Nick's Notes Day 5

- Second day in pads and though there were some good things from the defense, this practice was mostly about how out of sync the offense looked. Missed throws, dropped balls, fumbled snaps, it was overall pretty ugly. 

- Coach Kyle Shanahan had his longest stint on the practice field and even spent part of the final periods in team drills behind the offense, giving feedback in real time rather than standing next to GM John Lynch. A good sign for his progress in addition to running a team meeting this morning. Perhaps not a coincidence he wanted to be back involved as the offense struggled through this one. - The injuries to the roster are accumulating again. Rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling (hamstring tightness) and edge Romello Height (elbow) and DL Cam Sample (knee) did not practice today. They joined WR Christian Kirk (calf), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), RB Jordan James (rib), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle) DT Gracen Halton (knee bone bruise) and DT C.J. West as those not participating. - During practice, DL Keion White (adductor) and DL Mikail Kamara (knee) suffered injuries and didn't finish the session. Kamara was taken off on a cart. RB Kaelon Black also appeared to be shaken up, as he participated in early portion of team drills but then didn't take any more reps in the back half of practice or so. - RB Isaac Guerendo, DL Mykel Williams, West and Halton were all doing at least some form of work on the side during practice. Guerendo, in particular, seems to be healing well. - WR Deebo Samuel's first practice back included plenty of work in individual and then limited to about 10 reps in team drills. Samuel looked like he had fresh legs and the Niners got him the ball about four times, including on one connection with QB Brock Purdy over the middle for a big catch and run. It was one of the few highlights of the day for the offense with Deebo drawing loud cheers from the fans each time he touched the ball. - Some notes from one-on-one pass rush drills today: G Dominick Puni has looked excellent so far. The Niners are limiting his reps, perhaps wisely so, but when he steps in, he's been stout. He had a good rep against Osa Odighizuwa and another even better one later against Sebastian Valdez. Worth noting Odighizuwa got Puni back later in team drills for a would-be sack... OT Trent Williams is fine after whatever shot he took in yesterday's practice. He took his one rep today, shutting down Sam Okuayinonu and then resumed side work with DE Nick Bosa... The Niners might have a couple of young DTs worth developing in Bryson Eason and James Thompson Jr. Both had some good reps today and this is the second straight day Thompson has flashed. He has powerful hands and can really deliver a blow. He gave Brett Toth, Carver Willis and Nick Zakelj problems on reps today... Okuayinonu had a nice rush against Enrique Cruz, putting him on skates and moving him into the QB's lap... Think this drill is where White felt the tightness in his adductor. He came up a bit gimpy after a rush against Isaac Alarcon. - On to the offense in team drills. For whatever reason, they just could not seem to find a rhythm this whole practice. They weren't far off but in one sequence QB Brock Purdy overthrew an open Kyle Juszczyk on a deep ball and two plays later did the same to the opposite side for RB Christian McCaffrey. In the next set of reps for the 1s, he was a bit long for Mike Evans (hit his fingertips) and then was too high for Jordan Watkins before hitting Deebo in stride. Again, this is practice and the whole point is to get timing down but it was just one of those days. - The offensive issues weren't limited to Purdy, either. Mac Jones had his share of misfires and there were some drops in there. At one point, there was a botched snap involving Jones too. - The top offense did find the end zone during move the ball drill to end the practice as Purdy found TE Luke Farrell on a deep out that Farrell turned into a touchdown. - On the other side of the coin, there was some good defense being played, too. CB Deommodore Lenoir got his hands on a couple of passes for breakups as did Renardo Green, Jack Jones and Upton Stout. And there was some pressure with Odighizuwa and Okuayinonu showing up the most. It was a challenging day for the defensive line because of all the injuries but those who were able to go battled through and had some production. - Not watching as closely as last year because there's not really a competition there but K Eddy Piñeiro looks to be in midseason form. He hit all of his field goal attempts during special teams, including one that was easily good from 55 yards out. - Speaking of special teams, expect Deebo Samuel to be heavily involved as a kick returner. It's something he's committed to, according to GM John Lynch. Which means he won't just be doing it here and there. It will be part of his overall role. As for how he fits in the offense, that sounds like it will be determined as time goes on. - One note I forgot to mention yesterday (I think): Chris Foerster said the team intends to work Enrique Cruz Jr. at guard at some point. Hadn't heard that yet but interesting given how Cruz profiles from a size and athleticism standpoint. Carver Willis, likewise, is viewed as a guard and center. He's taken reps at both spots in the past couple of practices.  

- That'll do it for today. 49ers are having a walk through that isn't open tomorrow then back to it with a "high" practice on Monday.