Tag: 49ers training camp

49ers TE Ross Dwelley, DL DJ Jones miss practice

Ross Dwelley and DJ Jones both missed Saturday’s practice with injuries.

The 49ers were without two of their five tight ends in Saturday’s practice. Ross Dwelley, last year’s No. 2 TE, missed the session with a foot injury. DJ Jones was also out, but he did receive good news about the shoulder injury that forced him to leave Friday’s practice early.

Dwelley was a key player for the 49ers last year because of his versatility as a blocker. When fullback Kyle Juszczyk went down, Dwelley took on fullback duties. He also slotted into the starting TE role for two games when George Kittle was out.

The 49ers are already pretty thin at tight end after releasing Daniel Helm and with Jordan Reed still doing individual work before entering full practices. Losing Dwelley for an extended period would be a tough blow for San Francisco’s offense.

He’s not much of a factor as a pass catcher, but he’s valuable as a blocker. He’s also the most experienced player at the position behind Kittle. Sixth-round pick Charlie Woerner and undrafted rookie Chase Harrell are their only other options with Dwelley and Reed out of practice.

Jones’ MRI on his shoulder came back clean, which is good news for the 49ers’ starting nose tackle. He was driven to the ground on a goal line play late in Friday’s practice and left with a shoulder injury. While his shoulder is healthy, he was put into concussion protocol and will have to clear that before returning to practice.

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49ers training camp takeaways: Trent Williams is good at football

Trent Williams vs. Nick Bosa is shaping up as one of the key battles for the 49ers in training camp.

Rust hasn’t been a factor for 49ers left tackle Trent Williams in his first live action since the 2018 season. He excelled against reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa during Thursday’s practice according to reporters on site.

Williams had four one-on-one matchups against Bosa and got the better of the defensive end three of the four times per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. Bosa was one of the NFL’s best defensive ends last season — racking up 80 regular-season pressures and another 15 in three postseason games. His 9.0 sacks were the second-most among 49ers.

San Francisco acquired Williams from Washington on Day 3 of this year’s draft. He missed all of 2019 due to a holdout and then the removal of a dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans — a cancerous growth — on his head.

There was some concern about Williams’ ability to return to peak form after a full season off at Age 31. Early returns indicate rust won’t be a factor though since Bosa is among the early favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year. While their matchups in camp are mostly inconsequential, they appears to show two of the best players in the league at their positions going at it.

Having one of the NFL’s best left tackles and one of the NFL’s best defensive ends would put San Francisco in a good position to put together another Super Bowl run.

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49ers place Jalen Hurd on IR, add 4 players, waive 2 others

The 49ers injury issues forced them to make a slew of roster moves.

The 49ers on Thursday made a flurry of roster moves ahead of their morning practice. Wednesday came with a slew of reported additions that were made official, along with the placement of wide receiver Jalen Hurd on Injured Reserve.

Hurd tore his ACL on the second day of padded practices when he was working on a side field with trainers. The injury and subsequent IR stint will end his season.

San Francisco added a trio of players who were previously reported to be signing, including defensive backs Johnathan Cyprien and Evan Foster, offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu and wide receiver Jaron Brown.

Cyprien and Foster will compete for reserve spots at strong safety. Grasu will add depth at center while the 49ers deal with a rash of injuries at the position, and Brown will give depth to a receiving corps that’s also been shaken up by injuries.

To make room on the 80-man roster, the 49ers waived undrafted rookie linebacker Jonas Griffith, and undrafted rookie cornerback DeMarkus Acy.

Jalen Hurd leaves 49ers practice early after falling

Jalen Hurd took an awkward fall and had to leave 49ers practice early with an unknown injury.

Jalen Hurd was supposed to ease into training camp after missing all of last season with a back injury. His work with a trainer on a side field during Sunday’s session ended early when he fell down awkwardly according to Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee.

Hurd stayed on the ground for awhile before getting up and leaving the field under his own power.

While the extent of the injury is unknown, it’s not a great sign early in camp for a player that wasn’t working at full speed yet. Hurd, a third-round pick in 2019 out of Baylor, suffered a stress fracture in his back leading up to the second preseason game. He played a handful of snaps in that contest before exiting. The injury forced him out for his entire rookie campaign.

The 49ers’ plan was to ease him into a full workload according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Hurd was a running back for three years in college before transitioning to receiver when he transferred from the University of Tennessee to Baylor. He figures to be a Swiss Army knife in Shanahan’s ‘position-less’ offense when he is healthy.

