Renardo Green didn’t have the kind of 2025 season that matched the buzz he built as a rookie.
After a promising 2024 campaign, the 49ers cornerback hit a wall in his second year. He didn’t make the jump the team was hoping for, and at one point Kyle Shanahan had to light into him during a game.
That kind of moment can go either way for a young player. Sometimes it rattles him.
Sometimes it wakes him up.
In Green’s case, it sounds like it did the latter.
Shanahan said earlier this offseason that the reason he came down so hard on Green was simple: he believes in him. And Green has embraced that message, which is showing up already in training camp.
“I appreciate him for pushing me. If it’s a play that he feels like I can make, because he knows the type of ball player I am, he knows my talent and what I’m capable of, I can’t do anything but respect it because I feel like I can make that play too,” Green said.
“Me pushing myself is one thing, but having a coach that believes in you, that believes that you can be one of the best, believes that you can be one of the top guys, it gives you more confidence to work harder because you know you’re not going to let yourself slack, but you know that he’s not going to let you slack either.”
That response says a lot about where Green is mentally. He’s not shrinking from the criticism.
He’s leaning into it, and that matters. Players who can take hard coaching and turn it into fuel are usually the ones worth betting on.
Green already has the confidence of someone who knows what he can be. With Shanahan pushing him and backing him at the same time, that confidence only grows. There’s also the added jolt of competition the 49ers brought in, which appears to have snapped him out of any comfort he may have settled into after earning the starting job.
That combination - belief, pressure, and competition - is exactly why Green looks positioned for a bounceback. He had the talent before, and now he seems to have the edge that was missing last season.
If training camp is any indication, the 49ers may be getting the version of Renardo Green they expected all along.
In Other News...
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The station has a reputation for blending news and comedy, which only added to the confusion around whether the image was a mistake or a deliberate joke. For San Francisco, it was another strange twist in a story that has already traveled well beyond the usual team-news cycle, and one that left plenty of people wondering how a local update about Shanahan turned into viral television. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Camp Injuries Already Created A Troubling Defensive Shakeup
Training camp has already forced the 49ers into an early defensive reset, with the team waiving Andrew Farmer II and William Bradley-King after injuries slowed both edge defenders. Farmer was hurt Sunday with a back injury, while Bradley-King went down Monday, leaving San Francisco to shuffle its depth before the roster picture had even settled.
The moves opened spots for linebacker Quinton Bell and defensive end K.J. Henry, giving the 49ers fresh bodies at a position group that can ill afford to thin out in camp. For now, the bigger question is what comes next for Farmer and Bradley-King, since their status will depend on whether another team claims them off waivers. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Aiyuk Just Made This 49ers Split Look Even Worse
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That backdrop matters because Washington has been floated as a possible landing spot, and general manager Adam Peters did little to suggest the Commanders are eager to dive into that situation. His indirect response to questions about potential additions pointed to the kind of caution that usually follows a player carrying heavy baggage, and at this point a deal looks like a long shot. [Read more 🡒]