Kyle Juszczyk says taking a pay cut hurt but he did it to stay with the 49ers

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Kyle Juszczyk says taking a pay cut hurt but he did it to stay with the 49ers

2024-07-31 04:57 Last Updated At：05:01

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Juszczyk took a blow to his psyche early this offseason when San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch came to him following a seventh straight Pro Bowl season and told him he would need to take a pay cut in order to stay with the team.

It took a few days to process but Juszczyk decided it was best to stay in San Francisco on a reworked contract that saved the Niners about $4 million in salary cap room and paid him about $1.8 million less this year.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I have the best opportunity in the world to play here for the Niners,” he said. “I do think that I’m being taken care of in a good way as a fullback on this team. I am happy with my role. My ego took some shots, but at the end of the day, I want to be on a team that all these superstars are getting paid more money because that means they did something great the year before. I feel a part of that.”

The move with Juszczyk was one of several situations this offseason when the business side of football has taken a more prominent role for the 49ers. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead was released in March after declining to take a pay cut and San Francisco is without two of its best offensive players on the practice field so far in training camp.

Star receiver Brandon Aiyuk is conducting a “hold in” this summer and not practicing as he seeks a long-term extension to replace the fifth-year option that would pay him $14.1 million this season. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is holding out as he seeks an improved contract.

“I feel like every year there’s kind of been someone in that position,” Juszczyk said about contract talks hovering over the team. “Honestly, I feel kind of well versed in it. It really is something that in the locker room, we don’t take personally and we understand that guys go through that stuff and a lot of guys have gone through it ourselves. I think there’s a good understanding.”

Juszczyk's situation was complicated by the fact that only a handful of teams regularly use a fullback, limiting his options if he were to move on from San Francisco.

The Niners made him the highest-paid fullback in the game in coach Kyle Shanahan's first offseason with the team in 2017 and have prioritized the position.

Juszczyk has caught 262 passes for 1,695 yards and 11 TDs and rushed 55 times for 186 yards and four scores in his seven seasons with San Francisco.

He could have an added role this year as he has been working on kickoff returns as San Francisco seeks the right combination of returners under the new kickoff rules.

With the new play now looking more like a traditional offensive play, the 49ers have experimented on using Juszczyk and Deebo Samuel as tandem returners.

“There’s some real opportunities for big plays,” Juszczyk said. “I think I could help in that. I think Deebo definitely can help in that. I think we could be a good combo back there, because there’s a lot of moving parts. There has to be kind of a natural feel for those returners back there. You just have to be able to play off each other well. I think we do that.”

NOTES: QB Brock Purdy had a strong start to practice but ended it by throwing interceptions on four of his last five passes. ... The Niners had their first scuffle of camp when defensive lineman T.Y. McGill and rookie OL Jarrett Kingston got into a shoving match after a play. ... WR Terique Owens, the son of Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, had his best practice of camp and caught a deep TD pass from Brandon Allen.

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Jamaica to deploy a limited number of soldiers and police to help fight gangs in Haiti

2024-09-11 02:07 Last Updated At：02:11

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Tuesday that his country would send two dozen soldiers and police officers to Haiti this week to boost a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya to fight violent gangs.

The 20 soldiers and four police officers are scheduled to arrive Thursday and will join nearly 400 Kenyan police who arrived earlier this year and are working alongside Haitian police and military, said Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, chief of defense staff for Jamaica’s military.

The Jamaicans will be responsible for providing command, planning and logistics support, Holness said at a news conference.

Jamaica had pledged a total of 170 soldiers and 30 police officers, but Holness said it wasn’t possible to deploy them all at once.

“It’s not practical,” he said, adding that facilities to host those arriving and a command structure need to be in place before the full number pledged is deployed. “We want a very successful operation.”

The initial number of police and soldiers announced by Holness surprised many and comes at a time when the U.S. government has warned that the Kenyan-led mission lacks money and personnel as it considers a U.N. peacekeeping mission as one way to secure more resources.

In recent days, the U.N. and Ecuador circulated a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press asking the U.N. to start planning for a U.N. peacekeeping operation to replace the current mission. Such a proposal would have to be decided by the U.N. Security Council, which experts do not believe would approve it.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said “it’s very strange” that there is apparently no money available to support the Kenyan-led mission.

“I think countries should assume responsibilities and should come and provide the necessary funding,” he said.

Holness did not comment on the possibility of a U.N. peacekeeping mission but said the current mission “can be a long and extended process.”

He added that the mission is not the only or final solution to problems in Haiti, where gangs control 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

The violence has spread to other areas across the country, with more than 3,200 killed from January to May, according to the U.N. The ongoing violence also has left more than half a million people homeless in recent years.

“Haiti is the example of what could happen if states and governments do not take the problem seriously and put in place the measures and resources necessary to bring the problem under control,” Holness said.

Overall, the mission is expected to have a total of 2,500 personnel, with the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad also pledging to send police and soldiers, although it wasn’t clear when that would happen.

On Saturday, the Bahamas' foreign affairs minister, Fred Mitchell, told reporters that while the government hasn't wavered in its pledge, it's unclear when it'll deploy troops to Haiti given that the mission's dynamics have changed.

“One of the things the Bahamas has to consider is the new position of the U.S.,” he said.

The mission is expected to cost roughly $600 million a year, although the U.N. has received only $68 million out of $85 million pledged so far. The U.S. and Canada have provided the majority of funds for now.