San Francisco 49ers Week 9 Stock Report

Stock down: San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York.

York’s stock was soaring less than two years ago. People saw him as a real up-and-comer, maybe the next Jerry Jones.

The Niners CEO had just built a new football stadium in California, which is no easy feat. He had a great team, which had just made three trips in a row to the NFC Championship. And he had Jim Harbaugh, one of the five best football coaches in the world, college or pro.

For some odd reason, York parted ways with Harbaugh after last season. York seemed convinced Jim Tomsula would be a better head coach.

Halfway through this season, the Niners are 2-6, Tomsula is a flop and York is the laughingstock of the league.

This is the Week 9 stock report.

Stock Down: Carlos Hyde (RB)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Week 1, running back Carlos Hyde seemed like a potential MVP candidate. He rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, and he completely outshined former MVP Adrian Peterson on Monday Night Football.

That was just one dominant performance, apparently. Hyde hasn’t rushed for more than 100 yards in a game since then.

It gets worse.

Week 5, Hyde suffered a stress fracture in his left foot, which forced him to miss Week 8 against the St. Louis Rams. He may or may not play again this season.

Hyde has talent, but his style of play seems to work against him. He’s a violent runner who seeks out contact, which means he absorbs crushing hits almost every time he touches the ball.

The Niners can’t rely on Hyde to carry the load. They need to draft a running back to pair with him.

Stock Down: Anquan Boldin (WR)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Anquan Boldin seemed like a sure bet to get traded before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Boldin is 35, he’ll be a free agent after next season and he plays for a team in fire-sale mode. The Niners traded Vernon Davis on November 2. Why wouldn’t they trade Boldin, too? Why not get a 2016 draft pick for him?

Before Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams, the Niners listed Boldin as questionable with a hamstring injury. That Friday, Boldin told reporters he would play. “There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said (h/t Joe Fann of 49ers.com).

But he didn’t play. It seemed the Niners were holding him out to prevent further injury, so they could trade him.

But they didn’t trade him. Which is odd. Maybe the hamstring injury is more serious than we realize.

Stock Down: Alex Boone (LG)

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

The 49ers have one good run-blocker on their offensive line: Joe Staley.

They were supposed to have four good run-blocking O-linemen: Staley, Anthony Davis, Daniel Kilgore and Alex Boone. But Davis retired, Kilgore is recovering from a broken ankle he suffered last season and Boone is not a good run-blocker anymore.

In 2012—when he played right guard—Boone earned a plus-27.3 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.

Halfway through this season, Boone has earned a run-blocking grade of minus-5.5 playing left guard. He seems uncomfortable on the weak side of the formation, and his skills seem to be eroding.

Stock Down: Colin Kaepernick (QB)

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Just last summer, the 49ers signed quarterback Colin Kaepernick to a six-year, $114-million contract. He seemed like a player the Niners would never dream of trading.

Cut to the present. Kaepernick is a backup quarterback—the Niners benched him before the trading deadline, although they didn’t trade him. How could they? It’s hard to imagine any team would want Kaepernick under his current contract.

It’s hard to imagine any team would want Kaepernick, period. Kaepernick has been bad for a full season now. This season, his passer rating is 78.8.

The Niners would be extremely lucky if they could trade Kaepernick this offseason. They’ll probably have to cut him.

Stock Down: Jim Tomsula (HC)

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

New head coaches typically get at least a couple of seasons to build a team. Tomsula may get nine games.

Which is probably why Tomsula benched Colin Kaepernick this week. Tomsula may fear he’ll get fired unless he changes something before the bye week. Teams sometimes fire losing coaches during bye weeks, and two coaches have gotten fired already this season. Tomsula might be next.

Tomsula doesn’t want to be next; he doesn’t want to sink with Kaepernick. So Tomsula jumped in Blaine Gabbert’s boat. If Gabbert plays well and the Niners are competitive Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, Tomsula probably will keep his job, at least until the end of the season.

If Gabbert stinks and the Niners get blown out yet again, the Tomsula Era could end next week.

Follow @grantcohn.