Photo Credit: Chris Mezzavilla
The 49ers returned to practice on Monday, with a brief slate of two before they head down to Southern California on Wednesday for joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers. It wasn’t exceedingly eventful, until it was.
Practice report: The situational theme continues
What has emerged in the 49ers’ training camp practices is, at this point, a mostly reliable trend. Trey Lance flashes his arsenal in 11-on-11s and looks like the clear best quarterback on the roster. Then, situational drills begin. Whether it’s a move-the-ball (can be with unlimited time, under- or near-two-minute situations), kill-the-clock, or other situations, like six- or eight-second drills, Jimmy Garoppolo has almost always looked like that better quarterback. In standard red zone situations, without a running clock, Lance has often looked better.
Garoppolo was stellar towards the end of practice after looking pretty rough in the opening portion, when he threw an embarrassing interception over the middle to Fred Warner. He also threw a near-INT targeting Richie James Jr. (who, once again, did absolutely nothing to suggest he should make the roster) which Jason Verrett dropped.
Through his first four throwing periods, Garoppolo was 3-for-8 with one interception and a near interception, plus a James Jr. drop. It was a tough, but absolutely must-have catch, with Jimmie Ward hitting James as he tried to catch it.
But in the last three periods, as the 49ers moved into situational drills designed to move the ball and get first downs, Garoppolo was faultless. He had nine-straight completions to end practice, and that ending was a touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu on a seven-play drive. That drive was kept moving by one of Garoppolo’s better throws of camp, when he rolled out to his left, then caught a toe-tapping George Kittle on perfect catch and throw deep down the left sideline. Oh, and he also ran a zone read for a first down on third-and-1. It looked, uh, a bit difference than the zone reads that Lance runs.
Speaking of Lance, he got two first team reps, both of which were against the first team defense… and both of which were running plays. The first was handed to Trey Sermon and the second was a beautiful read-dive to Raheem Mostert, which Lance disguised brilliantly, and Mostert took for at least first down yardage.
Lance did have some very poor throws on Monday, though. He took too long on one play action, throwing high and over the head of Sanu; it was a near interception after Sanu deflected it, and a near hospital pass, too. Later on, he threw a wretched interception way over Ross Dwelley, and into the arms of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who didn’t have to do much to catch it.
His day ended on the same drill as Garoppolo’s, but without a touchdown. He had a completion to Jauan Jennings — who continues to have an excellent camp, and who Shanahan raved about (see below) — followed by two pretty entertaining fullback dives to Josh Hokit. His day ended with what initially appeared to be an overthrow of James, but was quickly protested by George Kittle, yelling “throw the flag!” to referees from the sideline, which indicated James probably got held.
There wasn’t all that much to report from practice, except for *gulps* a Trent Williams injury.
Holding their breath on Trent Williams, and an over-reliance on Daniel Brunskill
On the second play of that last Garoppolo set – an inside give to Mostert — Williams came off the field limping, holding what looked like his right leg. He walked off the field under his own power and watched the rest of the practice from the sideline, and joined the huddle when practice ended shortly after.
Kyle Shanahan provided an semi-update on Williams after practice, saying that it was a “hip or knee” injury and that Williams wasn’t “overly concerned” about it but that he’ll obviously have to be evaluated.
Kyle Shanahan says it’s a “hip or knee” for Trent Williams, said Williams didn’t seem overly concerned about it https://t.co/2d7jwaSiO5 pic.twitter.com/5ldldiJq0g
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) August 16, 2021
Outside of any context, a Trent Williams injury is concerning. But it’s especially worrisome given the one thing the 49ers haven’t been super forthright about; and that’s their offensive line.
Whether it’s Shanahan, John Lynch, or offensive line coach Chris Foerster, the 49ers continue to insist they’re happy with their offensive line depth, despite the myriad pressures and would-be sacks Trey Lance takes in practice and the four sacks and additional QB hit he took in his first preseason game. Aaron Banks is now out for an expected two-to-three weeks with a shoulder injury, and if Williams is out, rookie tackle Jaylon Moore (who might be betters-suited as a guard, but hasn’t been able to rep there due to injuries) is next up.
Oh, and Shon Coleman sustained a knee injury in the first preseason game and sat out of Monday’s practice. Shanahan said he’s day-to-day.
