SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Maybe Deommodore Lenoir ought to send some of his newfound riches in Kyle Shanahan’s direction.
After all, it was Lenoir’s rough stuff during a 2021 rookie minicamp — and the fact that he inadvertently posted it on social media — that led to the San Francisco 49ers being fined $100,000 and Shanahan an additional $50,000 for what the NFL deemed excessive contact.
“Because he jammed people too hard and then put it on the internet,” Shanahan recalled Wednesday after Lenoir signed a five-year, $92 million contract. “That was the first time I ever got mad at him, but I was really excited about it. Despite what it took away — my kids’ college tuition. Because it showed we had the right type of dude.”
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49ers, Deommodore Lenoir agree to 5-year, $92 million extension
There were other bumps his rookie year. Lenoir, for example, had soft coverage on then-Green Bay Packers wideout Davante Adams in Week 3 that year, leading to a 17-yard catch that set up a game-winning Packers field goal as time expired.
“I remember after that — I was talking to him about it this morning — he lost his confidence a little bit,” Shanahan said. “Just was down about making a big mistake and really never got it back that year.”
That confidence, however, was back in force for the 2022 season. And by the midway point of the 2023 season, he’d established himself not only as a starter on the outside but also as the 49ers’ best option at nickel cornerback.
Ages of 49ers’ starting 22 Sunday in Tampa … pic.twitter.com/7CexcIUP2U
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) November 13, 2024
The five-year contract makes Lenoir the cornerstone of a young — and feisty — 49ers secondary. He turned 25 last month. Rookie Renardo Green, the frontrunner to start opposite Lenoir next year, is 24, while safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha are 24 and 22, respectively.
Green has a similar makeup to Lenoir. One guy (Green) often refers to himself as a dog. The other (Lenoir) has embodied the spirit of the hyena.
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“When we drafted Renardo, one of my first notes on him … is he’d rather hit you than get a pick,” Shanahan said. “We want both, but we love guys who are wired that way. Not all corners are wired that way. You’ve got to be able to cover people, but if you can do both, that’s what makes a football team better.”
After watching recent contract extensions for Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk drag — and climb higher during the protracted negotiations — the 49ers completed Lenoir’s deal quickly and ought to be rewarded for that.
As it stands now, the Miami Dolphins’ Jalen Ramsey, with a deal that averages a little more than $24 million a season, ranks first among the highest-paid cornerbacks. Lenoir’s deal is the 12th-highest at his position in terms of average per year and might drop a little farther when other cornerbacks hit the open market in March.
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Asked why he decided to ink a deal now and forgo free agency, Lenoir, who is from Los Angeles and played at Oregon, said he didn’t want to go anywhere else.
“I’ve been a West Coast guy my whole life,” he said. “The camaraderie within the team, the players, my brothers, my family — I knew it was a place I could see myself long term.”
Late for practice? Nah, new $92M man Deommodore Lenoir had an extensive one-on-one session with Brandon Staley before joining the rest of the DBs at the start of Wednesday’s session… pic.twitter.com/dbaWHrW4hS
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) November 13, 2024
As for the dubious video of practice, Lenoir swears it was an accident.
“When I posted it, I saw my phone kept going off,” he said. “I looked (online) and it was everywhere. Then I saw it on ‘SportsCenter’ and was like, ‘Oh, this is bad. I might be cut.’”
Instead, he flourished. Now the cornerback has enough money to change the lives of family members and, he joked, maybe even Shanahan’s family.
“Now I can finally pay Kyle back for Carter’s tuition,” he said.
Odds and ends
• The 49ers practiced on Wednesday without tight end George Kittle (hamstring) or defensive end Bosa (hip).
Shanahan described Kittle’s hamstring as being “irritated” and thought he might take part in Thursday’s session. Kittle leads the 49ers with 560 receiving yards and ranks second among tight ends to the Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers (580) in that category. The Raiders are on a bye this week.
Kittle also has become Brock Purdy’s favorite target in the red zone and on third downs. He’s 11 of 13 with seven touchdowns when targeting Kittle in the red zone.
On third downs? Jauan Jennings always is an excellent option for the 49ers. He’s caught 11 of 15 third-down targets this season with two touchdowns and eight first downs. Kittle has been a little more prolific. He’s caught 14 of 17 targets with four touchdowns and 11 first downs.
• Bosa, meanwhile, said his hip pointer made Sunday’s game in Tampa the most grueling he’s played through in his career and said it would be close as far as whether he plays against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
He didn’t use the injury as an excuse for not being able to bring down Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield on a big fourth-down play late in Sunday’s win. Mayfield held Bosa off with a stiff arm for several seconds before connecting with Rachaad White for a first down.
Bosa thought if he had a hold of Mayfield’s left arm there would be no way for the quarterback to get off a pass.
“The slow motion makes it look pretty tough,” he admitted. “I figured he couldn’t make a play, but he definitely did.”
THROWING A DART WHILE STIFF ARMING A DEFENDER 💪🎯 pic.twitter.com/Z50BswblJa
— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2024
• Punter Mitch Wishnowsky missed practice with a back issue, an injury prompted the team to sign veteran punter Pat O’Donnell to the practice squad. O’Donnell, 33, entered the NFL in 2014 with the Chicago Bears and has appeared in 145 career games.
Shanahan said the 49ers went with a multiyear veteran like O’Donnell in part because he’s a good holder and has plenty of experience in cold-weather cities. The last time he was a full-time punter was 2022 for the Packers. The 49ers will visit Green Bay next week and will be in Buffalo the week after that.
“If you bring in a good punter and he’s not as good of a holder, that’s a problem, too, because it affects your kicker a lot,” Shanahan said. “He’s always been great at that and you always like guys who’ve done it before.”
To make room for O’Donnell, the 49ers released T.Y. McGill from the practice squad. Evan Anderson’s emergence and the recent trade for Khalil Davis made McGill expendable.
• The others who didn’t practice were tackle Trent Williams (ankle/rest), defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) and cornerback Charvarius Ward, who hasn’t rejoined the team after the death of his 1-year-old daughter.
“I think he’s getting close, just in talking to him,” Shanahan said of Ward. “I don’t want to put a date on it because you never know if that could change or not. But he’s told us sooner than later and hopefully he’ll be in a good place to come back.”
Running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles), receiver Chris Conley (hamstring) and guard Jon Feliciano (knee) were limited. Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and Green (toe) were full go.
Shanahan said McCaffrey’s Achilles tendonitis did not flare up following Sunday’s game. He said the limited designation was part of McCaffrey’s planned maintenance.
(Photo of Deommodore Lenoir: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
