling more and completing longer passes into tighter windows, which some saw as evidence that he’s more than just another system quarterback in a Kyle Shanahan offense.
Yes, Purdy struggled against the Chiefs’ man coverage schemes without McCaffrey, Aiyuk and Samuel there to help him (Aiyuk dropped a long pass at one point). But he has shown an ability to produce without all of his weaponry available.
The table below compares Purdy’s career production with and without McCaffrey on the field, provided either Aiyuk or Samuel was on the field when McCaffrey was not. This seemed like a fair way to measure Purdy’s production without McCaffrey, who is an elite game-plan consideration, provided Purdy still had at least one of his starting receivers.
The numbers are barely distinguishable.
Purdy career stats: McCaffrey on/off field
Situation | McCaffrey | No McCaffrey* |
---|---|---|
Pass plays |
745 |
313 |
Cmp% |
67% |
66% |
Yds/att |
8.8 |
8.8 |
TD-INT |
40-14 |
16-5 |
Rating |
105.7 |
105.5 |
EPA/pass play |
+0.21 |
+0.20 |
EPA/pass att |
+0.32 |
+0.32 |
Avg air yds |
8.0 |
9.1 |
% Yds after catch |
50% |
35% |
Explosive pass % |
22.4% |
20.4% |
*Aiyuk or Samuel on field |
Even the best quarterbacks require a baseline level of weaponry to operate. Purdy likely dipped below that baseline Sunday against a very good Chiefs defense.
The larger trend is clear. Purdy’s production through 34 regular-season and postseason starts outpaces the production of his predecessor, Jimmy Garoppolo, under Shanahan. While the 49ers led the Chiefs by 10 points in separate Super Bowls with each of these QBs in the lineup, only to lose, Purdy has been demonstrably better.
That’s all fine, but what happens if, two years from now, Purdy is earning $55-60 million per year and San Francisco no longer has the roster to support him?
There are early signs the 49ers could be trending in that direction.
The 49ers could have decisions to make at receiver. Aiyuk and Samuel have option bonuses due in March; Aiyuk’s is guaranteed, while Samuel’s is not. The gap between the start of the league year and when those bonuses are due could provide a trade window before the bonuses hit the 49ers’ cap. Aiyuk’s knee injury could complicate things, but it’s fair to wonder what the longer-term future holds.
Left tackle Trent Williams is year-to-year at age 36. Tight end George Kittle, 31, will be in a contract year next season and could have leverage with a higher cap number.
San Francisco’s roster this season is the NFL’s third-oldest by snap-weighted average age. The Chiefs’ roster, in contrast, is the third-youngest by the same measure. That reveals which team is set up better for the long term.
While the Chiefs were restocking their defense through the draft in recent years, using first-round picks on cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis, the 49ers were trading away a haul of picks in the ill-fated move to acquire Trey Lance.
San Francisco has funneled cash into its defense, signing Javon Hargrave (who is out for the season with a triceps injury) for $21 million per year. The 49ers have also hit on mid- and late-round picks. But they still have the NFL’s oldest offense and eighth-oldest defense, weighted for playing time.
“That is probably San Francisco’s biggest issue,” a different exec said. “They are starting to feel three first-round picks for Trey Lance. They have done a good job drafting with later picks. It is great they got Purdy. He makes up for one of those first-round picks, but not two others.”
Execs around the league have anticipated the 49ers extending Purdy’s contract in the coming offseason — his first time eligible for a new deal — even though Purdy is signed through 2025.
“They need to make a decision about whether they should just be moving on from this older core and building around Purdy, or do they trade Purdy, get stuff for him and go with a cheaper option at quarterback?” another exec said.
Wait, what?
Purdy is one of 45 quarterbacks to make at least 10 starts since 2022. He ranks first among them in passer rating (107.9), yards per pass attempt (9.2) and EPA per pass play (.214).
Who would trade a young quarterback as productive as that? The answer, so far, has been nobody. The exec was merely suggesting that Purdy, while good, does not belong in Tier 1 or the top of Tier 2, and that other teams in similar situations might have been better off, in retrospect, swinging trades than paying top dollar for their quarterbacks.
The Los Angeles Rams with Jared Goff, the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa, the Dallas Cowboys with Dak Prescott and the Minnesota Vikings entering their final season with Kirk Cousins were among the examples he cited.
“It’s about being a guy being a dude, and Purdy is not in that ‘dude’ category,” the exec said.
The more likely scenario: Purdy and the 49ers reaching an agreement on an extension before the 2025 season.
“When you have a head coach that has the vision, you know what it is going to look like in the future,” another exec said. “Having the quarterback signed adds to the predictability. You are able to navigate. A lot of other things fall into place, and you can continue to build it as the cap increases.”
