The 49ers held their second practice of OTAs Tuesday afternoon. This will be the only session of three this week to be open to the media. Here is what stood out.
Players not participating
Deebo Samuel, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Alex Mack were not expected to be on hand.
In addition to those three, the following players were not on the field today: George Kittle, Javon Kinlaw, Mike McGlinchey, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Azeez Al-Shaair, Demetrius Flannagan-Fowles, Kyle Juszczyk, Daniel Brunskill, Ambrey Thomas, Elijah Mitchell, Trent Williams.
Kyle Shanahan said he expects to have Deebo Samuel in attendance for San Francisco’s mandatory minicamp in June.
Trey Lance
The second-year quarterback is expected to take over the reins of the San Francisco offense.
Lance looked confident throughout practice and showed off a more compact throwing motion, completing 16 of 20 attempts on the day.
After going underneath to running backs and tight ends on his first five throws of seven on seven, Lance drilled a nice throw over the middle to Ross Dwelley.
In a short team session near the end of practice, Lance hit new 49ers receiver Ray-Ray McCloud off play-action on a dig route across the middle of the field.
Lance did an excellent job of working the middle of the field throughout practice and drew the praise of safety Jimmie Ward for his ability to fit the ball into a tight window against his coverage.
Throw of the day
The throw of the day award goes to Nate Sudfeld.
San Francisco raised a few eyebrows by giving Sudfeld $2 million to back up Trey Lance in 2022.
Sudfeld saw new safety George Odum bite on an underneath route and delivered a strike on a deep post to Malik Turner for a 55-yard touchdown. Turner beat Ka’dar Hollman on the route.
Run of the day
The run of the day award goes to undrafted free agent Jordan Mason.
Contact was limited during this session, meaning most of the action for running backs was limited to running routes.
However, they went into a brief 11-on-11 team period. Trey Sermon had a few excellent cuts, but it was Mason who impressed most when he burst through the line of scrimmage and outran everyone for a 55-yard touchdown.
Kemoko Turay
San Francisco added former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Kemoko Turay late in free agency.
Turay blew past right tackle Jaylon Moore during the brief team period and had a clear shot on Nate Sudfeld. If this were a game, Sudfeld would have been on his back instead of completing a pass to Brandon Aiyuk.
Tight ends standout
Although George Kittle did not participate, the 49ers tight ends got a lot of work, finishing with nine receptions on the day. Ross Dwelley led the way with four catches.
Depth Chart
With no Trent Williams, Alex Mack, Daniel Brunskill, or Mike McGlinchey, the first offensive line group saw Colton McKivitz at left tackle, Aaron Banks at left guard, Jake Brendel at center, Jaylon Moore at right guard, and Justin Skule at right tackle.
Draft picks Spencer Burford and Nick Zakelj worked at guard with the second unit, while undrafted free agent rookies Dohnovan West and Jason Poe worked with the third group.
In the secondary, Talanoa Hufanga lined up at safety with Jimmie Ward. On the outside, it was Emmanuel Moseley and free-agent acquisition Charvarius Ward at cornerback.
Charvarius Ward did a solid job in man coverage against both Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings.
Darqueze Dennard was the first man up in the slot, replacing K’Waun Williams, who signed with Denver in free agency. In addition to Dennard, Qwuantrezz Knight, Samuel Womack, and Deommodore Lenoir took snaps inside.
Knight, signed as an undrafted free agent, came away with the only turnover of the day when he intercepted fellow rookie Brock Purdy on the final play of practice.
Purdy tried to fit the ball underneath to Tyrion Davis-Price, but the ball was tipped by a linebacker, and Knight found himself in the right place at the right time to record the takeaway.
Injury updates
According to Kyle Shanahan, Javon Kinlaw and Mike McGlinchey continue to make strides in returning from injury. Both were on hand, with McGlinchey encouraging his fellow offensive linemen during their drills.
Azeez Al-Shaair is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and is expected to be ready for training camp.
San Francisco re-signed Jason Verrett recently. The veteran cornerback tore his ACL in week one against Detroit and is working on getting back on the field, and he is not expected to participate in team activities until training camp.
Good summary.
Wondering if any members of the media present on day 2 caught wind of the dust-up between Grant Cohn and Javon Kinlaw?
Yes
Kinlaw ought to be careful around Cohn. Jimmy Ward’s blaming last year’s interview with Cohn for being snubbed by NFL writers for All Pro consideration.
I really can’t stand trollish tmz style sports reporters. Let’s move them to the Kardashian/ celebrity trial beat.
IMO, Cohn does what he does to elicit a reaction, and Kinlaw’s reaction only gives attention to Cohn, who craves it.
Kinlaw has to learn that threats make him look thin skinned, unprofessional and could lead to disciplinary action.
Even worse, it gives credence to the lies and distortions Cohn has spread against him.
This isn’t Gnat Cohn’s first instance of a player ready to knock his tiny head off, Anthony Davis and Arik Armstead are two that I recall, dude should really have his media creds reconsidered.
2ndly, can we get Gnat Cohn to put pads on and line up opposite Kinlaw for a few snaps…dude talks about Kinlaw’s injury history, guarandamntee that Lowell’s lil sperm wouldn’t last more than a snap out there, might do him some good, teach him to show some respect.
You can critique players, but you also need to have respect for them as professionals. Kinlaw’s career was considered in jeopardy because of his knee issues and lil Gnat is out here taking shots at him because of that, classless and tasteless.
Mission apparently accomplished for Cohn. His interchange w/Kinlaw now being reported by New York Post and Sporting News. He’s famous!
famous for what?
Honestly Kinlaw got the worst of the that exchange.
He reminded me a lot of Will Smith at the Oscars:
HeadHat slap, followed by repeating the same line over and over: “Get [my] name out yo’ f-in mouth!”Grant may be a douçhe, but Kinlaw definitely lost this bout.
Geep is spot-on.
Cohn is all about entertainment and getting attention. His shows are just a vehicle for his unsubstantiated rumor and wild opinions. Shame on Cohn for taking advantage of Kinlaw who lacks a great education. Kinlaw deserves respect and a chance to come back from injuries this year. Cohn is an ambitious troll and should be kept out of the team locker room.
Unfortunate the 9ers aren’t scheduled for ‘Hard Knocks’ this year. With all the regular stuff to get into, having a player issue with a particular member of the local media would make for a great subplot. SNL has a few openings for the upcoming season, perhaps said media member could catch on with the all-star cast.
Cohn is a racist and a cyber bully.
GC has been an embarrassment since day#1. It’s who he is.
JK has to realize that GC is the Tar Baby and is best ignored.
I wonder if Daddy Cone is still defending Little Cone?
GC wants to be an oracle, one with insights that nobody else saw.
He’s been wrong on so many things that the things that he’s right about don’t add up .
He can dish it out, but can’t take it. He banned me ( actually spammed me) when he didn’t like my opinion.
Jack gives his opinion too, but not out of a need to be different.
Not out of a need to be better than his father and be recognized as a genius.
Jack mainly reports facts and draws a conclusion, and sometimes turns it into a POV.
Now that is genius!
Cohn made TMZ Sports. That’s all that matters to him apparently. Someone on another blog mentioned a comment his father Lowell Cohn once made about the timing of the pregnancy ofJoe Montana’s wife and that Joe has not forgiven or spoken with him since. In Grant Cohn’s case, it seems, the apple for sure does not fall far from the tree.
im super excited to see burford and zakelj, do you think they both will have to sit a year like aaron banks did?