– Manchester United players fear that Bruno Fernandes has had enough of the problems being endured at Old Trafford and will leave in the summer, according to The Sun. The 31-year-old could look for a fresh start following the World Cup after he admitted that former manager Ruben Amorim had persuaded him to stay last summer following a £100m offer from Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. Fernandes has claimed that he won’t make a decision regarding his future until after the World Cup.
– Juventus remain confident that they will sign Marcos Senesi when the centre-back’s Bournemouth contract expires in the summer, even with Barcelona having contacted his agency, as reported by Tuttosport. Juve are even expected to start a summit between the parties in the coming days to understand the cost and feasibility of a move. Their aim is to complete a deal for the 28-year-old quickly to avoid a rise in competition.
– Set-piece kings Arsenal have hired throw-in expert Thomas Grønnemark as they enter the second half of their Premier League push. The Sunday Times reports that Mikel Arteta has brought in Grønnemark, who previously helped Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool when they won the league title in 2020.
– Galatasaray have opened talks to sign Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva as a free agent in the summer, as reported by Nicolo Schira. If the 31-year-old is to join, City teammate Ilkay Gündogan could play a key role in making it happen, as he is one of Silva’s best friends. Gundogan has actually already spoken positively to the Portugal international about Galatasaray’s project.
– Juventus are looking at United’s Noussair Mazraoui as they aim to sign a right-back, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport, amid growing competition for Genoa‘s Brooke Norton-Cuffy. Juve’s new direction is leading them to the 28-year-old, who wants to leave Old Trafford for a change of scenery before the World Cup. Bayern Munich’s Sacha Boey is also being evaluated.
– After the news that Georgia Stanway will be leaving Bayern Munich when her contract expires this summer, Sky Sports has suggested that Arsenal are interested in the midfielder. Early talks have already taken place between the club and player, with the 27-year-old able to sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs this month, but there will be further competition for the England international from other clubs in the Women’s Super League.
OTHER RUMORS
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Laurens: Signing Guehi in January is a no-brainer for Man City
Julien Laurens analyses the future of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
– Crystal Palace could be tempted to accept a big offer for Marc Guehi this January, with Manchester City pushing to reach an agreement for the centre-back. (Football Insider)
– The plan is for Al-Hilal full-back Joao Cancelo to complete his medical on Monday and be presented as a Barcelona player on Tuesday. (Mundo Deportivo)
– Everton are looking at Arsenal’s Ben White as a solution for their right-back issues, although a deal would be difficult to complete. (Football Insider)
– Chelsea and Arsenal have joined Liverpool in the race to sign Stade Rennais centre-back Jeremy Jacquet. (Football Insider)
– Bayern Munich are stepping up their interest in 16-year-old Hertha BSC defensive midfielder Kennet Eichhorn, but there is competition from RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and clubs abroad. (Florian Plettenberg)
– Juventus, Napoli and Roma remain in the background with questions remaining about whether Galatasaray and Nottingham Forest will move for Internazionale midfielder Davide Frattesi. (Tuttosport)
– Liverpool could try to sign Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez in the future and look elsewhere for a centre-back this January. (Football Insider)
– Newcastle United are interested in a triple signing from Atalanta as they look at centre-back Giorgio Scalvini, midfielder Ederson and left-back Honest Ahanor. (TEAMtalk)
– Manchester United want 17-year-old Blackburn Rovers forward Igor Tyjon, but Arsenal are the favourites to sign him. (The Sun)
– Internazionale could move for Atletico Madrid right-back Nahuel Molina if Denzel Dumfries leaves in the summer. (Tuttosport)
– Aston Villa want Tammy Abraham, who is currently on loan at Besiktas from Roma, with their intention being for the 28-year-old to provide support and competition for Ollie Watkins. (The Telegraph)
– Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool are all monitoring Como centre-back Jacobo Ramon, while scouts from Newcastle, Brighton and Crystal Palace have been sent to watch the 21-year-old. (Caught Offside)
– Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Everton are among the clubs interested in Lecce centre-back Tiago Gabriel. (Rudy Galetti)
– Lazio have agreed personal terms with Ferencvaros midfielder Alex Toth and are now working to complete a deal with the Hungarian club. (Nicolo Schira)
– Cagliari have asked for information about Internazionale midfielder Kristjan Asllani, who is currently on loan at Torino with an option to make the deal permanent. (Nicolo Schira)
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Bitterly cold air has been in place across the state today, with the entire region starting off below freezing. Temperatures warmed up throughout the day with drier air in place, but some areas across northern New Mexico did not climb above freezing for daytime highs. More bitterly cold air will move in […]
“The statements made by the US Secretary of Health are completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected,” German Health Minister Nina Warken said in a statement late Saturday.