There’s much to consider. The 49ers are home against the Cowboys in Week 8, followed by a bye and, two days later, the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
“A lot of people would trade their situations with San Francisco,” the exec added. “They just aren’t as deep as they typically have been.”
2. The Cleveland Browns lost Deshaun Watson to a likely season-ending torn Achilles tendon in their 21-14 loss to Cincinnati. We go beyond the complicated reactions.
Last week, we considered potential Cleveland exit strategies concerning quarterback Deshaun Watson. The conversation changed Sunday when Watson dropped back to pass, planted his back leg and crumpled to the ground.
Cleveland fans upset with the organization for investing so much in a player facing more than 20 lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct cheered as Watson writhed on the grass at the newly renamed Huntington Bank Field. Some of Watson’s teammates took offense.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall,” defensive end Myles Garrett said.
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston cast Watson as a victim.
#Browns Jameis Winston on fans cheering Deshaun Watson while he was down on the field with his season-ending torn Achilles pic.twitter.com/RphsiUMxG6
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 20, 2024
The football-related implications are significant. The Browns bought injury insurance for Watson. That could provide some cash and salary-cap relief for the team, especially if Watson misses games next season, when his salary is a fully guaranteed $46 million.
The long recovery time for Watson also could make it easier for the Browns’ football leadership to convince ownership to head in another direction at the position, as fans have hoped they would. The team’s financial commitment to Watson has guaranteed him a spot in the lineup to this point. That cannot be the case indefinitely.
By this season’s end, Watson will have missed 33 of 52 games (including playoffs) — 11 due to suspension and 22 due to injury — since Cleveland acquired him. Watson also suffered two torn ACLs previously, one while practicing at Clemson, another while practicing with the Houston Texans. Availability was always a concern.
GO DEEPER
Trotter: Deshaun Watson injury is latest (final?) chapter in an awful story
Watson’s play in the 19 games he did start for the Browns has been shockingly unproductive. He ranks 43rd in EPA per pass play among 45 quarterbacks with at least 10 starts since 2022.
Fans frustrated with the Browns for sticking with Watson despite his historically poor production can feel better about the team now that another quarterback will be in the lineup.
There are people to feel good about in Cleveland. Nick Chubb scored a touchdown in his first game back from a horrific knee injury, providing a welcome feel-good moment Sunday.
The offense perked up in the fourth quarter once Winston replaced backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson following another QB injury, helping the Browns top 300 yards for the first time in a game this season. They still have yet to exceed 18 points in a game. Only nine teams since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger have had longer such streaks to open a season.
That leaves the Cleveland Browns as the only team in NFL or FBS that hasn’t scored 20+ points in a game this season https://t.co/9GQYX1IuGC
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) October 19, 2024
The final nine games of this Browns season will likely provide additional damning statistical splits on what surely now must be the worst trade in league history. The offense seemingly cannot get worse.
3. The Lions sent a message to the Vikings, who sent a message back. The NFC North fun also extended to Lambeau Field, where Green Bay’s defense was again the equalizer. Let’s sort through the takeaways.
The Lions needed a last-minute field goal to score a 31-29 victory over the Vikings in a game that answered lingering questions.
• Lions message: Detroit brazenly attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-7 from its own 33-yard line on the game’s opening possession. Did the Lions think the Vikings, coming off a bye week, were not wise to their tricky tendencies? They apparently did not care then, or when Minnesota jumped to a 10-0 lead after one quarter. The Lions scored 21 unanswered points in a display that screamed, “You are a nice story, but we are the better team.”
Jared Goff in particular was exceptional. He has now completed 75 of 97 passes (77 percent) with five touchdowns and no interceptions in three games against Minnesota since Brian Flores became the Vikings’ defensive coordinator last season. He averaged 0.495 EPA per pass play Sunday, by far the best full-game figure for any quarterback against the Flores-era Vikings.
Minnesota still ranks second in defensive EPA per play this season, but the Lions showed again they can do more than function against this difficult-to-solve Vikings defense.
GO DEEPER
If Lions had any doubters, Vikings win provided reassurance this team is among NFL’s best
• Vikings rebuttal: We entered Sunday wondering how Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold would fare if forced to play from behind. Darnold had attempted only two passes while trailing all season before Sunday. He was managing the Vikings’ success and contributing to it, not driving it. Minnesota’s defensive dominance drove its 5-0 start. What would happen when an opponent took a lead as large as the 21-10 margin Detroit built?
