Nick's Notes: Practice 15

Coach Kyle Shanahan is basically all the way back to full duties from his car accident but he apparently took another step Saturday when he was seen calling in plays on the walkie talkie. It's the first time I've noticed it in this camp (doesn't mean it hasn't happened before) and he didn't do it the whole time as Klay Kubiak also did some but it's also a sign that the regular season is fast approaching. - Wide receiver Mike Evans was back at practice on Saturday after leaving last Tuesday's session early with quad tightness. The Niners weren't concerned about it at the time and suggested Evans would be back soon so his presence wasn't a total surprise. Evans went on to have a nice practice, connecting with QB Brock Purdy a few times for big gains and catching a short touchdown pass from Purdy in the red zone. - RB Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, did not return to practice from his own bout with tightness. But McCaffrey was seen in the weight room going through a workout. - Rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling and CB Deommodore Lenoir did not practice because of shoulder issues. They're considered day-to-day, according to the team. - Among the others not practicing after suffering injuries in the preseason game: LB Nick Martin (hamstring), CB Renardo Green (hamstring) and OL Austen Pleasants (knee). - Other 49ers I did not see participating today who haven't had any injuries disclosed: LB Jalen Graham, WR Wesley Grimes (was seen with a wrap on his hand), RB Zamir White and DL Xavier Thomas. - The Niners welcomed back three potential important contributors from injury on Saturday: RB Jordan James (rib), G Dominick Puni (concussion) and DT C.J. West (concussion). WR Malik Turner was also back in the mix, though he did some work on the side after individual. - Full list of players I did not see participating today: Stribling, Lenoir, Martin, Green, Pleasants, Graham, Grimes, Z. White, Thomas, DT Gracen Halton (ankle), McCaffrey, LB Luke Gifford (hamstring), DE Nick Bosa (soreness/tendinitis), FB Kyle Juszczyk (broken finger), OL Brett Toth (concussion), QB Kurtis Rourke (undisclosed/ribs), WR Christian Kirk (calf), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle), CB Nate Hobbs (groin), G Robert Jones (calf) Players on PUP: TE George Kittle (achilles), RB Isaac Guerendo (pec), DL Mykel Williams (ACL) Lots of work on the side for many of those players, including Gifford, Lowe, Kirk, Mustapha, Toth. Rourke was again at practice but not participating. - No one-on-ones today in a relatively short practice. May only get one more round of them tomorrow or Tuesday before the end of preseason. - James and rookie RB Kaelon Black have fresh legs and it shows after their returns from injury. Black, in particular, showed off some sure hands in the pass game, one of the questions surrounding him coming out of the draft. They both had would-be touchdowns in the red zone period. I've been hammering the importance of these two getting reps all camp and it's coming at a good time as the Niners can use the next couple of weeks to figure out the pecking order. - A good back and forth for the most part today as the offense had its moments but so did the defense. Had Purdy at 9-of-15 with a couple of touchdowns, including a deep ball to a wide open TE Jake Tonges. Tonges made a pair of catches for big gains from Purdy on consecutive plays. The defense tightened up against Purdy in the final move the ball sequence, getting some pressure and forcing three straight incompletions to end the top offense's day. Also: a missed opportunity early in team when S Ji'Ayir Brown had an interception slip through his fingers and land in the hands of WR Jordan Watkins. - A busy day for Deebo Samuel who caught a TD pass from Adrian Martinez, got multiple touches in the run game and made a sweet over the shoulder catch on a deep ball from QB Mac Jones. - Some defensive highlights: West broke through for a would-be sack against Jones... LB Larry Worth had a nice run stuff on a run by Samuel... CB Eli Apple intercepted a Jones pass for Evans.  

