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NFL Announces Official Punishment for Two 49ers Players — Shanahan Addresses the Situations and Signals Roster Decisions That Could Reshape San Francisco in 2026

San Francisco, California – The NFL has officially announced disciplinary actions stemming from the Divisional Round loss, and the San Francisco 49ers are directly affected. Two defensive players, Deommodore Lenoir and Dee Winters, were fined for infractions committed during the matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

According to the NFL’s Gameday Accountability Report, Lenoir received the larger fine. He was fined $20,944 for unnecessary roughness after using his helmet to initiate contact at the 10:05 mark of the third quarter. The league ruled the action a violation of player safety standards.

Winters was also fined for unnecessary roughness, though to a lesser extent. The 49ers linebacker received a $5,907 fine for a hip-drop tackle that occurred at 4:01 of the third quarter. The hip-drop technique has been under increased scrutiny by the NFL due to its elevated injury risk to offensive players.

While the fines marked the final disciplinary fallout from a disappointing end to the 49ers’ 2025 season, the spotlight quickly shifted to the response from head coach Kyle Shanahan, who addressed the issue directly and framed it as a turning point rather than an isolated incident.

“I’ve had conversations with both of them. What happened is a lesson for the entire team,” Shanahan said. “The important thing isn’t the punishment, it’s how we respond afterward and how we build this roster moving forward. If we want to go further, we have to be more balanced, more disciplined, and more unpredictable. Players who put themselves above the team won’t have a place in the system I’m building.”

The blunt message was widely interpreted as Shanahan’s strongest stance since the season ended. Rather than focusing solely on individual penalties, the head coach is clearly resetting the organizational standard for discipline and accountability with 2026 positioned as a pivotal year.

From a roster-construction standpoint, Shanahan and the 49ers’ front office have already identified their primary priorities. On offense, the offensive line is expected to undergo significant changes, aimed at providing more consistent protection for Brock Purdy and establishing long-term stability beyond reliance on individual stars. Defensively, the team must also identify a replacement for Robert Saleh, with an emphasis on maintaining physicality while reducing costly mental and disciplinary mistakes.

The offensive philosophy is also set for refinement. Christian McCaffrey remains a foundational piece, but Shanahan has made it clear that the 49ers cannot continue operating as a one-man offense if they hope to sustain success and mitigate injury risk over a full season.

The NFL has handed down its punishments. For Kyle Shanahan, however, this moment represents something deeper — the starting point of a broader cultural and roster reset that could redefine the San Francisco 49ers in 2026 and beyond.

Just Three Hours After Being Released by the Packers, 2× Pro Bowl Star Deletes Every Post About Green Bay After His Attempt to Take a Pay Cut to Stay Was Rejected — His Vow Never to Return Leaves Packers Nation in Sympathy .
Green Bay, Wisconsin – The offseason took an emotional turn for the Green Bay Packers when the organization decided to release veteran offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins as part of a salary-cap adjustment. But what happened just hours later turned the situation into one of the most emotional storylines of the week across the NFL. According to multiple reports, Jenkins — a two-time Pro Bowl selection and former All-Pro honoree — had attempted to negotiate with the team and even offered to take a pay cut in order to remain with the franchise that originally drafted him. The effort ultimately fell short as Green Bay chose to move forward with a roster reset, clearing nearly $20 million in cap space for the 2026 season. Just three hours after the release became official, fans began noticing something unusual on Jenkins’ social media accounts. Every post connected to his years in Green Bay — from locker room celebrations to photos wearing the iconic green-and-gold uniform — had quietly disappeared. Jenkins had been one of the pillars of the Packers’ offensive line since being selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. Throughout multiple seasons, he built a reputation for rare versatility, capable of playing guard, tackle, and center at an elite level, and was widely regarded as one of the most reliable and flexible offensive linemen in the league. At his peak, Jenkins was often described as Green Bay’s “secret weapon” on the offensive front. He protected multiple quarterbacks over the years and helped anchor an offense that consistently remained competitive during several playoff runs. His ability to seamlessly shift across nearly every position along the offensive line made him one of the most trusted players inside the Packers’ locker room. At first, the decision to erase those memories surprised many fans. But once reports surfaced that Jenkins had been willing to sacrifice financially just to remain with the team, the reaction across Packers Nation quickly shifted from shock to empathy. Green Bay will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s where my journey truly began. But sometimes you fight to stay somewhere and still realize that chapter has ended, and when that moment comes, the only thing you can do is walk away with respect for every memory that was built there. While Jenkins did not criticize the organization, sources close to the situation say the emotional weight of the release influenced his decision to remove the posts. What surprised many even more was the report that Jenkins has told people close to him that he does not plan to return to Green Bay at any point in his career, choosing instead to start an entirely new chapter elsewhere in the NFL. Yet instead of anger, the reaction from Packers fans has largely been one of understanding. For many supporters, Jenkins’ willingness to take a pay cut simply reinforced what they had long believed. He wasn’t just protecting the quarterback on Sundays.He was trying to protect a home he once hoped would last his entire career.