It wasn’t looking good for Darnold when the Lions’ Brian Branch intercepted him on the quarterback’s third pass after Detroit had taken a 14-10 lead late in the second quarter. But Darnold persevered. He completed 15 of 18 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown while trailing in this game. His passer rating (110.9), yards per attempt (11.7) and EPA per pass play (0.3) while trailing Sunday were all exceptional.
No one can say Darnold imploded when forced to play from behind. That’s great for the Vikings, even if this defeat stung.
Goff completed 10 of 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown when Minnesota led. And with Jahmyr Gibbs contributing two touchdown runs, including a 45-yarder, Detroit was able to win.
• Green Bay’s day: Jordan Love, whose eight interceptions are tied for the NFL lead even though he missed two starts, isn’t apologizing for possessing the Brett Favre risk-taking gene. He sometimes makes spectacular throws when routine ones are available. The payoff can be large, but the two picks he tossed Sunday cost the team 10.4 EPA.
Love has thrown at least one interception in each of his first five starts of 2024. That ties Love with Don Majkowski (1991) for the fourth-longest such streak for a Packers quarterback since 1970 (three Green Bay quarterbacks had six-game streaks, most recently Randy Wright in 1986, per Pro Football Reference). Four games was Favre’s longest streak to start a season with the Packers, so Love is in some notable territory here.
The day is coming when the Packers will need Love to minimize risk.
In the meantime, Green Bay’s defense has become the equalizer.
The Packers held Houston’s C.J. Stroud to 10 of 21 passing for 86 yards with four sacks — and still needed a last-second field goal to beat the Texans, 24-22.
Green Bay’s defense has finished with positive EPA six times this season, the most for a Packers defense through seven games since at least 2000. That made it much easier for Love to say what he said Sunday: “You can’t try to not be aggressive and take checkdowns all day. You have to be aggressive and go win those games. I’m going to play the way I play, learn from the mistakes and grow from them.”
4. It’s been a rough week for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, but a good decade by aging Hall of Fame owner/general manager standards. Raiders fans can attest to that.
Jones’ Cowboys won three Super Bowls in his first seven seasons of ownership (1989-95). They haven’t reached a conference championship game in the past 28, most of which came after Jones wrested control of the roster from the first coach he hired, Jimmy Johnson.
Dallas’ 47-9 defeat to Detroit in Week 6 invited scrutiny, including from the Cowboys’ flagship radio hosts, which Jones used as an opportunity to command the spotlight, his specialty.
If you haven’t heard the now-legendary radio segment where #JerryJones threatens to fire the hosts at the station carrying his games, for daring to ask questions about the #Cowboys sorry state…. https://t.co/fSlGHlfvzl
— Mark Davis (@MarkDavis) October 16, 2024
Jones’ overriding focus on marketing is intertwined with his desire to drive the conversation around his team, which might work against Dallas winning at the highest levels.
Whatever Jones’ motives were in this latest attention grab, we sometimes forget he is 82 and has maintained a level of success that could reflect changes in productivity for people his age. His Cowboys have remained competitive through Jones’ 70s and into his 80s with him remaining GM and face of the franchise. Dallas has avoided the Raiders’ spiral when their Hall of Fame owner/GM, Al Davis, was similarly aged and empowered.
Davis is the relevant comp for Jones. Both were owner/GMs whose teams won championships before the salary cap went into effect in 1993, and before teams learned to manage the cap years later. Both had to adjust to a new world thereafter. Davis got his Raiders to another Super Bowl (2002 season) when he was 73, but his team went into sharp decline from that point forward. Jones has kept his team in the mix.
Jones is 82, the age Davis was when he died four games into the 2011 season.
Davis’ ownership of the Raiders, which I trace to 1966, when he became part-owner, peaked at 146 games above .500 in his age-73 season. The team was 54 games below .500 over the remainder of Davis’ life. Jones is 33 games above .500 over the corresponding age period, but he is still measured against his franchise’s championship success decades ago.
Is 82 the new 70? Davis seemed much older in his late 70s and early 80s than Jones seems now. There are other differences.
“Al did not surround himself with people who would tell him no,” an exec who knew Davis said. “The structure Jerry has built for himself is better.”
While Davis was unwilling to cede control over personnel, Jones has leaned on his son, Stephen, and vice president of player personnel Will McClay over much of the last decade. That might be the key distinction relating to on-field success between Jones and Davis in their later years.
5. The New Orleans Saints’ unfolding salary-cap mess isn’t really a salary-cap mess at its core.
The Saints were so bad against the Sean Payton-coached Denver Broncos on Thursday night that they could have let another former New Orleans coach, Jim Mora, handle the postgame news conference.
