Tag: 49ers camp

Is 49ers RB Jordan Mason set to make a leap in 2024?

We might see more Jordan Mason in 2024 if this area of his game has really improved.

There’s been an intriguing development out of the 49ers’ first couple days of training camp. Running back Jordan Mason appears to have taken a step forward as a pass catcher, which may put him in a unique position in 2024.

Mason, an undrafted rookie in 2023, has struggled to find consistent playing time. Part of that is because of the two running backs ahead of him on the depth chart – Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell. Another issue though has been his inconsistency as a pass catcher. That has improved through the first couple days of camp according to reporters on site at practice. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner had this observation on Twitter:

Jordan Mason is offering more receiving chops than he has in the past. He’s made multiple catches the past couple of days and looked natural doing so.

David Lombardi from the Athletic also noted this exchange from McCaffrey’s press conference:

It’s unlikely McCaffrey is going to come off the field often, but as he enters his age 28 season the 49ers might aim to get him off the field more than they did last year. A prerequisite for that will be having a backup who can impact the game similarly enough that the offense won’t change in any substantial way.

For Mason, who had three catches for 31 yards on four targets last year, it’ll be about diversifying his game enough where his quarterbacks and coach trust him. As a rookie he never lined up as a receiver according to Pro Football Focus. Last year he lined up in the slot twice and split out wide thrice. He had one catch behind the line of scrimmage and two others in the middle of the field with an averaged target depth of 6.5 yards.

Increasing the volume of targets will help. That’s where trust built in camp will come in, so he’ll have to continue shining as a receiver as camp progresses. But reaching a point where he more consistently lines up wide and in the slot will be a key to the third-year RB getting on the field more in 2024. If he can start doing that and being a threat as a pass catcher, we could start seeing more regular Mason snaps this season.

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Are 49ers repeating last year’s mistake on the offensive line?

So far there’s no competition at right guard for the 49ers which is … interesting.

It appears through the first two days of training camp that the 49ers might be repeating a mistake they made last season.

San Francisco in training camp last year handed starting jobs to right guard Spencer Burford and right tackle Colton McKivitz. They both had to play well enough too keep the starting spots, but they were never really pushed with other players rotating in and getting chances with the first team.

In the first two days of camp this year they’ve apparently exercised the same strategy. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner noted on Twitter that Burford has been the lone RG with the first team for both sessions:

If the Niners intend to rotate Spencer Burford and Jon Feliciano at RG, they haven’t yet shown it. It’s been Burford with the starters so far at RG. Feliciano has worked at center (even a few snaps with the 1s) and RG, which tracks because he is the backup center.

As Wagoner notes, the team may have confidence in Feliciano since he finished the year last year as the starting RG. They could be giving Burford extra reps as his initial chance to try and win that spot. Rookie Dominick Puni should also be a factor at RG and they may still be acclimating him to the NFL before launching into first-team reps. That would make sense since offensive line play in camp is hard to judge until pads are on anyway.

What wouldn’t make sense if for the second year in a row they didn’t offer any real competition for Burford. Perhaps he steps in this year and takes a leap. That’s on the table. He’s not a bad player, but his inability to hold a starting job each of his first two years is certainly a concern. The 49ers have to exhaust all options when finding their five best offensive linemen, and rolling into 2024 without at least testing out the right guard competition would be a mistake.

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Rock Ya-Sin messed around with Deebo Samuel and found out

Rock Ya-Sin: Messed around.
Rock Ya-Sin: Found out.

It’s not easy to win a contested catch situation with 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel. New cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, a veteran free agent addition by San Francisco this offseason, found that out the hard way at Thursday’s practice.

Samuel ran a slant with Brandon Allen under center and Ya-Sin read it perfectly. He broke on the ball and got to the receiver as soon as Allen’s pass did. Ya-Sin even got hands on the football. The problem for him was that Samuel also got hands on the football, and when that becomes a battle, it’s not one a cornerback is often going to win.