Kennedy said in a video post earlier on Saturday that he had sent the German minister a letter based on reports coming out of Germany that the government was “limiting people’s abilities to act on their own convictions when they face medical decisions.”
The American health secretary said that “I’ve learned that more than a thousand German physicians and thousands of their patients now face prosecution and punishment for issuing exemptions from wearing masks or getting COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.”
Warken rejected Kennedy’s claims, saying that “during the coronavirus pandemic, there was never any obligation on the medical profession to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Anyone who did not want to offer vaccinations for medical, ethical, or personal reasons was not liable to prosecution, nor did they have to fear sanctions.”
Kennedy did not give provide specific examples or say which reports he was referring to but added that “in my letter, I explained that Germany is targeting physicians who put their patients first and punishing citizens for making their own medical choices.”
He concluded that “the German government is now violating the sacred patient physician relationship, replacing it is a dangerous system that makes physicians enforcers of state policies.”
Kennedy said that in his letter he made clear that “Germany has the opportunity and the responsibility to correct this trajectory, to restore medical autonomy, to end politically motivated prosecutions.”
Warken pointed out that there were no professional bans or fines for not getting vaccinated.
“Criminal prosecution was only pursued in cases of fraud and document forgery, such as the issuance of false vaccination certificates or fake mask certificates,” the minister said.
She also clarified that in general in Germany “patients are also free to decide which therapy they wish to undergo.”
Former German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who was in charge during the pandemic, also replied, addressing Kennedy directly on X saying that he “should take care of health problems in his own country. Short life expectancy, extreme costs, tens of thousands of drug deaths and murder victims.”
“In Germany, doctors are not punished by the government for issuing false medical certificates. In our country, the courts are independent,” Lauterbach wrote.
While a majority of Germans were eager to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, there were also protests by a small minority of vaccine skeptics in Germany which were sometimes supported by far-right movements.
The 2025 season is officially over for the Green Bay Packers, who blew an 18-point halftime lead in a 31-27 playoff loss to the Chicago Bears on Saturday. There were plenty of reasons why the Packers lost and one of the biggest ones was because Brandon McManus had the first postseason meltdown of his career.
The Packers kicker cost his team seven points with two missed field goals and a missed extra point in the four-point loss and he was definitely down on himself after the game.
“The biggest disappointment of my career,” McManus told reporters after the game. “It was an embarrassment of a performance. It’s disappointing. My role on the team is to make kicks and these guys pour in thousands of plays over the course of the season and I leave seven points on the board today. The most disappointing point of my career ever.”
The fact that McManus struggled was somewhat surprising, if only because he had been one of the most accurate playoff kickers in NFL history going into Saturday’s game.
NFL wild card overreactions: Is Matt LaFleur on hot seat after Packers’ meltdown? Are Rams’ flaws fatal?
Tyler Sullivan
The veteran had kicked in five previous playoff games and hit 11 of 12 field goals (91.7%) while also going four of four on extra points. To put that in perspective, McManus was one of just four kickers in NFL history who hit at least 90% of his playoff field goals (minimum 10 attempts) and 100% of his extra points. His 91.7% accuracy rate in the postseason was also the 10th best number for anyone with at least 10 playoff field goal attempts.
After missing just one kick in his first five playoff games, he melted down in Chicago with three misses against the Bears. The first miss by McManus came on the final play before halftime. He actually hit a 55-yard field goal, but it didn’t count, because Bears coach Ben Johnson called a timeout. McManus then tried the kick again and sent it wide left. Considering the cold weather and the wind, it’s hard to hold this miss against him, but things only got uglier after that.
McManus’ struggles continued in the fourth quarter after the Packers scored a touchdown that gave Green Bay a 27-16 lead with 6:36 left to play. After the score by Matthew Golden, McManus sent the extra point wide left. This ended up being a huge miss, because if he would have made the kick, the Packers would have gone up 28-16 and that would have changed the game from a strategic standpoint.