Week 2 Preseason: 49ers vs Chargers

-How many WR spots will De’Zhaun Stribling line up at -Alfred Collins pad level and anchor -Can Carver Willis be serviceable in pass pro -Will Jordan Watkins show any effort or effectiveness blocking or in the return game -Can Jacob Cowing hold off Will Pauling -Is Kaelon Black the first 3rd round Kyle pick back that looks the part -Can any safety put up decent tape -Will the pash rush show up at all tonight and from whom -Watch out for #18 Wesley Grimes in the 2nd half 

LT Austen Pleasants LG Carver Willis C Jake Brendel RG Connor Colby RT Colton McKivitz

Starting OL in front of Purdy

On The Run

 

49ers - Chargers Joint Practice

 

The main things I’m looking at: • How will the battle for the LG go? • Will rookies De'Zhaun Stribling and Jaden Dugger continue to stand out? • How will the secondary look in coverage against Justin Herbert? • Fired up to hear how Brock Purdy does during the red zone period

QB Impact Metric Ranks

 

2026 53-Man Roster Projection

QB: Purdy, Jones, Rourke (3)

RB: CMC, Kaelon Black, Jordan James, Patrick Taylor Jr., Isaac Guerendo (PUP) (4)

FB: Juice (1)

WR: Evans, Stribling, Deebo, Robinson, Watson, Pauling (6)

TE: Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell, Kittle (PUP) (2) 

LT: Williams, Lowe (2)

LG: Jones, Willis (2)

C: Brendel, Toth (2)

RG: Puni, Colby (2)

RT: McKivitz, Cruz (2)

DE: Bosa, Williams (PUP), Keion White, Romello Height, Sam Okuayinonu (4)

DT: Osa Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins, CJ West, Gracen Halton, James Thompson Jr. (5)

LB: Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Jaden Duggar, Nick Martin, Tatum Bethune, Luke Gifford (6)

CB: Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Jack Jones, Ephesians Prysock (5)

S: Ji’Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle, Malik Mustapha, Ashtyn Davis (4)

Kicker: Eddy Piñeiro

Punter: Corliss Waitman

Long snapper: Jon Weeks

Kick returner: Samuel,Watkins

Punt returner: Watkins, Pauling

Lombardi's Practice Notes

 HOME STRETCH of training camp. De'Zhaun Stribling continues cooking, Carver Willis is springing into an opportunity, and Osa Odighizuwa is dominating. Highlights...

Jacob Cowing was back from his hip flexor. Dropped an out attempt, but later caught a go-ball from Mac Jones. SF also used Cowing's speed on a pitch sweep It was the Luke Farrell Show on the move-the-ball drive. Brock Purdy went to the vet TE, who's been much more involved in the pass game this camp, several times — including a TD. Earlier, Farrell had climbed the ladder to grab a nice pass up the seam Rookie safety Jalen Stroman INT off Jones on a seam shot Odighizuwa was a frequent visitor to the backfield. 49ers seemed to be giving LG Robert Jones, who played 44 snaps on Thursday, a slight breather — that led to rookie Carver Willis and Connor Colby handling LG for the first team Two catches today for vet WR Trent Irwin, a Stanford product who played several years with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. Included a deep corner from Brock Purdy that fired up the crowd Mike Evans returned to team drills and made a few catches, headlined by a bigger gainer from Jones and an early shot from Purdy. Fred Warner futilely tried to punch the ball out after that Evans catch RB Khalil Herbert fumbled. It was scooped up by CB Jack Jones, who was back in action after exiting the preseason opener with a hand injury Rookie RB Kaelon Black (adductor) rehabbed on the side and then watched team drills with a play sheet in his hand. Reminded me of Klay Kubiak emphasizing the other day that pros will be find a way to be ready, even if they can't fully practice QB Adrian Martinez was much more accurate than in Thursday's game. Worth noting that marked the first time QBs took hits in a long time (probably an even greater credit to Kurtis Rourke for looking as good as he did — don't forget that the Titans' QBs were off too). Anyway, Martinez delivered a nice ball on a big gainer to TE Hayden Rucci Nice sliding catch near the sideline for WR Jordan Watkins, who's added about 7-10 pounds of muscle. That followed a good 6-catch performance Thursday Rookie D-linemen Romello Height and James Thompson Jr. both ripped through for play-altering pressures PBU for Marques Sigle on a Purdy throw intended for Demarcus Robinson Stribling keeps making catches and he's now getting the Mike Evans treatment (no special teams drills). 49ers clearly love what they've seen from the rookie WR so far Trent Williams is rolling through these final three practices of camp. Following next Thursday's game vs Chargers, it'll officially be dress rehearsal week for the 49ers.