Here’s video from the 49ers:

Samuel’s nickname comes from the bully in the movie ‘Friday,’ and plays like this help emphasize why the nickname fits. His after-the-catch prowess is what grabs all the headlines for Samuel, but there aren’t many players better at winning in situations like this one. And Rock Ya-Sin learned as much Thursday.

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Brandon Aiyuk, John Lynch watch 49ers practice together

Brandon Aiyuk watched the first part of #49ers practice on Thursday with … John Lynch

If there’s animosity between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers front office, it didn’t show at Thursday’s training camp practice.

Aiyuk, who reported for camp but isn’t participating in practice while he awaits a contract extension, already showed a willingness to resolve his contract dispute amicably by showing up to the team facility on Tuesday when veterans were required to report. His other option was to hold out and not report.

He was on the field for Wednesday’s practice before exiting to the team facility with general manager John Lynch according to reporters on site. Thursday was more of the same, but with a twist. Aiyuk was on the field again, only this time he and Lynch watched together.

Barrows indicated Aiyuk watched the latter portion of practice with safety Talanoa Hufanga. Hufanga is on the PUP list while recovering from an ACL tear he suffered in Week 11 last season.

Aiyuk watching a practice with Lynch doesn’t necessarily mean a contract is close. It does provide some optimism though that the two sides are at least talking and trying to work toward an extension.

So far Aiyuk has done all the right things through two days of camp. The more he continues doing that, the better.

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49ers take advantage of roster spot opened by Trent Williams holdout

Trent Williams is holding out which opened a roster spot for a familiar WR.

49ers star left tackle Trent Williams wasn’t among the players to report to training camp. San Francisco on Thursday took advantage of the absence and cleared a roster spot by placing Williams on the reserve/did not report list. In a corresponding move they signed wide receiver Malik Turner to the 90-man roster.

Williams is looking for an adjusted contract after the guaranteed money on his six-year deal ran out last year. His absence isn’t ideal, but he also has enough experience that missing a handful of practices shouldn’t be a problem for the 36-year-old.

Turner is a familiar name for fans tapped into preseason rosters. He spent the 2022 offseason with San Francisco and looked like he might be in line to make the team after a strong preseason performance. The 49ers wound up cutting Turner and re-signing him to their practice squad. He stayed there until he was let go in early November.

It’s likely the 49ers just need some camp bodies at receiver since Brandon Aiyuk isn’t participating and Ricky Pearsall is on the non-football injury list. Turner is a long shot to have a serious impact on the race for roster spots, although his special teams contributions give him a chance to stick around on the practice squad.

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Some early bad news for 49ers rookie running back

A 49ers rookie is already nursing what appears to be a hamstring injury after one day of camp.

It’s too early in training camp to have a ‘bad’ training camp, but things didn’t get off to a great start for 49ers rookie running back Isaac Guerendo.

Guerendo on Day 1 of camp had to exit the session after pulling up with what appears to be a hamstring injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan after practice said he wasn’t sure the extent of the ailment.

“Yeah, we think it was a hamstring,” Shanahan said. “So it looked like he hyperextended a little bit. He was going about half speed it looked like. So it was an unusual one, but they just told me it was a hamstring. But we got to get the MRI.”

This could be a significant blow for the rookie fourth-round pick in his first camp. Guerendo dealt with injuries throughout his college career as well which is part of the reason such an early issue raises a red flag.

San Francisco’s running back room is crowded with veterans and a talented undrafted rookie Cody Schrader. This hamstring issue could put Guerendo behind the curve in a way that makes it much more difficult to catch up. He was already going to be battling Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Patrick Taylor and Schrader for a roster spot. Now he’ll potentially have to compete with fewer practices under his belt.

Ideally the injury won’t sideline Guerendo for long and he’ll get a couple practices in before the team’s preseason opener on Aug. 10 in Tennessee.