After Green Bay’s score, the Bears responded with a quick touchdown on an 8-yard scoring pass from Caleb Williams to Olamide Zaccheaus to trim the lead to 27-22. After that score, the Bears went for two (and got it) so they could cut the lead down to a field goal at 27-24. If McManus had made his kick and the score would have been 28-22, the Bears probably would have just kicked the extra point instead of going for two.
Following Chicago’s touchdown, McManus got a chance to redeem himself, but things only got worse for him after he missed a 44-yard field goal that would have given the Packers a 30-24 lead with 2:51 left to play in the fourth quarter.
McManus has struggled from that range all season: He hit just 42.9% of his kicks between 40 and 49 yards this year, which was the lowest percentage in the NFL from that range by far.
After the miss, the Bears drove down and were able to get the go-ahead score when Williams hit D.J. Moore for a 25-yard touchdown to give Chicago a 31-27 lead. If McManus had made his field goal, the Packers would have been trailing 31-30 and they would have needed just a field goal at the end of the game to potentially win.
McManus signed a three-year, $15.3 million extension with the Packers back in March, but after his three misses, it’s hard to see him returning to Green Bay.
The ugly playoff game ends a brutal year for McManus, who hit just 80% of his field goal attempts, which ranked 28th in the NFL for any kicker who played in at least nine games.
Valencia County Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Orchard Blossom Road Saturday night, Jan. 10. The department said initial reports were of a shop on fire with possible explosions and other structures threatened.The department says crews were able to control the flames before they spread to other buildings. No injuries were reported, but one person was treated for an unassociated medical complaint.
VALENCIA COUNTY, N.M. —
Valencia County Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Orchard Blossom Road Saturday night, Jan. 10. The department said initial reports were of a shop on fire with possible explosions and other structures threatened.
The department says crews were able to control the flames before they spread to other buildings. No injuries were reported, but one person was treated for an unassociated medical complaint.
Deaths from a rare and dangerous bacterial infection could rise if fewer teens are vaccinated, doctors warn.
After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all adolescents get vaccinated against meningococcal disease in 2005, cases of the potentially deadly illness plummeted in the United States by 90%.
However, cases have sharply risen since 2021, likely due to a combination of mutating bacteria and declining rates of vaccination overall, especially among teens getting a booster dose for bacterial meningitis, doctors suggest.
Dr. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious disease doctor at UT Health in Houston, is concerned that as cases of bacterial meningitis climb in the United States, the CDC’s recent overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule could lead to more deaths.
Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s guidance, the CDC is no longer recommending a meningitis vaccine for all adolescents. The vaccine and booster protect against the most common types of the infection in the U.S., serogroups A, C, Y, W.
“We see quite a few cases of meningitis per year,” Ostrosky said.
Under the new guidance, the vaccines will be recommended for “high-risk groups,” although parents can still ask doctors to vaccinate their children through a process called “shared clinical decision making.”
Teenagers and college-age adults, who often spend a lot of time in groups or communal living spaces such as dorms, and people with HIV are considered at highest risk for the infection, caused by a group of bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis.
Vaccination is important not because the disease is common — around 3,000 people are diagnosed with bacterial meningitis in the U.S. each year — but because the infection is both extremely dangerous and fast-moving.
Bacterial meningitis can progress quickly, causing the brain to swell and limbs to develop gangrene and sepsis, and can kill within 24 hours.
Symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, vomiting and fever come on suddenly, and may be mistaken for other minor illnesses. It can be treated with antibiotics, but even with rapid diagnosis, about 15% of patients die.
“It’s really a devastating disease that keeps pediatricians up at night,” said Dr. Kevin Messacar, a professor of pediatric infectious disease at University of Colorado Anschutz in Aurora, Colorado. “It’s difficult to recognize, and we often see patients who are too late to bring back.”
Fast-acting and life-threatening
Why some people are susceptible isn’t well understood. The infection develops when usually harmless bacteria travel through the respiratory tract and infiltrate the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, causing severe inflammation. These bacteria, which commonly live in the back of the throat, can spread from person to person through close contact.
It can lead to a life-threatening infection in someone whose immune system is compromised — sometimes by a simple cold or flu virus — or who doesn’t have immunity to those bacteria. Viruses and fungi can also cause meningitis, but bacterial meningitis is the most serious.