When the 49ers’ coaches and front office folks talk about having depth, they’re literally just talking about Swiss Army Man Daniel Brunskill. The problem therein is that Brunskill, useful as he is, is the starting right guard. If he gets hurt, there’s no viable backup center on the roster, and your best backup at every other position is gone.
Foerster told KNBR last Monday that he feels good about their depth but that, “It’s a little hard when your starting guard is your backup center. You wish it wasn’t that way because you may have to make something happen — may have to make two moves — and we’re hoping not to do that, but we’re working through it.”
Shanahan raved about the O-line depth again on Monday. And again, it was really all about Brunskill.
I” feel we’re as deep as we’ve been. You have Dan Brunskill who has played every position on the field for us,” Shanahan said. “Dan’s shown that he can start in this league, he’s shown that he can play all the positions. We’re trying to figure out who our best five are; when you have a guy like Dan, he doesn’t have to be pigeonholed into one spot so it allows us truly to pick our best five and we’re trying to figure that out, where we’re gonna put our backup tackles, where we’ve got our backup inside players and who’s gonna be the starting inside.”
Because of roster cuts, the 49ers may simply be biding their time and waiting for or hoping that a cheap depth option comes available. They’re one cut away from getting to 85 players by the August 17 deadline, and will have to cut an additional five players to get to 80 by the August 24 deadline. Then they’ll need to get to 53 on August 31. Right now, though, they’re betting a lot on a 36-year-old Alex Mack and Brunskill as the glue for the entire line.
High praise for Jauan Jennings, who… might be a lock?
We’ve long been trying to figure out what the 49ers’ wide receiver depth chart looks like, and it’s felt like the top four spots have been pretty much settled with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Mohamed Sanu and Trent Sherfield exceedingly likely to make the team.
But the last two spots have been murky at best to figure out until recently. Richie James Jr. seemed to have an edge by proxy of being on the team for the last three years and returning punts, but he’s looked horrible as of late and has had consistent issues with drops.
The other spot seemed to be up for grabs between two taller options and recent draft picks in the 6’5″, but perpetually injured Jalen Hurd and the 6’3″ Jauan Jennings. Hurd didn’t practice in full again on Monday because Shanahan said his knee was bothering him, but Jennings did, and he lit it up.
He’s a player who’s been an enigma. Based on his combine measurements, he’s a pretty horrible athlete for the receiver position. But he’s a guy that elicits all the best tropes and NFL coach speak descriptions. He’s a “gamer.” He defies analytics about what a receiver should look like, or what traits they should have; he just plays extremely hard and makes plays.
And that’s not just this reporter’s assessment. Shanahan said Monday that he’s seen the same thing and was as full of praise for a non-lock player as you’ll pretty much ever see from him.
“It was similar to what you saw on on his college tape, he was a really good college football player, you could tell how much he enjoys playing the game, how good his hands were, how physical he plays,” Shanahan said. “He didn’t light up the Combine or anything, which we mess with him over. But that’s his game. It’s old school and he goes out there and he competes.
Shanahan said that the 49ers thought last year that he was going to play a role for them last season and “came on really strong” in the Weeks 4-8 of last year before suffering a serious hamstring injury.
Thus far, he’s loved what he’s seen.
“Jauan, he plays like his hair’s on fire and I think a lot of our receivers can learn from watching him,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been extremely impressed with Jauan.”
Other updates:
Here’s all the comings-and-goings from Monday’s practice:
Returnees:
- Nick Bosa is expected to fully participate in practice beginning next week.
- K’Waun Williams (hip soreness, participated in full)
- Azeez Al-Shaair (knee sprain, participated in full)
- Arden Key (thigh contusion, participated in full)
- Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (concussion protocol, participated in full)
- MyCole Pruitt (calf, didn’t participate in 11-on-11s)
Departures:
- CB Ken Webster
- LB James Burgess
- LB Donald Payne
- DL Eddie Vanderdoes
Signing:
- LB Mychal Kendricks (wearing No. 48, practiced in full)
Injuries:
- Javon Kinlaw: He’s going to be week-to-week and is doubtful to participate this week with a shoulder injury he sustained last week.
- Shon Coleman: Hurt his knee in the first preseason game and is day-to-day
Plan at QB3:
- Shanahan said he wanted to get Josh Rosen reps on Saturday and that he’d rather have the third quarterback get full reps, which is why Nate Sudfeld didn’t play. Sudfeld will take the QB3 snaps next Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.