San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are signing free-agent running back Patrick Taylor to a one-year deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 25-year-old went undrafted following his final collegiate season at Memphis, and he has spent the last four years with the Green Bay Packers, mostly as a reserve. Through his first 34 NFL games, Taylor has rushed 65 times for 261 yards and one touchdown and caught 14 passes for 69 yards. With Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, and Jordan Mason on the roster, it'd be surprising if Taylor has a role for San Francisco next season on offense. There's also no guarantee he will make the 53-man roster, so this signing is inconsequential for fantasy football.

Both San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward had core-muscle surgery this offseason and will be back, fully cleared, in time for training camp this summer, according to general manager John Lynch. It's worth noting, but for Kittle's sake, it's probably not going to have any effect on his 2024 fantasy value unless he suffers a setback during offseason training. The 30-year-old former fifth-round selection in 2017 out of Iowa has made the Pro Bowl in five of his seven NFL seasons and led all tight ends with 1,020 receiving yards in 16 regular-season games in 2023 while also catching 65 passes for six touchdowns on 90 targets. Despite undergoing offseason surgery, Kittle should be considered a no-doubt, top-five fantasy tight end this fall.

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said the team is actively talking with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk about a long-term contract extension and there have been no trade discussions, despite reports to the contrary. Lynch said the team would be OK with Aiyuk playing on the fifth-year option in 2024. Given all the 49ers' other star players on both offense and defense, it might be hard for the organization to keep the 26-year-old former first-rounder past the 2024 campaign. Aiyuk now has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and posted a career-best 1,342 receiving yards and 75 receptions for seven touchdowns in 16 regular-season starts in 2023. With at least one more season in the Bay Area coming, Aiyuk should be a highly sought-after WR2 in fantasy drafts this fall.

The New York Giants reached an agreement on Friday to re-sign wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins to an undisclosed deal. Hodgins will return to New York for his second full season. The former sixth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2020 out of Oregon State joined the G-Men midway through the 2022 season and had 33 catches for 351 yards and four touchdowns in eight games (five starts) to close out the year. In 17 games (nine starts) for the Giants in 2023, Hodgins disappointed, as did most of the rest of the team's offense, with 21 catches on 33 targets for 230 yards and three touchdowns. The 25-year-old has shown flashes the last two years with the Giants, but he's not going to have a big enough role on offense in 2024 to warrant fantasy consideration, especially with the team adding Isaiah McKenzie this offseason.

The San Francisco 49ers reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal with free-agent veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs on Monday, according to his agent, Mike McCartney. Dobbs will give the Niners more depth behind starter Brock Purdy after Sam Darnold signed with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. The 29-year-old Dobbs was the early season feel-good story in the NFL last year with the Arizona Cardinals and Vikings, but he was ultimately benched in Minnesota after they acquired him in a trade. In 13 games played (12 starts), the Steelers' former fourth-round selection in 2017 out of Tennessee completed 62.8% of his pass attempts for 2,464 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Dobbs also added six rushing scores. He should be considered the favorite for backups duties over Brandon Allen.