Among patients who survive, as many as 20% have lifelong disability or complications, including amputated limbs, hearing impairment and neurological problems.
“You can die from a brain hernia, or from sepsis,” Messacar said. “And if you survive a brain hernia, you will most likely have severe complications.”
In 2024, the CDC issued an alert about a rise in cases of a type of invasive meningococcal disease. More than 500 cases were reported, the highest since 2013. Most of the infections were due to a specific strain of the Y serogroup of bacteria, which is included in the previously recommended vaccine. The cases were more common in adults ages 30 to 60, in Black people and in people with HIV.
“It’s even more important now that we get meningococcal vaccines out to people given that we are seeing a spike in this Y strain,” Messacar said.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved three types of meningitis vaccines. In 2005, the CDC began recommending that 11- and 12-year-olds get vaccinated against the most common meningococcal serotypes, A, C, Y and W. Because of waning immunity, the CDC in 2011 added a booster recommendation for 16-year-olds to protect them through young adulthood. A vaccine for meningitis B and a combined shot are available for children or babies who are considered at high risk.
In a statement Monday, Kennedy said that the CDC’s new childhood vaccine schedule was “aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus.”
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease doctor at the UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco, said the new approach to meningitis vaccination in the U.S., which is based on Denmark’s, is flawed.
“You can’t just look at another country’s vaccine approach and photocopy it. You really have to look at what is happening in your own country,” Chin-Hong said. Given the safety of meningitis vaccines, “it makes sense to vaccinate.”
Alicia Stillman, who serves on a World Health Organization task force for eliminating meningitis, worries that by moving the vaccine into shared decision making, the CDC is creating hurdles for parents who want to protect their children.
Stillman’s daughter, Emily, died from meningitis B in 2013. Emily had been vaccinated against meningitis A, C, W and Y, but the FDA didn’t approve a vaccine for meningitis B until 2014.
Emily Stillman, seen here with her mother Alicia, was 19 when she died from meningitis B. Courtesy Alicia Stillman
Because many types of bacteria can cause bacterial meningitis, different vaccines are needed. The meningitis B vaccine hasn’t been recommended for all children but is available for people at high risk through the shared decision making process.
“I have watched medical professionals not bring [meningitis B vaccination] up,” said Stillman, who is the co-executive director of the American Society for Meningitis Prevention. “I have watched parents who are maybe a little less educated and not know how to ask about it, or they go to a public clinic instead of a private clinic where they have less time with a provider.”
She believes that could happen more broadly with the changed guidance.
What the research says
A CDC statement said the changes to the recommendation reflect the need for more data on certain vaccines, “including placebo-controlled randomized trials and long-term observational studies to better characterize vaccine benefits, risks, and outcomes.”
While there haven’t been placebo-controlled trials for meningitis vaccines — which would test how well a vaccine works either by deliberately infecting people with bacteria or by seeing how well they fare if they are infected in the real world — there have been many randomized clinical trials and other studies that use decades of data collected from both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the real world.
Chin-Hong said placebo-controlled trials aren’t realistic or ethical for every drug, especially for life-threatening and rare diseases.
“A well-designed observational study, especially using decades of experience, can be just as informative as a randomized controlled trial,” Chin-Hong said.
A 2020 CDC report analyzed 20 clinical trials on meningococcal disease vaccines, including data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VS). The most common reported side effects were “mild to moderate,” and included swelling, fever and headache.
In 2005, Katie Thompson, now 39, was infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacterial meningitis when she was a college freshman, the same month the FDA approved the first MenACWY vaccine.
“I don’t know how to describe it besides it’s pure hell,” she said.
After five weeks in the hospital and nearly dying, she went home, but not without lifelong complications. Thompson, who lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina, still struggles with migraines and vestibular disorders that cause vertigo and nausea. The infection was hard on her organs and she uses a bladder stimulator that helps regulate both her bladder and nerves in the base of her spine.
“It’s just not a disease that you want to take a risk on,” she said. “It’s not one that you want to gamble with your child’s life.”
Two vaccines that remain universally recommended by the CDC — the Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine — protect against some causes of bacterial meningitis. However, these vaccines don’t protect against meningitis A, C, W, Y or B.
Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For six weeks from early October to mid-November, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy wasn’t sure how his injured right big toe would feel when he woke up most mornings.
As the Niners began preparing for Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals, Purdy was finally ready to return. The only potential complication? Backup Mac Jones had not only kept the Niners afloat but thrived in Purdy’s stead, leading the team to five wins in eight starts and leaving outside observers wondering whether he should continue starting.
Inside the 49ers’ quarterback room, there was no such consternation. The job belonged to Purdy and, as long as he was healthy enough to play near the standard he’d set on his way to landing a five-year, $265 million contract in May, he would reclaim the role.
There was no need for emergency meetings or big declarations from coach Kyle Shanahan, quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi or anyone else in the organization.
Early in the week, Purdy simply told Jones he was back. Jones responded by welcoming him back and launching into things he’d seen from Arizona’s defense in the Week 3 game he started in Purdy’s place.
“For me to be able to see that and feel that in a real way, I’ll always be appreciative of that,” Purdy told ESPN. “Sometimes in this business you can make it weird. But he did not.”
That small moment set the 49ers on a course for big things as they finished 12-5, earned the NFC’s No. 6 seed and now will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox) in the wild-card round. None of it would have been possible without Jones and Purdy teaming up to form the league’s best one-two quarterback tandem.
According to ESPN Research, the Niners are the first team to make the playoffs after having multiple quarterbacks start at least eight games each since the NFL expanded to eight divisions in 2002.
Buoyed by Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly system and the fun-loving environment of the QB room and the locker room overall, Jones has resuscitated his career. Save for a rough Week 18 outing against Seattle, Purdy finished the regular season playing some of his best football after returning from injury. Together, they’ve thrown touchdowns, created personalized handshakes, discussed conspiracy theories and danced their way back to the postseason stage.
“We spend so much time together and it’s such a long season and there’s a lot of pressure situations, a lot of things you’ve got to talk about,” Shanahan said. “And when you’re in a small room with people all year long, if you’re irritated with each other, it makes the year a lot harder. … It’s been a really cool room.”
Neither Purdy nor Jones has played enough to merit award consideration, but their combined production resembles the résumé of a Most Valuable Player candidate.
Jones and Purdy started eight and nine games, respectively, and combined to rank fifth in the NFL in QBR (68.4) and passing yards (4,157), third in completion percentage (69.3%) and fourth in touchdown passes (33). The two — who first met on Purdy’s 2017 recruiting visit to Alabama when Jones was a redshirt freshman and occasionally throw together in Florida in the offseason — enjoy that success because of their bond.
“When a starting quarterback goes down, sometimes that could be the season,” Purdy said. “He stepped right in and kept the ship rolling. … It wasn’t just ‘Let’s squeeze by’ wins. He looked great doing it. And he’s been ready still even since I came back.
“To have two guys who can go in and play at a high level, there’s nothing better.”
JONES’ JOURNEY TO San Francisco was more circuitous than many anticipated. After the Niners passed on him in favor of Trey Lance after trading up to the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Jones went to the New England Patriots. He played well as a rookie but struggled in his final two seasons there. He was then traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2024 sixth-round pick and was Trevor Lawrence‘s backup last season. Jones started seven games, including the final five when Lawrence went on injured reserve, and finished with a 36.6 QBR, which would have ranked 31st in the NFL had he qualified.
Entering free agency for the first time in March, Jones had some ideas about what he wanted. He prioritized practical matters including a proven quarterback system such as Shanahan’s and the chance to learn from a successful signal-caller like Purdy.
Jones, who noticed that Sam Darnold‘s career revitalization had begun in San Francisco, touched base with Purdy about the possibility of teaming up during their shared offseason workouts in Jacksonville, where Jones is from and Purdy spends time working with throwing coaches Tom Gormely and Will Hewlett.
Beyond the X’s and O’s, Jones also wanted his third NFL stop to provide something his previous two hadn’t: the chance to be himself and rediscover the joy he had playing football in college.
“You want to be the same guy you are on the field as you are off the field because if you have to change, it’s not going to be good because you’re thinking about things you’re not supposed to think about,” Jones said.
Jones, who said he wasn’t allowed to listen to music before games in previous NFL stops, found himself on social media searching for videos of the 49ers’ Bumpboxx entrance on game days. He watched players such as left tackle Trent Williams leading the Niners out of the tunnel with hip-hop blaring from a speaker and pictured himself dancing near the front of the line.