Any more extended missed time could wind up limiting Hurd’s role even if he is available during the season. He’ll need time to learn the offense at multiple spots while continuing to hone his skills as a receiver. Any time he’s away from the field is time lost in that development.

There’s no update yet on the extent of his injury, but we’ll provide one when it becomes available.

Arik Armstead to miss 49ers’ practice with back irritation

Arik Armstead will miss 49ers practice with some back irritation.

The 49ers aren’t pushing the envelope with injuries early in training camp. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead won’t participate in Saturday’s session with back irritation according to reporters on site. Jalen Hurd and Jordan Reed will also be eased back into practice after missing all of 2019 with injuries.

Armstead earned a five-year, $85 million deal in the offseason after leading the 49ers with 10.0 sacks last year. It’s not a surprise they’re being extremely cautious with a player they expect to be a big part of their defensive line. This will be something to keep an eye on, but there’s no reason for any major concern.

Hurd is entering his second season with a chance to have a significant impact on the 49ers’ receiving corps. He had a strong first preseason game last year and looked to be on his way to carving out a role in the offense as a rookie. A back injury ahead of the second preseason contest wound up sidelining him for all of the 2019 campaign. Putting him back into football activities slowly tracks with how cautious the team was with Hurd last season. He’ll need to ramp up to full speed eventually, but there’s no need to rush it on Day 1 of camp.

Reed is in a similar spot after missing the 2019 season with a concussion he suffered during the preseason. Injuries have defined Reed’s career, so an already conservative training staff will surely continue taking extra precautions with him.

Injuries and injury reports are always worth tracking, especially during a pandemic when there were no offseason activities. There’s no reason for panic yet from an injury standpoint, but it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on with games just under a month away.

7 49ers players who need a great training camp

The San Francisco 49ers have a slew of players who need great training camps to earn bigger roles in 2020.

The 49ers going into training camp have a few certainties on their roster. Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback and Fred Warner at linebacker for example. What’ll matter more in camp are the players who aren’t sure things.

There are a host of 49ers who need to shine in camp to either earn roster spots or starting jobs. Here are seven players in need of strong showings in this year’s camp:

WR Dante Pettis

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Pettis didn’t get an offseason to work his way out of the hole he fell into last season. His second season was a dud after a strong rookie campaign, and he finished 2019 with just 11 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Eventually he was pushed out of the wide receiver rotation and was a healthy scratch for the Super Bowl. There are plenty of opportunities this year for Pettis to earn snaps. If he doesn’t play his way into a role, he could play his way off the team.

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Everything the 49ers have done in 2020

All the moves the 49ers have made in the 2020 offseason leading up to training camp.

The 49ers’ 2020 offseason has been relatively busy for a team that went in aiming for continuity.

A slew of trades highlighted both the 49ers’ free-agency period and their draft. Now the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the NFL calendar into an unprecedented state of uncertainty where preseason has been cancelled, training camp rosters have been cut to 80, and nearly 70 players opting out of the 2020 campaign.

Here’s a quick recap of what happened to the 49ers in the offseason:

Key free agent signings

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

OL Tom Compton

Compton embodies the type of free agent the 49ers set out to acquire this offseason. He’s an experienced, versatile interior offensive lineman who played in Kyle Shanahan’s offense in Washington. He also spent time with the Jets and Vikings, and will contend for the starting right guard job.

DE Dion Jordan

The 49ers could benefit from some added quality in their defensive end depth chart. Jordan, a former No. 3 overall pick, hasn’t lived up to his draft status, but he offers a good low-risk, high-reward option as a rotational piece on the 49ers’ defensive line.

DE Kerry Hyder

Hyder is a little bit like Jordan. His best season came in 2016 when he had 8.0 sacks for the Lions under now-49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. Hyder suffered an Achilles injury the following year and hasn’t been able to replicate his success from that 2016 campaign. After spending 2019 with the Cowboys and earning one sack in 16 games, he reunites with Kocurek in San Francisco.

CB Jamar Taylor

The 49ers signed Taylor when they let go of cornerback Teez Tabor. It looked like a somewhat inconsequential signing at the time, but DJ Reed was claimed by Seattle off waivers leaving a spot open on the cornerback depth chart. Taylor has experience in the slot and outside and could wind up making the club as a backup to nickel corner K’Waun Williams.

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49ers add Jeff Wilson Jr. to reserve/COVID-19 list, cut 2 others

The 49ers made a trio of roster moves to continue trimming their training camp roster.

