News » He’s at his physical peak and already played through his

Being the NFL's last undefeated team is never easy Bradley Pinion Jersey White , and the San Francisco 49ers have bumped aside the New England Patriots in another category as well.The 49ers are the first team besides the defending Super Bowl champs to sit atop the AP Pro32 poll this season.San Francisco received seven first-place votes and 379 points to edge out the New Orleans Saints, who had the other five first-place votes and 374 points in balloting Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL."Jimmy Garoppolo is seeing the field better than ever, as his near perfect performance against the Cardinals suggests," Newsday's Bob Glauber said. "He's the biggest single reason the 49ers remain the NFL's only unbeaten team."The Saints stayed at No. 2 and attracted plenty of voters even during their bye week. Why? Drew Brees proved before the bye that he was back and healthy for New Orleans. And that's not all that's going on with the Saints."The biggest story in the Big Easy is a swarming defense that has allowed only two TDs in the past three weeks," said Ira Kaufman of Fox 13 in Tampa, Florida.New England tumbled from first to third after being beaten 37-20 by the Ravens, a loss that nearly allowed Baltimore to pass the Patriots in these rankings. New England finished with 356 points, just ahead of the Ravens (354), who ended the Patriots' undefeated start on Lamar Jackson's performance that put him into the MVP conversation."Any hopes for another 16-0 regular season were shattered in Baltimore as the Ravens took control from the start and exposed a lack of team speed that had been camouflaged through eight games," Kaufman said.John Czarnecki of Fox Sports said Baltimore "ran right over the defending champs" while the Patriots' "offensive line headaches were exposed by the Ravens."The Seattle Seahawks are the next threat to the 49ers, with a visit to San Francisco on Monday night Patrick Willis Jersey White , and they come in at No. 5, up two spots."If the season ended today, Russell Wilson is your MVP," Glauber said. "With 22 touchdown passes and just one interception, he's having the greatest season of an already great career."Kansas City also moved up a couple spots to No. 6 after Matt Moore led the Chiefs to a 26-23 victory over the Vikings, dropping Minnesota three spots to No. 8. Now the Chiefs may have the reigning NFL MVP back for a road trip to Tennessee."The Chiefs flexed some surprising defensive muscle against Minnesota in ending an Arrowhead slide, setting the stage for a potential Patrick Mahomes return in Nashville," Kaufman said.The road trip to Los Angeles dropped the Green Bay Packers three spots to No. 7. The Houston Texans can enjoy their bye after climbing a spot to No. 9, while the Dallas Cowboys' road win over the Giants bumped them up two spots to No. 10. Breaking down the 90 players on the 49ers offseason roster in 90 posts (over 90 or so days). Today is center Weston Richburg." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteNiners Nationa San Francisco 49ers communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsLibrary49ersOddsShopAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 49ers Salary CapLevi’s Stadium Events49ers Transactions49ers Injury News49ers Press Conferences & Conference CallsFiled under:Roster Projections49ers 90-in-90 roster breakdown49ers 90-in-90: OC Weston RichburgNew,42commentsBreaking down the 90 players on the 49ers offseason roster in 90 posts (over 90 or so days). Today is center Weston Richburg.PDTShareTweetShareShare49ers 90-in-90: OC Weston RichburgKyle Terada-USA TODAY SportsWeston Richburg was supposed to this 49ers team what Alex Mack was for Kyle Shanahan’s Atlanta Falcons — a talented and smart (and expensive) free agent center who takes the complicated offense from sputtering to explosive. Instead, he was last year’s biggest FA disappointment —- underperforming as he struggled through injuries. Pro Football Focus ranked him the 33rd best center in the league -- below starter level Joshua Garnett Jersey White , virtually, with a 51.9 rating.In January, he had knee and quadricep surgery, which will keep him limited until training camp. Hopefully, he’ll return, fully healed, and live up to his expectations (and salary). If not, he may be battling LB Malcolm Smith for the title of the Lynchahan era’s biggest FA flop.Basic infoAge: 27 (he’ll turn 28 on July 9)Experience: 5 seasonsHeight: 6’4”Weight: 300Cap Status: Last year the Niners signed him to a 5-year deal for $47.5 million, with $16.5 million fully guaranteed. As of April 1, his base salary of $5.5 million became guaranteed for this year. The team is not going to cut him — they don’t have much else at center — but if they did (after June 1), they would save $475 Kyle Juszczyk Jersey ,000 and have $7.36 million of dead money. He has nothing guaranteed going forward, though, as long as the team cuts him by April 1, 2020.What to expect in 2019I’m optimistic about Richburg’s recovery. He’s at his physical peak and already played through his injury last season, so there’s no reason to think that he was permanently damaged.I don’t think anyone believes he is as talented as Alex Mack, who is a superb football player and did a fantastic job portraying a teenage girl with special powers on Nickolodeon. But if he can return to the form he showed with the New York Giants before his November 2017 concussion, he will be a significant upgrade for this offense.Odds of making the rosterIf he can walk into training camp, he will be on this roster. The 49ers have no real plan B. I mean that literally — Richburg is the only player listed as a center on the team’s official roster on their website). Erik Magnuson can play the spot, in a pinch — but he’s also the guy whose bad snap cost the Niners a chance to tie the game against Arizona last year. So book it.