“New England runs things different over there,” said receiver Kendrick Bourne, who played with Jones in New England and now with the Niners. “It’s a different system. It’s more militant. And here it’s more relaxed. … The Patriots taught us a lot, but here it allows you to prevail in who you are.”
A FaceTime call with Shanahan sealed Jones’ decision. It was validated weeks later when, after a spring practice, Jones watched Shanahan break down film of that day’s workout.
Jones sat in awe as Shanahan offered insight on all three phases of the game in painstaking detail. Jones eagerly took notes on all of it, saying he treated every day like a rookie starting from scratch in case his number was called.
Little did Jones know that just two games into the season, he would need to put that study to use.
Stepping in for an injured Purdy against New Orleans in Week 2 might have been a recipe for disaster for most backup quarterbacks in a new system. But Jones’ approach, paired with the repeated message from Lombardi to embrace all that comes with playing the most high-pressure position in sports, allowed him to settle in quickly after a shaky first quarter.
Jones threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in a win. Purdy would return two weeks later before aggravating the toe injury in a Week 4 loss to Jacksonville, opening the door for Jones to build on what he’d learned.
Williams gave Jones the invitation he’d wanted ever since he joined the 49ers, asking him to move to the front of the Bumpboxx line.
“You can just tell that’s his vibe,” Williams said. “That’s Mac. Mac has got a lot of flavor to him. … I could see him itching to, he wanted to, he might as well.”
After eight starts, Jones ranked second in the NFL in passing yards per game (268.9), ninth in completion percentage (69.6%) and 10th in yards per attempt (7.4). His 63.8 QBR still ranks eighth among quarterbacks with at least eight starts.
The Niners went 5-3 with Jones, leaving them in the playoff mix with the backup reestablishing his value as a potential starter for another QB-needy team in 2026 should San Francisco receive a worthwhile trade offer. But because Jones signed a two-year, $7 million deal, the Niners have the option of keeping their quarterback depth in place for another year.
“I’ve put some thought into it, but I just feel like I want to finish this year really strong and not get distracted by things that are out of my control,” Jones said. “I definitely feel like I got the train back on the tracks, and I’m going to work very hard to continue that. I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m on a two-year deal, so that’s really all I can say about it. But I do believe that I played good football, and the scary part is I can play even better. I believe that.”
WALK INTO THE 49ers’ quarterback room during normal business hours and the conversation will almost certainly be a deep discussion of fundamentals, the game plan or an opponent. In the few minutes before those meetings start, there’s no telling what the topic du jour will be.
“If we had a podcast in our quarterback room, we would definitely break the internet,” Jones said, laughing. “We’re very focused on doing our job, but the first five, 10 minutes, sometimes we get a little wild.”
For Purdy, Jones, Adrian Martinez and Kurtis Rourke, a favorite pastime is kicking around various conspiracy theories with Lombardi serving as de facto traffic cop. The moon landing is a popular debate, not so much because anyone believes the conspiracies, but in the delicate ecosystem of the room, it’s always important to have opposing viewpoints.
Shanahan even occasionally joins in the fun, offering stories from his coaching and playing career that can lighten the mood before everyone gets down to business. Rourke, a rookie seventh-round pick out of Indiana who is on the non-football injury list, said the group has talked about “pretty much everything you could imagine” in those pre-meeting discussions.
All of it is meant to provide levity to a job that requires plenty of monotony, and it creates a closeness that can bring joy in the tedium.
“The best way I can describe our room is it’s more like a friend group rather than just a work group,” Rourke said.
That has manifested in many ways this season. When Purdy was out and Jones was starting, Purdy stayed tuned into the playcalls, regularly offering his teammate tips on even the tiniest bit of minutiae.
During installation periods at practice, Purdy would notice things such as Jones using a cadence that wouldn’t pair with a certain motion, a seemingly small matter that could throw off the timing of an entire play.
“He kind of would catch me,” Jones said. “A lot of guys, maybe they wouldn’t have said something or whatever. They wouldn’t have thought to think, ‘Let’s help this guy out a little bit and make sure that he’s doing it how I did it so that it runs the same way.'”