On this night welcoming back former #saints coaches we need to let Jim Mora handle the postgame pic.twitter.com/LT5rYhzPtl
— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) October 18, 2024
The fallout from the Saints’ 33-10 defeat has centered around a brutal salary-cap situation for New Orleans, one that critics have called inevitable. Told-ya-so takes have merit only to an extent.
I really don’t think folks understand the true scope of this disaster for New Orleans.
Their team is dreadful & old, and they have *no way to fix it* for a minimum of 3 more years.
The cap mismanagement that *some of us* have been discussing for years is coming home to roost. https://t.co/XVabFjW9DI
— nick wright (@getnickwright) October 18, 2024
The cap remains poorly understood partly because teams invoke it misleadingly when explaining why they make decisions. The Saints’ situation can help illustrate how the cap works.
Every team can extend its window by pushing cap implications into the future. This works if owners are willing to keep investing cash, if future salary-cap limits increase and, critically, if teams draft well and invest in the right players.
The Saints’ cap problems are really player problems.
“Anytime these teams get into cap trouble, it’s always player issues,” a team contract negotiator said. “They are not doing a good enough job of projecting when their players are going to decline, and they keep on pushing, pushing, pushing.”
New Orleans’ cap management worked when the Saints had Drew Brees playing at a high level and when they scored big in the 2017 draft with Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Trey Hendrickson, Ryan Ramczyk and Marcus Williams.
For the current Saints, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis are 35. Tyrann Mathieu is 32. Taysom Hill is an expensive part-time player. Ramczyk might never play again because of injuries. Those five are scheduled to count nearly $70 million against the Saints’ salary cap in 2025. New Orleans reworked their contracts and others to comply with the cap and add players such as quarterback Derek Carr.
If those players had bright futures and the Saints had continued drafting well after that 2017 blockbuster class, their cap situation would not be the problem that it is right now. New Orleans could keep reworking contracts, pushing cap charges into the future.
Instead, the Saints are stuck. You can say they mismanaged the cap, but more than that, they misevaluated the players they bet on.
“When you are doubling down on older, declining players, it is just a bad place to be in,” another exec said.
6. Two-minute drill: Mike Tomlin’s handling of the Steelers’ QB situation was only mysterious from afar
Tomlin benched Justin Fields for Russell Wilson and got a 37-15 victory over the New York Jets featuring Wilson’s third-best statistical game in 31 starts since leaving Seattle.
Wilson completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and with only one sack. His EPA per pass play (0.23) was his third-highest over the past three seasons and his highest since a 2023 Week 4 victory at Chicago.
Thus ended an unconventional week of quarterback messaging from the Steelers’ coach.
Why would Tomlin consider replacing Fields after Fields had 10 total touchdowns with only two turnovers during the Steelers’ 4-2 start to the season? It was a great question for those who had not studied the Steelers’ offense.
“I can’t even fathom trying to tell Justin Fields, ‘Yeah, bro, you are going to sit down after being 4-2 coming out of a quarterback battle,” the analyst and former quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan said on his Patreon channel, The QB School, before studying Fields and the Steelers’ offense in their Week 6 game at Las Vegas.
Here’s what O’Sullivan said after studying every offensive play from the Steelers’ victory over the Raiders: “The film is bad. The score does not look as bad as the film is. You are winning. But I get it. I don’t even have to go back and watch another game. This game makes me feel like we are potentially … Justin Fields in trouble here. I totally understand why they would think that.”
Brandon Marshall stops by the postgame presser and asks Mike Tomlin if it was one of his boldest decisions to start Russell Wilson.
Tomlin: “that’s why I’m well-compensated.” pic.twitter.com/fQ5bdMsOtA
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 21, 2024
• Amari Cooper’s four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown beat Davante Adams’ three catches for 30 yards and no scores among veteran wideouts acquired by trade last week. Each receiver was credited with a drop. Cooper had two receptions gaining more than 15 yards. Adams had none.
GO DEEPER
In-season WR trades usually flop. Here’s why Davante Adams, Amari Cooper could be different
• The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 32-16 victory over the New England Patriots featured coach Doug Pederson alluding to the “middle eight” minutes during his on-field halftime interview.
Teams love the idea of breaking open close games by scoring late in the first half, then scoring early in the second half.
Jacksonville’s 15-0 differential across the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half Sunday was their largest in a game since 2011, and their third-largest since 2000, per TruMedia.
The Patriots’ minus-15 differential in the middle eight minutes was New England’s worst since at least 2000, spanning the entirety of the Bill Belichick era.
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo calling his team “soft” after this defeat recalled another linebacker-turned-coach, Antonio Pierce, accusing his players of making “business decisions” in the Raiders’ 36-22 defeat to Carolina (Pierce later apologized).
