Nick's Notes

First padded practice: - Coach Kyle Shanahan came out on the field before team drills today at roughly 10:45 and staying through the end. At one point, he was even watching from next to a big speaker in the end zone. It was the longest he's been on the field during an open practice yet.

- This was the first fully padded practice of camp and, perhaps to no one's surprise, the physicality ramped up. That happened despite Chris Foerster's message in the team meeting about not fighting and protecting one another. - The biggest scuffle came late in practice when LB Fred Warner took exception with TE Jake Tonges seemingly pushing off to get open. Tonges made the catch and though he was flagged for OPI, Warner ran over to him to let him know he didn't like it. OT Colton McKivitz got involved then Dre Greenlaw took him to the ground and the whole team surrounded them. It was broken up soon after but was not what Foerster was hoping to see. - A handful of plays before that, Greenlaw shoved RB Christian McCaffrey to the ground on the sideline with McCaffrey getting up and shoving him. Greenlaw seemed to realize quickly that wasn't a good idea given CMC's importance and did not retaliate so nothing came of it, though it's fair to say that could have still been on the minds of both sides for the rest of that team period. - WR Deebo Samuel was not yet at practice today. He's expected to get everything signed and squared away today and could be out there as soon as Saturday. All signs point toward him being back in his No. 19 with Jacob Cowing switching to No. 6. - No update on WR Ricky Pearsall's knee injury just yet. Foerster said he's still being evaluated. - On the DT front, the Niners activated Alfred Collins (shoulder) from PUP and he took part in a lot of the session though was held back in team, it seemed. C.J. West did not practice, though it's considered a minor issue that has him day to day. - The full list of non participants on Friday: West, Pearsall, WR Christian Kirk (calf), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), RB Jordan James (rib), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle), DT Gracen Halton (knee bone bruise). OT Trent Williams appeared to get hit in the jaw/throat near the end of practice. Didn't seem serious but will monitor. - Foerster was asked how James broke his rib since team wasn't in pads yet and contact is minimal. Foerster said he believed James was spinning away from a defender and as the defense tried to punch the ball out, it caught him in the wrong way. No timeline yet on James' potential return. - DL Mykel Williams and RB Isaac Guerendo continue to get plenty of work on the side during practice. - On to the good stuff, our first day of one-on-one pass rush drills. As always, the defense is at an advantage here but there was some good and some bad, as you'd expect... DL Keion White was a real standout here. He had multiple clear wins inside and out against the likes of Brandon Parker, Drake Nugent and Nick Zakelj... The best rep of the day might have been for rookie Romello Height, who turned on the speed off the edge against Enrique Cruz, dipped low and quickly faked a spin move before going right under Cruz for a win. It came after his first rep was against Trent Williams in which Williams had little trouble walling him off in a nice welcome to the NFL moment for Height (who is now again wearing 94 after a brief switch to 58)... DT Sebastian Valdez got off to a rocky start here, jumping offsides twice and then struggling against Connor Colby and Brett Toth but he rebounded nicely with good reps against Carver Willis, Nugent and Robert Jones... Toth is a bit bigger than the typical 49ers center and is getting reps at guard. He was mostly solid here... Some good work from Dominick Puni and McKivitz in these as well, with McKivitz handling Cam Sample on one rep... One random note: at the end of this drill, I saw DT Osa Odighizuwa (who also had some good reps) make it a point to dap up every OL he went against. Height seemed to notice and follow suit. A small thing but worth noting. - While those drills were going on, DE Nick Bosa and Williams were working together off to the side. Bosa isn't yet ready for team drills or one on ones but he and Williams always seek each other out for work as Bosa bounces back from ACL surgery. - WR Mike Evans had another solid day, highlighted by his ladder climbing, one-handed grab for a touchdown in the red zone against Upton Stout. Evans lined up in the slot and ran an out route. Thought Stout might pass Evans off to Renardo Green but he stayed in coverage, Purdy recognized it and threw it high where Stout wouldn't have a chance. Evans also connected with Purdy for some big gainers over the middle and on a deep out to the right. Warner had a nice PBU on a would-be big gain for Evans down the middle. - Rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling continues to produce in team drills, though he was less effective in the small bits of one-on-ones I caught. One thing about Stribling is he finds a way to produce no matter which offense is on the field with him or which defense he's going against. Finding a home for him in the offense shouldn't be hard, it's just a matter of where his snaps will come from. Still feels like the Jauan Jennings big slot role might fit best at least early on. Mac Jones hit Stribling over the middle on a perfect ball he layered just over the top of LB Luke Gifford and in front of oncoming defenders. - QB Brock Purdy was solid again and continues to make good decisions on when to check down and when to push the ball down the field. He did nearly get intercepted trying by S Ji'Ayir Brown when trying to squeeze one into Evans but otherwise was in total command again. Had him at 11-of-15 on the day. - LB Nick Martin looks like he's going to get a real shot to win the SAM LB job and he's flashing a bit in practice to that outcome. He opened this session reading a play and jumping in for a stop on McCaffrey and had another in that same sequence. - Height showed some chops against the run later on, getting off a block to stop RB Sincere McCormick late in the session. - LB Tatum Bethune got a lot of run last year and though he dealt with injury, he's returned to this camp looking quicker and leaner. It showed up a couple times against the run on Friday.