The 49ers on Thursday continued their pre-training camp roster tweaking as they aim to move forward with the minimum possible amount of players to help mitigate some of the risk of holding camp in the COVID-19 pandemic.

They made a trio of moves that included releasing two players and placing running back Jeff Wilson Jr. on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Wilson will be on the reserve/COVID-19 list until he’s deemed healthy enough to return. A placement on that list doesn’t guarantee a positive test. It could also mean the player was in contact with someone who tested positive. Teams aren’t at liberty to specify.

The former undrafted running back enters his third season with a chance to take advantage of Matt Breida’s departure in a trade on Day 3 of the NFL draft. Wilson has acquitted himself well in minimal action, and carved out a role as a short-yardage back thanks to his hard-nosed running style when the team had injuries in the backfield last year. He could find his way into a similar role this year behind Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and Jerick McKinnon if McKinnon is able to return from a pair of ACL injuries.

San Francisco also waived defensive lineman Alex Barrett, and released offensive lineman Leonard Wester.

The removal of Barrett and Wester puts the 49ers’ training camp roster at 79 players. Wilson and wide receiver Richie James Jr. don’t count toward the roster total while they’re on the reserve/COVID-19 list. San Francisco will probably let at least one more player go once James and Wilson are back on the roster.

49ers get approval from Santa Clara County to hold training camp at team facility

The 49ers will be allowed to conduct training camp at the team facility after getting the go ahead from Santa Clara County.r

The 49ers had a hurdle to clear with local officials before they could begin training camp in their team facility, which has been shuttered since shutdowns to slow the spread of Covid-19 began in March. They were finally granted permission to hold camp at the facility after local officials reviewed the team’s safety protocols per Matt Barrows of the Athletic. His report was confirmed by multiple others.

Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area noted on Twitter that “some local officials believe the example of players wearing masks can have positive impact on the community.” Masks will be required as part of the 49ers’ health and safety protocols.

News of the agreement between the 49ers and Santa Clara County came down less than 24 hours before the first players are set to report to camp for mandatory Covid-19 testing. Rookies, quarterbacks and injured players will report Thursday, July 23 — two days after the date set out by the NFL in July. The team will get back on the NFL’s calendar on the 28th when the rest of the club reports.

Testing will take place every day for two weeks, and then will be scaled back if positive test rates are below five percent. Barring any major setbacks during testing, the team is expected to begin its training camp program in early August.

While the club did receive approval to begin training camp at the facility — neither the county nor the state have given any indication that fans will be allowed at Levi’s Stadium this season. The team is keeping its options open, telling season ticket holders via email that no decision has been made on fan attendance in 2020.

The good news for the 49ers is they’ll be able to conduct camp along with the rest of the league, which should give them ample time to prepare for their regular-season opener on Sept. 13.

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Report: 49ers push training camp report date back

The 49ers won’t be on the same training camp schedule as the one laid out by the NFL.

The 49ers will have a different training camp reporting date than the rest of the NFL according to Matt Barrows of the Athletic.

NFL guidelines had teams first reporting to camp Tuesday, July 21. San Francisco will instead report Thursday July 23rd, the day quarterbacks and injured players will also check in. Testing for Covid-19 will take place at that time as part of daily testing for two weeks that was agreed upon by the NFL and NFL Players Association. ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported the testing protocols.

The rest of the team is expected to report on the NFL’s set timeline of July 28, although who reports could hinge on whether the league and the NFLPA have a set of agreed-upon safety protocols. Players took to Twitter over the weekend prior to reporting to express their displeasure with the pace of and results of negotiations over those safety measures.

The adjusted calendar means the team’s facility is likely to receive an exception to open after it had previously been closed as a non-essential office building. Barrows noted on Twitter that the county is expected to give the team the go-ahead to enter the building once the league and NFLPA have a finalized plan for safety protocols and emergency measures.

Numbers in Santa Clara were trending the wrong direction when the league wanted to open camp according to data released by the NFL Players Association, so the likelihood was slim that the 49ers’ facility was going to be open by local guidelines.

NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero noted on Twitter the NFLPA and NFL owners came to an agreement in March that said 20 players would be allowed in the building at a time, “until the NFLPA signs off on infectious disease emergency response plans for each club.”

The 49ers’ facility has only been open for rehabbing players since shutdowns to control the spread of Covid-19 began. They were behind the NFL’s re-opening guidelines for front office personnel and coaches, and now they’ll be behind most of the league in starting camp. However, they should be able to get back on track and be ready for kickoff on September 13 vs. the Cardinals.