Tag: 49ers training camp

Chiefs and Texans ready to report to camp, 49ers facility still not open

The 49ers aren’t allowed in their team facility with NFL training camps right around the corner.

The NFL doesn’t appear to be slowing down anymore for the COVID-19 pandemic. After cancelling in-person offseason activities and two preseason games, the league hasn’t made any declarations about a delay in the start of training camps, which are set to open July 28. Teams are permitted to send rookies and quarterbacks in early — and NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on Thursday reported the Chiefs will have players in their building Monday, July 20. Ian Rapoport reported the Texans will follow suit. The full team is set to report July 25. The Chiefs and Texans are the first teams to move forward with their scheduled camp dates while the NFL and NFL Player’s Association continue to negotiate on safety protocols for camp in a pandemic.

While Kansas City’s reporting dates and timing typically wouldn’t have any impact on the 49ers, this offseason is different. Teams are on a relatively uniform schedule while the league attempts to get every club on the same calendar in preparation for the first week of the season. The Chiefs host the Texans on Thursday Sept. 10, the 49ers host the Cardinals on the following Sunday, Sept. 13. The issue facing San Francisco is that their facility hasn’t opened yet.

The NFL began soft re-openings of team facilities with a limited number of front office personnel allowed in the building, followed by coaching staffs with some restrictions in place. Local protocols supersede any mandates the league puts in place though, and Santa Clara County where 49ers headquarters are located is still under a pretty strict lockdown after a significant jump in COVID-19 numbers. Even while the state was seeing its numbers decline, the facility stayed shuttered.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, July 13 announced the statewide closure of indoor operations for a number of businesses, including offices for non-critical sectors. That’s the category where the 49ers’ team facility falls. The facility is open for players rehabbing injuries. It would not be open for training camp.

Now the club is inside of two weeks until training camp is set to open and they’re not even allowed into their building. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the building goes from closed to open and housing 90 players plus coaches, front office members, training staff, strength staff and others. Even in a scenario where safety protocols are in place, that’s a large number of people in one building. One slip up in safety protocols or one bad test could lead to a disaster that sidelines a portion of the team for two-plus weeks.

While the CBA allows teams to set a reporting date for players, Pelissero reported that the clubs must be in compliance with agreed upon safety protocols or the Players Union can file a grievance. Owners will have a conference call Friday to iron out the details of those safety protocols in hopes of having them in place by the time the Chiefs and Texans report.

Getting left behind in the early portions of the NFL’s re-opening wasn’t a huge deal for the 49ers. They maintained enough roster continuity that the online offseason programs combined with player-organized workouts sufficed in lieu of typical OTAs. Not having front-office personnel or coaches in the building wasn’t adversely impacting the 49ers very much. Not starting camp on time would be a different story.

It initially sounded like the league was going to go at a pace that would allow each team to stay on the same schedule when it came to camp, and their moves forward indicate there must be some plan for the 49ers and other teams who’re locked out of their building due to local guidelines. The NFL has already mandated that each team hold camp on its own facility to limit the number of places that need to be completely safe for players.

Getting over this hurdle and into the facility will only be step one for the 49ers. That’s going to be a tall task with California scaling back its re-opening just as the NFL is attempting to ramp up its 2020 season. If they do get the go-ahead, it’ll just be the beginning of what’s sure to be a, hopefully, once-in-a-lifetime type of training camp. If they aren’t allowed in the building, it could wind up having a ripple effect that forces the NFL to once again rethink its entire preseason schedule.

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49ers training camp roster primer and depth chart projections

Our complete look at the San Francisco 49ers training camp roster and projected depth charts for camp.

While there are rumors that the NFL will reduce the maximum number of players allowed on training camp rosters down from 90, the league is still operating as though camp will continue on time with normal operations.

Earlier this offseason we ran through the entire 90-man roster by position and put together a depth chart projection heading into camp. Even if the league does reduce the rosters, the 49ers’ key players and battles will remain.

Here is each of our position-by-position projections of the 49ers’ preseason depth chart:

Quarterbacks

Jimmy Garoppolo is the star of the show, but a shakeup could be coming behind him.

Running backs

It’s a little bit of a mess trying to discern a starter or lead back, but that’s just how head coach Kyle Shanahan wants it. Also included, fullbacks Kyle Juszczyk and Josh Hokit.

Wide receivers

This top-heavy group needs to find answers among its slew of talented contenders for roster spots. There may not be a more important position group to watch in camp.

Tight ends

George Kittle is the leader, but the talent behind him could be better. There’ll be an intriguing battle for snaps in an offense that deploys multiple tight-end sets about a third of the time.

Offensive line

There may not be a bunch of perennial Pro Bowlers on the 49ers’ offensive front, but this group is versatile and deep. Some good offensive lineman are likely going to get left off the final roster.

Defensive tackle

DeForest Buckner’s departure in the offseason shakes this group up some, but a new first-round pick should take over right away.

Defensive end

Injuries held this group back last season, but now they’re getting healthy and could once again spearhead one of the NFL’s best pass rushes.

Linebackers

The 49ers’ starting trio of linebackers is quietly one of the best in the NFL. Now they have to solidify the depth.

Cornerbacks

An open starting job, four free-agents-to-be and some depth concerns makes this position one to keep a close eye on throughout camp.

Safeties

The starters are set at safety, but injury concerns with both starters make the quality of players behind them especially crucial.

No preseason joint practices for 49ers, team will stay in Santa Clara per NFL guidelines

The 49ers won’t be leaving Santa Clara for any of training camp this year.

The 49ers will hold the entirety of their training camp in Santa Clara barring a dramatic turn for the worse in the spread of COVID-19 in California. The NFL on Tuesday issued guidelines to teams barring them from holding their preseason workouts outside the team facility, and holding joint practices during the preseason with other clubs.

The NFL is wary of teams having to maintain the strict health and safety rules required post-COVID-19 at two separate facilities according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

San Francisco holds their training camp at the team facility, so that stipulation didn’t have much effect on them. The only way they might have gone outside the South Bay for camp was if Santa Clara County hadn’t reopened and the rest of the league was ready to begin ramping up for the 2020 campaign.

California Governor Gavin Newsom in a May 18 briefing indicated pro sports could return in early June if the state’s COVID-19 cases continued to dwindle. That would seem to mean the 49ers would be allowed to catch up with NFL guidelines and begin its slow re-opening of the team facility.

The new preseason guideline that could have an effect on the 49ers’ preseason plans is the elimination of joint practices. San Francisco has held combined practice sessions with preseason opponents over the last several years – most recently with the Broncos in Denver in 2019.

In those joint sessions, one team visits a preseason opponent for a couple days of practices before they suit up for their exhibition contest against each other. It makes sense the league would eliminate those dual sessions in order to cut down on the person-to-person interactions between clubs while trying to eliminate the spread of COVID-19.

There’s no official date for the start of training camp yet, but those tend to take place in late July. The 49ers are scheduled to open their preseason schedule August 15 against the Broncos in Denver.