GO DEEPER
Patriots’ Jerod Mayo calls team ‘soft,’ seems out of answers as losing streak continues
Linebackers play with great emotion. They also sometimes speak with emotion after difficult defeats.
Patriots HC Jerod Mayo: “We’re a soft football team across the board.” pic.twitter.com/ofTxcyTBq9
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 20, 2024
New England’s six-game losing streak is its longest since the 1993 team lost 11 of its first 12, including seven in a row. Robert Kraft purchased the team after that season.
• The Indianapolis Colts won 16-10 Sunday with Anthony Richardson completing only 10 of 24 passes for 129 yards. They won because they were facing the Miami Dolphins, whose quarterback situation remains dire while starter Tua Tagovailoa recovers from his concussion.
The schedule now gets tougher for Indianapolis with games against Houston (road), Minnesota (road), Buffalo (home), the New York Jets (road) and Detroit (home) next.
The Colts will need greater passing proficiency to beat those teams. They know they can get improved passing proficiency from Joe Flacco, but they also want to develop Richardson. It’s looking like that balancing act will define this season for Indianapolis unless Richardson makes progress quickly.
QB | Flacco | Richardson |
---|---|---|
Cmp-att |
71-108 |
49-101 |
Cmp% |
65.7% |
48.5% |
Pass yards |
716 |
783 |
Yds/att |
6.6 |
7.8 |
TD-INT |
7-1 |
3-6 |
Passer rating |
102.2 |
60.0 |
Sacked |
6 |
4 |
EPA/pass play |
+0.16 |
-0.11 |
Rushes |
6 |
35 |
Rush yds |
26 |
197 |
Rush TD |
0 |
1 |
• Saquon Barkley’s 176-yard rushing performance in his return to MetLife Stadium as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles was bad for the New York Giants.
Barkley’s performance contributing to a 28-3 Eagles victory was worse.
GO DEEPER
As boos rained down, Saquon Barkley ran all over the Giants in his return
Having these things happen after “Hard Knocks” cameras recorded Giants owner John Mara saying he would “lose sleep” if Barkley, a fan favorite, signed with Philly in free agency? On a day when Giants quarterback Daniel Jones passed for 99 yards and took seven sacks? Rough.
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia” – Giants owner John Mara
pic.twitter.com/LO7OMnRMlD— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) July 17, 2024
• A few things stood out about the Seattle Seahawks’ 34-14 victory at Atlanta.
Indoor Geno Smith continued to excel. Smith has 25 touchdown passes with five interceptions in 12 indoor starts with Seattle (outdoors: 32 TDs, 22 INTs).
Seattle dominated in all three phases. This was the seventh time in 422 regular-season and postseason Seahawks games since 2000 that the team finished plus-5.0 EPA or better on offense, defense and special teams. Five of the other six games fell during the Pete Carroll era, most recently against the New York Jets in 2020.
The Seahawks’ defense was able to get the Falcons into third-and-6 or longer seven times, most for Seattle since Week 2. These plays produced a defensive touchdown when Boye Mafe sacked Kirk Cousins, forcing a fumble that Derick Hall returned for a touchdown.
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen recently wrote about Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter causing problems for opponents after getting them into third-down situations with at least 6 yards needed for a first down.
Seattle runs a similar scheme under coach Mike Macdonald, who worked with Minter in Baltimore. Sunday provided a glimpse of Macdonald’s defense in those situations.
THAT’S A DEFENSIVE TD!!! pic.twitter.com/O3atYPnaM7
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 20, 2024
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
The story of the greatest players in NFL history. In 100 riveting profiles, top football writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NFL in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NFL history.
Buy
Culture
Manchester United agree deal to hire Ruben Amorim as head coach
Manchester United have reached an agreement with Sporting Lisbon over the hire of Ruben Amorim as head coach.
As part of the deal Amorim is set to stay with Sporting for their next three games, including against Manchester City on Tuesday and Braga on November 10, meaning he would first take charge of United away at Ipswich Town on November 24.
Sporting were determined to keep hold of Amorim for this crucial period and United have accepted those terms in recognition of the 39-year-old’s standing at the Portuguese club and his desire for a smooth exit mid-campaign.
Amorim has a €10million (£8.4m, $10.9m) release clause in his contract, but there is also a 30-day notice period. United are willing to pay €1m extra to get Amorim earlier, so he can start work during the international break. Sporting had been demanding an additional €5m for an immediate release, according to people familiar with the deal in Portugal.
