49ers great Roger Craig named 2026 Hall of Fame finalist“The former NFL running back was named one of five finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, joining senior finalists Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood, coach finalist Bill Belichick, and contributor finalist Robert Kraft.To earn induction, Craig must secure at least 80% approval from the Hall of Fame selection committee. Each voter may choose only three of the five finalists, and a maximum of three individuals from this group can be enshrined alongside the modern-era inductees in 2026.“Barrows: 49ers mailbag: Looking ahead to Fred Warner’s possible return, free agency and the draft(paywall)“I spoke with Cowing about three weeks ago, and he said he was close to full speed/full health at that point. The problem is there’s no room for him on the roster at the moment. The 49ers already are making rookie Jordan Watkins a healthy scratch on game days.The risk of opening Cowing’s window coming out of the bye would be that they’d have to activate him within 21 days or put him on the shelf for good. It might be wiser to wait and see if there are any more injuries at wide receiver and open the window at that point.“Kawakami: The tedious 49ers QB discourse, Stanford/Cal hires, and more bold thoughts (paywall)“The most tedious part of the Purdy-must-go bellowing from the fan base and many others once or twice a year is not that it can be proved wrong so frequently and clearly, it’s that Purdy is never, ever getting benched while he’s in his prime. Not while Kyle Shanahan calls the shots and not if logic prevails in the 49ers’ offices and locker room. Which it does.You are free to carp about Jones being better than Purdy, or whatever, but that ignores the fact that Shanahan and his staff know slightly more about quarterbacking — and what they want from their QB — than the average angry fan and blogger.Maybe even more important: It ignores that Shanahan is tougher on his QBs than everybody else. It’s not like he’s ever resembled Jim Tomsula bumbling through the Colin Kaepernick/Blaine Gabbert mess in 2015 or Arizona’s indecision on Kyler Murray for years, or everything that has happened with the Cleveland QBs for decades.Shanahan was always evaluating Jimmy Garoppolo — even during great seasons — pulled the plug on Trey Lance after trading first-round picks to acquire him, and early in this era, ejected from Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard just about exactly when he had to.They’ve made some personnel mistakes over the years, but there is zero history of Shanahan and John Lynch staying with players — especially QBs — who aren’t performing well while somebody better sits and waits.I am not trying to diminish what Jones accomplished in his eight games. There might not be a QB2 in this league that could’ve won five games in that situation. But also, Jones had Christian McCaffrey at full steam in those games (as Purdy has now), and that does make a difference.“Four years and an ACL rehab later, 49ers’ Curtis Robinson savors first starting job (paywall)“It was the first major injury of his football career. For months, he would be unable to walk without assistance. So he hopped his way around the house, crutches be damned, until that day came. Curtis Robinson was done waiting.“It’s hard to be encouraged when certain things that used to be remedial to you are now extremely difficult to the point where you’re sweating because they’re so hard,” Robinson told the Chronicle.He bided his time for years. No NFL team drafted the Stanford alum in 2021, an early victim of roster Tetris. The Broncos signed, waived and elevated him a few times his rookie season, then left him for the next practice squad in need. A spot opened up closer to home….An otherwise lonely process was curbed by those teammates who watched him fight for every game check. All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa had dealt with the same injury multiple times. The same surgeon who handled his season-ending surgery in 2020 operated on Robinson in 2024. Bosa offered advice. Robinson listened to the 2022 AP Defensive Player of the Year, hopeful that he, too, could come back better from a historically devastating injury.No more or less than 423 days after he injured his knee, on Nov. 24 against Carolina, the fifth-year player made his first NFL start. And the challenge was greater this time. Shanahan in 2024 had him slated to leapfrog former 49ers linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles at the “Sam” (strong-side) position, primarily a rotational spot that plays considerably less than the “Mike” (middle) and “Will” (weak-side) roles. In recent weeks, Robinson has been thrown in at Mike, where he had served as a third-string reserve behind Warner, out for the season with a fractured ankle, and Tatum Bethune, due to miss several weeks via a high ankle sprain. He played the position at Stanford but never wore a green dot, installed into the helmet of one player, typically the Mike on defense, to relay play calls from the coordinator up in the booth.“ Browns trade up to No. 1, Raiders take Dante Moore in 2026 NFL mock draft (paywall)“Makai Lemon, WR, USC. If Lemon is still on the board when the 49ers go on the clock, I don’t think Kyle Shanahan would be able to pass on him.What Lemon (5-11, 195) lacks in size, he makes up for with his manipulative route running and competitive finishing skills at the catch point. Get ready for the Amon-Ra St. Brown comparisons.“