San Francisco 49ers Sit as NFC Favorites Amid Challenges

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00:00But the San Francisco 49ers, at a 3-1 price, are the favorites short relative to the field

00:11to win an NFC title once again.

00:15They have played in the NFC Championship game four of the previous five seasons.

00:19They have played in a Super Bowl in two of the last five years as well.

00:24And yet it's been an interesting offseason for the 49ers that hasn't been chock full

00:28of optimism.

00:30They paid Christian McCaffrey, sure, but Trent Williams, their all-pro left tackle, now holding

00:35out of camp.

00:36Brendan, Ayuk unhappy with his contract situation, did report to training camp, but still hopes

00:42for that big money extension.

00:44Joe, what is your assessment of where Sam Fran lines up entering 2024?

00:49Yeah, well, we talked about it on the radio, right?

00:52On paper, they're deserving to be the top team and the frontrunner to win an NFC Championship,

00:58and they have all the pieces to make another run.

01:01But when you see Trent Williams start to hold out, I feel like Trent Williams has done this

01:06throughout his career, especially in his days in Washington.

01:09A couple of seasons ago, you still want to have your best offensive lineman in regards

01:15to the preseason camp.

01:16You want to have that continuity in the locker room as well.

01:19And if Brendan Ayuk does not get on the practice field soon, what does that mean in terms of

01:24Brock Purdy's development?

01:26It's not like we're talking about a Super Bowl winning quarterback, a quarterback that's

01:30a veteran that could do it time and time again.

01:32He stepped up throughout his career up until this point, but he's still a young quarterback,

01:37and you want to have his best weapons on the field.

01:40It comes down to a locker room perspective.

01:42We saw this situation play out, guys, with Stephon Diggs and Buffalo.

01:46He was in camp early.

01:48He had some issues with Josh Allen, was not really completely bought in.

01:53And even though the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs, they bowed out early.

01:56So you never want to see that, especially with an NFC contender.