Sporting insist everything is not yet finalised and there have also been conversations around further compensation to allow the departures of the staff Amorim has earmarked to join him, namely first-team coaches Emanuel Ferro, Adelio Candido, and Carlos Fernandes, as well as goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital and sports scientist Paulo Barreira. United chief executive Omar Berrada has been in Lisbon leading the talks for United.
Amorim wants a satisfactory departure from a club he has called home for four years, conscious of the bond established with supporters in two league title wins, and United were open to such diplomacy given the season is underway and Ruud van Nistelrooy is capable of stepping up as interim manager.
Speaking ahead of Sporting’s game with Estrela Amadora on Friday night, Amorim refused to expand on when an announcement would be made.
“It’s a negotiation between two clubs. It’s never easy. Even with the clauses, it’s never easy. They have to talk,” he told reporters.
“We will have clarification after the game. It will be very clear so it’s one more day after the game tomorrow we will have the decision made.”
He did not watch United’s win over Leicester City on Wednesday night, focusing instead on Estrela while also monitoring Manchester City, who Sporting take on in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Asked what he liked about the Premier League in general, he added: “Everything.”
Van Nistelrooy would, in this timeframe, have a total of four games in charge adding in Chelsea in the Premier League, PAOK in the Europa League, and Leicester again in the Premier League.
The Dutchman’s long-term future at the club is not yet certain. He has said he is willing to work in any capacity Amorim sees fit. A week as United boss is at least an opportunity to enhance his CV as a No 1.
The pursuit of Amorim follows the decision to relieve Erik ten Hag of his duties as manager on Monday after two and a half years in charge.
GO DEEPER
Key meeting, Welbeck request and Amorim plan – inside Manchester United’s manager change
What will Amorim bring to United?
Analysis by senior data analyst Mark Carey
Ruben Amorim is a manager that has been linked with his fair share of jobs in recent months, and you can understand why the 39-year-old is in demand.
Amorim guided Sporting to a first league title for 19 years in 2021-22, followed it up with another victory last season, and has nine wins from nine with Sporting sitting pretty at the top of the Primeira Liga this season.
Even accounting for the quality imbalance of the Primeira Liga, a side who boasted, statistically, one of the best attacks (Chance creation, 95 out 99) and the best defences (Chance prevention, 97 out of 99) shows that their manager must be having a positive effect.
Stylistically, Amorim’s 3-4-3 — or more specifically, a 3-4-2-1 — is built on high possession, flexible attacking approaches and a strong defensive foundation.
Last season’s arrival of striker Viktor Gyokeres led to a more transitional, direct style of attack (Patient attack, 49 out of 99). It also highlights Amorim’s ability to maximise his style by adapting to the skill sets of his players.
Amorim has shown his desire to bring young talent into the first team — including Goncalo Inacio, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes and Ousmane Diomande — and has improved the team’s quality with the resources at his disposal.
Bruno Fernandes moved to Manchester United a little over a month before Amorim’s appointment, but Mendes (to Paris Saint-Germain), Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Pedro Porro (Tottenham Hotspur), Manuel Ugarte (also to PSG) and Joao Palhinha (Fulham) are among the talented players whom Amorim has improved before being sold for high fees.
Title-winning credentials? Tick. Fielding young players? Tick. Improving individual player performance? Tick. There are reasons why Amorim has been so highly sought-after among Europe’s elite.
(Top photo: Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)
Culture
NASCAR suspends Truck Series driver Conner Jones for 1 race after intentional crash
NASCAR suspended Truck Series driver Conner Jones for one race on Wednesday after he intentionally crashed another driver, Matt Mills — who was hospitalized for two days over the weekend as a result of the wreck.
Jones, 18, lost his temper while racing Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway and rammed into Mills’ rear bumper, sending Mills’ truck up the racetrack and into the wall. Mills’ truck then caught fire. The driver was taken to a local hospital due to smoke inhalation.
NASCAR issued a two-lap penalty to Jones at the time. But after meeting this week, officials determined that Jones’ behavior also warranted a one-race suspension.
Jones refused to speak with reporters at the track, but later issued an apology in a statement on social media that said, in part: “Matt and I have encountered several on-track incidents this season, and I let my frustration get the best of me. I underestimated the impact my actions would have on Matt, and I deeply regret the consequences that followed.”
— Conner Jones (@connerjones88) October 26, 2024
Mills, after being released from the hospital Monday, posted a video to his social media channels that expressed appreciation for the outpouring of well-wishes from fans.
“Definitely didn’t like being in the hospital as long as I was or being in that situation,” Mills said, his voice still raspy from the smoke. “Having you guys there to support me and help me get through that, I can’t thank you all enough.”