Passing Situations

This graph shows how often 2025 QBs were in obvious passing situations and their EPA on those plays. 

Post Game Stock

 STOCK UP

De’Zhaun Stribling Kurtis Rourke Sebastian Valdez Gracen Halton Jaden Duggar Corliss Waitman Larry Worth James Thompson Jr. STOCK DOWN Alfred Collins Connor Colby Robert Jones Nick Martin Adrian Martinez Bryson Eason Jack Jones (Injury)

NFL Preseason Game 1: Titans vs 49ers

Football is back baby!  

Football Insights

 Brandon Thorn has the 49ers OL ranked 11th, PFF 10th. With Football Insights 9th ranking it seems everyone is on the same page except for some fans. 

"A Hell Of A Day"

 Nick Wagoner, “This was a practice with QB Brock Purdy in total control. Not counting him spiking the ball once in two-minute, I had Purdy at 21-of-27 on the day with no interceptions and at least three for sure touchdowns with two or three others that could have gone for one. In one sequence during a move the ball period, Purdy dropped one over and between three defenders to rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling, hitting him in stride for what likely would have gone for a long touchdown. He then fired a strike to TE Jake Tonges deep down the middle for another big gain as it layered over another defender, fired a short one to WR Deebo Samuel for another chunk and then hit WR Demarcus Robinson on a busted coverage for a touchdown. Even Shanahan had to give Purdy his props after, noting that he had 'a hell of a day'.”

Unofficial

 

Offensive Line Continuity

 

Notes and observations from 49ers practice #10

- RB Christian McCaffrey was the only addition to the not practicing report Monday with what the team called "tightness." Understandably, lots of eyes will be on that situation. OC Klay Kubiak says the team is "just managing" McCaffrey with an eye toward having him ready for Week 1 against the Rams. We'll see if he's in the mix for a joint practice tomorrow but (my take) seems more likely they'd hold him out so he can get this week to rid himself of that tightness. He'd be unlikely to play Thursday night anyway. - Coach Kyle Shanahan was out there for essentially the entire practice as he continues his road back to full strength. - One notable thing from before practice: TE George Kittle did the most extensive side work we've been able to see so far in this camp. He was running routes, catching passes and doing some conditioning. Seems to be moving quite well as he bounces back from Achilles injury. - The full list of those missing practice today: McCaffrey, LB Luke Gifford (hamstring), DE Nick Bosa (soreness), WR Jacob Cowing (hip flexor strain), FB Kyle Juszczyk (broken finger), OL Brett Toth (concussion), WR Christian Kirk (calf), WR Mike Evans (quad), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), RB Kaelon Black (adductor), RB Jordan James (rib), DL Keion White (adductor), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle) Players on PUP: Kittle (achilles), RB Isaac Guerendo (pec), DL Mykel Williams (ACL) - Almost all of those guys did at least some level of work on the side during practice. That included Evans, of course, but this is first time I've seen White and Black doing stuff since their adductor injuries. - OL Carver Willis is back from his concussion. He jumped right in with the 2s at LG with Connor Colby on the right side. Robert Jones continues to rep with the 1s at LG. Kubiak says the competition for the starting LG spot is still open. - A roster move: Team released OL Nick Zakelj. They signed OL Doug Kramer Jr. - A number change: WR Will Pauling switched from No. 4 to No. 84. He and QB Adrian Martinez were both in 4 but changed presumably because they need to have different numbers for the preseason game when they might be on the field at the same time. - Some pretty good battles in one-on-one pass rush drills today. Not a lot of convincing wins on either side, which means it was pretty good work. Among the standouts: Colton McKivitz doing well against Sam Okauyinonu followed by a good battle with Romello Height in which McKivitz seemed to have him stopped but Height spun out of it for a late pressure... It's been a rough camp for Enrique Cruz Jr. but he had a nice recovery on an outside rush from Ogbo Okoronkwo, though K.J. Henry later beat him cleanly... C.J. West had a good rep early against C Jake Brendel though he and Brendel later had another good battle... In one sequence, Willis took back to back reps, one at C and one at LG. He was beat clean at center by West then moved to guard and did very well against Osa Odighizuwa. Suffice to say, Willis a work in progress at C and looks more comfortable at G, as you'd expect... The Niners worked TE Luke Farrell in a bit here, isolating him against DEs Titus Leo and Quinton Bell. Leo and Bell got the better of him, though Farrell put up a fight in both. - Another solid day with some big plays for QB Brock Purdy and the offense. I had Purdy at 10-of-13 (would-be sacks and some penalties nullified a few throws to my eye). He hit rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling on a perfect deep corner for a huge gain and later found WR Demarcus Robinson for another big play/would-be TD. Purdy also hit Deebo over the middle for what would have been a big gainer. - One of those stops on Purdy I had as a would-be sack for LB Fred Warner. Purdy scrambled away from pressure but Warner came up and made the play. Warner also had a big thud on WR Junior Bergen after he caught a short pass. - With their projected top four RBs not practicing, there was plenty of work for the others on the roster today, perhaps most notably Khalil Herbert. Wouldn't be surprised if Herbert gets plenty of work on Thursday night along with Patrick Taylor Jr. and Sincere McCormick. - CB Jack Jones had another interception, this time jumping in front of a throw from Martinez for WR Jordan Watkins. - A couple of drops Monday as Samuel had a Purdy pass go through his hands and bounce off his chest and McCormick failed to haul in another throw from Purdy. - LB Nick Martin had a nice run stuff while playing on the LOS and DT Sebastian Valdez had a would-be sack. - A relatively light session though with plenty of team periods and some competitive move the ball and red zone sessions. Things will pick up a bit more tomorrow when the Titans come to town for a joint practice. 