According to Purdy, that has been a two-way street with Jones finding ways to help him, too. Whether it’s offering insights on how certain coordinators like to defend certain plays or Jones ensuring that Purdy is properly hydrated, he has jumped back into the supporting role headfirst.
When the 49ers beat the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 22, Jones checked that Purdy, who was playing through a triple-digit fever, the chills and sinus issues, was drinking plenty of fluids and taking IVs. Purdy threw for 295 yards and five touchdowns in what Jones jokingly called his “flu game.”
“We’ve gotten along great in terms of having each other’s backs,” Purdy said. “Our relationship is legit and real and authentic in terms of building each other up.”
The dynamic extends to Rourke and Martinez, too. Rourke, who is out for the year with a knee injury suffered in college, has watched Purdy closely, noting that the starter has carved out a successful path despite being the last pick in the draft.
Jones has done similar for Martinez, who has bounced around various practice squads and the UFL since going undrafted out of Kansas State in 2022. Late in a Nov. 2 win against the New York Giants, Jones pulled himself from the game, approaching Martinez on the sideline and telling him to go in. Martinez kneeled out the clock, logging his first regular-season snap.
“He didn’t have to do that,” Martinez said. “And for me to get my first snap in that way, I mean, it meant a lot. He just kind of made the call and I was ready to go.”
LATE IN THE third quarter of the Niners’ Nov. 30 win against the Cleveland Browns, Purdy faked a handoff to running back Christian McCaffrey and raced off the left side for a 2-yard touchdown. Purdy immediately dropped the ball and broke out the Dougie, the dance named for 1980s rapper Doug E. Fresh and brought back into the mainstream by the 2010 song from Cali Swag District “Teach Me How to Dougie.”
Purdy has never shied away from celebrations, but dancing had rarely been part of the repertoire. As it turns out, Purdy has long annoyed his wife, Jenna, by regularly practicing in their kitchen, but never did it out on the field. In the following weeks, Purdy made it a staple, drawing laughter and support from teammates.
“When you see a quarterback that can get the tedious work done and be super serious, but then when we’re successful let his hair down and celebrate a little bit, it’s not something that you come across too often,” Williams said. “It energizes everyone else.”
In Purdy’s case, it shows not only that there has been much to celebrate but also that he feels comfortable and confident after the injury.
Since Purdy took over as San Francisco’s starter in 2022, the only quarterback in the NFL with a better QBR than his 69.8 is Buffalo’s Josh Allen. Before the season finale against Seattle, teammates believed Purdy was playing his best football since returning, and that confidence remains entering the postseason. That he has done it without the usual cast of household names next to him, save for McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle, only bolsters that confidence.
In San Francisco’s final seven games, Purdy ranked fourth in QBR and ninth in passing yards per game, and he accounted for 19 total touchdowns, third most in that span. Those numbers came despite a three-interception performance against the Carolina Panthers and a 22.8 QBR against Seattle, the fifth worst for a game in his career. The Niners went 6-1 in that stretch and locked up the playoff berth.
“He’s a special football player,” McCaffrey said. “He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league and somebody who can make a play on any given snap. He’s grown in the sense that now he might be a little more comfortable dancing and all that stuff.”
For the 49ers to make a run in the postseason, Purdy and the offense will have to bounce back from their season-ending stinker against Seattle. Without defensive ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams, and linebacker Fred Warner (at least for now), the defense is just trying to hold it together. It’s Purdy & Co. who will be asked to carry the freight for any deep playoff run.
Should Purdy have a setback, Jones is staying prepared. Either way, the two quarterbacks their teammates call “Glock Purdy” and “Mac-10” (Jones and Purdy provided the offensive line with T-shirts with those monikers and have a custom handshake with each other paying homage to the nicknames), will be leading the way and leaning on each other.
What happens after the season remains to be seen but neither quarterback wants this ride to end any time soon.
“People ask me about it, I get it,” Jones said. “But at the same time, I’m dialed in. I love the guys here and don’t want to be a distraction. I know that I possibly could be needed at a very critical part of the season, and so your job as the backup quarterback is to save the season. If I have to do that, I know I’m going to be ready.”