Glad to be heading home. Appreciate everyone that reached out over the last couple of days. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lN7Ph8y2fy
— Matt Mills (@mattmillsracing) October 28, 2024
Mills has been cleared to race Friday at Martinsville Speedway. He is 23rd in the point standings for Niece Motorsports with two top-10 finishes this year.
Jones, who has driven a part-time schedule for ThorSport Racing this season, has a best finish of 11th on the season. A replacement for Jones has not been named.
Required reading
(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)
Culture
Why don’t goalkeepers wear caps anymore?
Brad and Charlie Hart are season-ticket holders at Spurs. Father and son, they always sit near the tunnel at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and at full time, after every game, 10-year-old Charlie will rush to try to get the attention of the players as they walk off the pitch.
But earlier this month, after Tottenham had beaten West Ham United 4-1, Charlie realised he had forgotten his trusted marker pen for those autographs he covets so much. Little did he know that he would leave the stadium that Saturday afternoon not with a few squiggles of ink on his shirt or a programme but with a true collector’s item.
During the match, Spurs’ goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had put on a baseball cap to keep the lunchtime sun from his eyes, a moment celebrated by nostalgic football purists as a welcome return of a once-prominent piece of goalkeeper kit. “Old school vibes,” said one fan on social media.
Those were the days: a ’keeper in a cap or maybe jogging pants, putting comfort before fashion, looking more suitably dressed to wash the car or take the dog for a Sunday morning walk than play in the world’s top domestic football league. While it was commonplace in the 1990s and early 2000s to see a goalkeeper in a cap — Oliver Kahn for Germany and Bayern Munich springs to mind — it is a more unusual sight now. Long gone are the days of goalkeepers wearing flat caps, like the great Lev Yashin.
“Vicario came out with the goalkeeper coach (Rob Burch), who was holding the cap,” Charlie, from Harpenden, a commuter town north of London, tells The Athletic. “He (Burch) just looked in my eyes and said, ‘Catch’, and then he threw the cap. I caught it in one hand because my dad’s phone was in the other, although I would have happily dropped my dad’s phone to secure the catch.”
Unlike his father, who remembers goalkeepers in caps as a more familiar sight, it was the first time outside YouTube videos that Charlie had seen a ’keeper wearing one in a game.
In recent years, England internationals Dean Henderson and Jordan Pickford have worn caps for their clubs, Crystal Palace and Everton, but they are in the minority.
So why has the hat-wearing goalkeeper become so rare?
International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules for the 2024-25 season state that caps for goalkeepers are permitted, as are “sports spectacles” and tracksuit bottoms. There are also specific rules on head covers for players, including the need for them to be black or the same main colour as the shirt, but the same directives do not apply to baseball-style caps worn by goalkeepers. If the rules haven’t changed, what has?
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland became synonymous with cap-wearing during his pro career, which began in the late 1990s. When people meet him now, the 43-year-old says it is still something he is remembered for.
Kirkland, who won one cap for England, started wearing a cap in training when he was a young player at Coventry City’s academy after seeing the senior team’s first-choice goalkeeper, Steve Ogrizovic, use one. Kirkland found it helpful for boosting concentration levels, as much as for keeping the sun’s glare out of his eyes.
“I always used to wear one in training because I’m not great in the sun,” Kirkland, who joined Liverpool in 2001 aged 20 in a deal that made him the most expensive goalkeeper in Britain, tells The Athletic.
“I burn, so I used to wear caps to keep the sun off my face. But I got used to it and it helped give me better vision. It used to block other things out and I found myself being able to concentrate more because it blocked out distractions. I used to wear it sometimes even when it wasn’t sunny, which I used to get a few strange looks for.
GO DEEPER
Chris Kirkland: ‘I was taking 2,500mg of Tramadol a day. I had it in my goalie bag on the pitch’
“A cap can block the sun out at certain angles, which I used to find helpful. I’m surprised ‘keepers don’t wear them anymore because you see them (when facing the sun). They put their arm up and their hand over their eyes, which is obviously a distraction itself.”
Fans have come to the rescue of squinting goalkeepers plenty of times. When Leeds United goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald was struggling with the sunshine away at Barnsley in 2017, a supporter emerged from the away end to heroically give up his cap. A year later, a West Ham fan threw one onto the pitch for England’s No 1 Joe Hart to wear during an FA Cup third-round tie against Shrewsbury Town.
“I stuck with the same cap for years,” Kirkland adds. “It was a navy blue Nike one, and the Nike tick eventually fell off because I wore it that much. I did well in the first game and stuck with it. The only time I would wear another is if I had taken it out of my kit bag to wash it. It was rotten by the end, but I kept it for years until the missus made me get rid. She was like, ‘That is absolutely honking and has got to go!’.”