The good news for Guerendo is his skill set should translate well to the 49ers’ offense. He’s explosive, fast and very good at keeping his balance through contact. If he can get healthy and stay healthy he has a real chance to be a factor in that crowded San Francisco backfield.

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One of 49ers most important offseason position battles is underway

The 49ers have the starting quarterback spot figured out, but what’s happening behind Brock Purdy?

There’s a position battle playing out in 49ers training camp that may fly under the radar, but is extremely important nonetheless.

San Francisco’s backup quarterback position can’t be overlooked given the team’s recent history of needing multiple signal callers in a season. While the 49ers have their starting QB situation hammered out, the backup spot will be a preseason-long battle between Josh Dobbs and Brandon Allen.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday in a press conference indicated the pair will split the second-team reps. In Wednesday’s practice it was Allen who got all the second-team reps according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

Via Wagoner on Twitter:

Brandon Allen got the work with the No. 2 offense while Josh Dobbs worked with the third team. Allen hit a couple of nice throws to WR Jauan Jennings but also was nearly intercepted on a check down to RB Jordan Mason late in practice. Dobbs had less success, including an interception on an under thrown deep ball intended for open WR Danny Gray.

It’s not a huge surprise Allen got the first day of second-team reps. He was with the 49ers all of last season and they re-signed him in the offseason knowing he’d have a shot to be the backup.

Dobbs might be a more talented player overall, but San Francisco’s backup will be the player they’re most confident will go in and operate the offense.

It’s still early in camp so we can’t take too much away from Allen over Dobbs on Day 1. The two are close enough contenders that this battle should wind up taking the entirety of the preseason to figure out. Wednesday was just a signal that the battle is underway.

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Brock Purdy connects with unlikely target in 49ers training camp video

Woooo 49ers practice video!

The 49ers on Wednesday had their first training camp practice of the year. With it came our first bits of practice footage.

San Francisco posted on its official team account a video of quarterback Brock Purdy making a throw on a deep out. While there are a handful of stars who could’ve been on the receiving end of that toss, it was actually speedster Danny Gray who hauled it in.

Gray is on the outside looking in at a roster spot and has a steep climb ahead of him, but impacting the passing game beyond his role as a deep threat is going to be paramount, and making plays like this one is a nice start.

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Why 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk reporting to training camp matters

Here’s a surprise: Brandon Aiyuk showed up to #49ers training camp.

There was a surprise Tuesday when the 49ers reported for training camp.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was among the veterans to report despite not having a new contract extension according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Aiyuk and the 49ers have had a rocky offseason that culminated in the All-Pro receiver requesting a trade one week before veterans were due to report to camp.

It’s unlikely that Aiyuk will take part in any drills until he has a new contract, but his presence at camp is a sign that things are at least trending toward a deal.

The sooner something gets done that gets Aiyuk back on the field the better. He’s already missed the entire offseason program and any lost days of camp just offer more potential for a disappointing follow-up to his breakout 2023 campaign.

For now though a hold in is better than a hold out, and it’s up to the 49ers and Aiyuk to now find a deal that gives him some long-term security while the club ensures it has its No. 1 WR for the foreseeable future.

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Rejoice: 49ers veterans report to training camp

The 49ers veterans report to training camp today!

The 49ers veterans will report to training camp Tuesday and the preparations for the 2024 season can begin in earnest. It’s unclear whether wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will report as his contract negotiations continue.

San Francisco’s rookies have been in the building since July 16 going through a strength and conditioning program. Their veterans returning marks the unofficial start of camp, with practices finally kicking off Wednesday morning at the SAP Performance Center at Levi’s Stadium.

For the first day players are only allowed to take physicals and go through classroom work.

Day 2 is when on-field activities can start, but there’s an acclimation period where only helmets are allowed for Days 2 and 3, while helmets and shells (shoulder pads) can be worn Days 4 and 5.

Full pads can come on after the acclimation period.

While Tuesday won’t include any on-field work, training camp and the start of the 2024 season are officially here.

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