On offense or defense, playing the slot – the area between the offensive tackle and wide receiver — is a thankless job. Two of the best in the game will square off in the slot at Levi’s Stadium when the Seahawks (4-5) battle the 49ers (5-4) on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, FOX).
On routes from the slot position, Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL in receptions (43), catches of 15-or-more yards (13), receiving yards (514) and first downs (25), according to Pro Football Focus. He’s well on his way to a lucrative second NFL contract and when he gets there, he won’t have to repay a debt to his head coach. That’s the situation in which San Francisco cornerback Deommodore Lenoir found himself this week.
Lenoir, awarded Wednesday with a five-year, $92 million contract extension, will face off against Smith-Njigba Sunday. A week after Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch drafted him in 2021, Lenoir was a little too physical in his first minicamp. The Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association restricts contact prior to training camp and the league saw Lenoir’s own social-media post showing the rookie jamming a receiver. Shanahan had to dip into funds earmarked for his son’s college education in order to pay the NFL’s $50,000 fine.
“That was the first time I ever got mad at him, but I was really excited about it,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “Despite what it took away, my kid’s college tuition. But it showed we had the right type of dude and he’s always been like that. The fact that he can play nickel inside and play the way he does and play and cover guys outside, are the types of guys you want in the secondary and a special type of corner.”
Lenoir isn’t the only special young player in San Francisco’s secondary. In fact, two 49ers rookies recorded interceptions of Geno Smith the last time Seattle met San Francisco, the 49ers’ 36-24 win at Lumen Field on Oct. 10: Cornerback Renardo Green and free safety Malik Mustapha. San Francisco will rely on both players Sunday to slow Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf, expected to return to the Seahawks’ lineup this week after missing the last two games with a knee injury.
The Niners limited Smith-Njigba to five catches for 53 yards in Week 7.
For more information on the Seahawks and 49ers, visit the Seattle and San Francisco team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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