Richard Lee is a former Watford and Brentford goalkeeper known for his caps — but not because he used to wear one.
“I’ve got a bit more of an association with caps because I went on Dragons’ Den (a British business-based game show) back in the day and it was for a cap company, but I never wore one in a game,” Lee, now a football agent with a long list of goalkeeper clients, tells The Athletic.
“Wearing a cap was good when the sun is out of your eyes, but the moment a cross comes in, or a ball is played over the top, and you get that sudden glare, you look up and the sun hits you. So, I’d almost prefer to have the sun there the whole time and you knew where it was.”
Style could be another reason for goalkeepers opting out of wearing caps. It could simply be a fashion choice.
“You look at the goalkeepers now and they realise they’ve got a certain brand and look, and that does play a part,” Lee adds. “When you go out (onto the pitch) you want to feel a certain way and present yourself a certain way, whether that’s to the fans, the scouts or your team-mates.”
More on the world of sport and fashion…
Elite goalkeepers choosing not to wear caps influences the next generation, too. “The younger ones will copy what the current Premier League goalkeepers are doing,” Lee says. “You’re seeing it less and less at younger age groups too.”
Towards the end of her career, former Everton and England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis found “a better alternative” to wearing a cap.
“For a while, Nike produced sunglasses-like soft contact lenses. They were bright orange and when you put them in they looked a bit ‘Halloween’,” Brown-Finnis tells The Athletic. “They were by far the most effective thing. I hated wearing caps because they were fine if the ball was on the ground, but as soon as the ball came up in the air, you had to tilt your angle and vision — you were looking into the sun.”
Brown-Finnis said sunshine is a problem for goalkeepers and increases the importance of the pre-game coin toss for an afternoon game. A goalkeeper, she said, would want their counterpart to be facing the sun in the first half in the hope the strength of the sun’s rays died down in the second.
“Clearly that being seen as an advantage for your team to not be in the sun in the first half, it does affect the goalkeeper and players. It’s interesting that there’s not a standard intervention for that,” she said.
Jacob Widell Zetterstrom of Derby County, in the second-tier Championship, is one of the few goalkeepers across the professional game in England who wears headgear. The Sweden international wears a protective scrum cap, something The Athletic’s goalkeeping analyst Matt Pyzdrowski is familiar with.
During the final seven years of his career, spent playing in Sweden, where he still resides as head of academy for his former club Angelholms, Pyzdrowski wore a protective head guard, similar to the one popularised by former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who returned to the sport wearing the rugby-style cap in January 2007, three months after a collision with Reading’s Stephen Hunt fractured his skull.
“It was too many concussions in a short period,” Pyzdrowski says. “I remember the specialist I met told me, ‘Matt, you have got to be careful, because we don’t know how much this is going to impact you. If you want to have a good life in the future, you need to start thinking about the risk versus reward of 1) playing and 2) protecting yourself’.
“When you put that into perspective, I was like, ‘I have to wear a helmet’. For the rest of my career, I had a rugby helmet on. Every single training session, every single match, it became part of my outfit.
“It took some time to get used to heading the ball, as well as learning how to control it, but the big benefit was how it made me feel secure. When you come back from a head injury, you become timid, even if you were an aggressive goalkeeper before that. It took me a while to feel safe again, even when I had the helmet.”
Pyzdrowski said protective headgear is becoming more prevalent in Sweden, with a few top-flight goalkeepers wearing them. “As a goalkeeper, you are very vulnerable. You have to be brave and put yourself in very difficult and unsafe situations. When I think about it, and about the safety of goalkeepers, it really should become a priority,” he says.
As for Charlie, after taking Vicario’s cap to school to show his classmates, he is hoping to get it signed by the player himself at one of Tottenham’s upcoming home games. It will then be put in a display case — a reminder of the special family day that sparked a nostalgic outpouring within the football world.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Alien Country (2024) – Movie Review
-
Technology6 days ago
OpenAI plans to release its next big AI model by December
-
Health6 days ago
New cervical cancer treatment approach could reduce risk of death by 40%, trial results show
-
Culture7 days ago
Top 45 MLB free agents for 2024-25 with contract predictions, team fits: Will Soto get $600M+?
-
Sports5 days ago
Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam gives Dodgers Game 1 World Series win vs. Yankees
-
News4 days ago
Sikh separatist, targeted once for assassination, says India still trying to kill him
-
Culture4 days ago
Freddie Freeman wallops his way into World Series history with walk-off slam that’ll float forever
-
Technology4 days ago
When a Facebook friend request turns into a hacker’s trap