Swain chased down Alabama guard Adan Holloway to block what would have been an easy bucket with 0:16 left in the game, keeping the Longhorns’ lead at 88-85. The Crimson Tide cut Texas’ lead to 90-88 on an Amari Allen 3-pointer with 0:04 left, but Pope capped his big night with a pair of foul shots to ice the game.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Nationwide unrest challenging Iran’s theocracy saw protesters flood the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city Saturday night and into Sunday morning, crossing the two-week mark as an outside monitoring group said at least 116 people had been killed.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. But according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which relies on a network of contacts inside the country, the death toll from clashes between protests and Iran’s security forces has climbed steadily, and more than 2,600 others have been detained over the last two weeks.
Faced with its most significant challenge in years, Iran’s theocratic rulers have issued increasingly stern threats to what it claims are agitators being influenced by the U.S. and Israel — and answered threats of a U.S. intervention by President Trump with corresponding threats of their own.
Iran’s parliament speaker warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as threatened by President Trump. Qalibaf made the threat as lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: “Death to America!”
Those abroad fear the information blackout will embolden hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown, despite warnings from Mr. Trump that he’s willing to strike the Islamic Republic if demonstrators are killed.
Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026.
MAHSA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty
On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
“I’m sure that has really scared many Iranian officials and may have affected their actions in terms of how to confront the protestors, but at the same time, it has inspired many protesters to come out because they know that the leader of the world’s main superpower is supporting their cause,” Maziar Bahari, the editor of the IranWire news website told CBS News.
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, said on Saturday night that Mr. Trump had been given military options for a strike on Iran, but hadn’t made a final decision.
Iran lawmaker says “signs of a threat” could trigger attacks on U.S. troops
Iranian state television broadcast the Sunday parliament session live. Qalibaf, a hard-liner who has run for the presidency in the past, gave a speech applauding police and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, particularly its all-volunteer Basij, for having “stood firm” during the protests.
“The people of Iran should know that we will deal with them in the most severe way and punish those who are arrested,” Qalibaf said.
He went on to directly threaten Israel, “the occupied territory” as he referred to it, and the U.S. military, possibly with a preemptive strike.
“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said. “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.”
It remains unclear just how serious Iran is about launching a strike, particularly after seeing its air defenses destroyed during the 12-day war in June with Israel, which also saw the U.S. carry out strikes against its nuclear facilities. Any decision to go to war would rest with Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The U.S. military has said in the Mideast it is “postured with forces that span the full range of combat capability to defend our forces, our partners and allies and U.S. interests.”
Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, purportedly showed gathering in northern Tehran’s Punak neighborhood. There, it appeared authorities shut off streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.
Other video purportedly showed demonstrators peacefully marching down a street and others honking their car horns on the street.
“The pattern of protests in the capital has largely taken the form of scattered, short-lived, and fluid gatherings, an approach shaped in response to the heavy presence of security forces and increased field pressure,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. “At the same time, reports were received of surveillance drones flying overhead and movements by security forces around protest locations, indicating ongoing monitoring and security control.”
An image from a video posted on social media on Jan. 10, 2026, shows large crowds of protesters gathered along the Vakil Abad highway in Iran’s northeast city of Mashhad, chanting slogans as fires burn.
Reuters/Social media
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, some 450 miles northeast of Tehran, video purported to show protesters confronting security forces. Flaming debris and dumpsters could be seen in the street, blocking the road. Mashhad is home to the Imam Reza shrine, the holiest in Shiite Islam, making the protests there carry heavy significance for the country’s theocracy.
Protests also appeared to happen in Kerman, 500 miles southeast of Tehran.
Iranian state television on Sunday morning took a page from demonstrators, having their correspondents appear on streets in several cities to show calm areas with a date stamp shown on screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included. They also showed pro-government demonstrations in Qom and Qazvin.
Khamenei has signaled a coming clampdown, despite U.S. warnings. Tehran escalated its threats Saturday, with Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warning that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge. The statement carried by Iranian state television said even those who “helped rioters” would face the charge.
Iran’s theocracy cut off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls on Thursday, though it allowed some state-owned and semiofficial media to publish. Qatar’s state-funded Al Jazeera news network reported live from Iran, but they appeared to be the only major foreign outlet able to work.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests Thursday and Friday, asked in his latest message for demonstrators to take to the streets Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry Iran’s old lion-and-sun flag and other national symbols used during the time of the shah to “claim public spaces as your own.”
Pahlavi’s support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past – particularly after the 12-day war. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isn’t clear whether that’s support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