Australia: Sleep Science

Reading more into some sleep science, I am not convinced the 49ers are making the correct choice vs the Rams with the Australia trip. At least based on the National Library of Medicine, arriving within 24 hours, the Rams will avoid having to adjust to the new time zone as that adjustment peaks around 48-72 hours. The 49ers will have adjusted to local time as they will be 7 days early. However, the game is 10:35AM local. Peak physical body performance is late afternoon. The 49ers will be playing at a 10:35AM physical body clock, while the rams will be playing at a 5:35PM body clock. Plus, they won’t be jet lagged on return never having adjusted. 

Science Direct provides the counter argument and backs the 49ers strategy. Maybe acclimating to the climate is more important than trying to avoid the jet lag - same reason they practiced in Colorado before the Mexico City game. Australia has opposite seasons as us, so it could be smart. I like the extra time for team bonding. I guess we'll find out soon enough which is the better approach.

Nick's Notes and observations from #49ers practice No. 9:

- Coach Kyle Shanahan is very close to being back at full speed. He came out to practice today at 10:26 am and was on the field for the whole thing. He's still not quite calling the offense and standing in his usual spot but he's getting there as evidenced by his surprise media session after practice. - The entire coaching staff was wearing Roger Craig No. 33 shirts in honor of the legendary running back as he goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. - The only new name added to the list of non participants in practice on Saturday: LB Luke Gifford. It's unclear why he didn't participate but he did some work on the side. - The full list of those missing practice today: Gifford, OL Nick Zakelj (elbow), DE Nick Bosa (soreness), OL Carver Willis (concussion), WR Jacob Cowing (hip flexor strain), FB Kyle Juszczyk (broken finger), OL Brett Toth (concussion), WR Christian Kirk (calf), WR Mike Evans (quad), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), RB Kaelon Black (adductor), RB Jordan James (rib), DL Keion White (adductor), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle) Players on PUP: TE George Kittle (achilles), RB Isaac Guerendo (pec), DL Mykel Williams (ACL) - Once again, many of these guys were doing some sort of work on the side. Evans looks close to full strength and Shanahan said Evans probably feels like he can be back now but they want to be smart with him. - WR De'Zhaun Stribling and LB Dre Greenlaw were back in team drills in varying capacities after easing back in from a hamstring and soreness the other day. - Some notes from one-on-one pass rush drills: RG Dominick Puni looks like he's ready to take another big step forward and potentially set himself up for a nice pay day. He had excellent reps against DT Osa Odighizuwa and Gracen Halton. ... Colton McKivitz shut down DE Romello Height on the first rep of practice then did it again later. They ran it back and Height jumped offsides twice before finally getting past McKivitz with a nice spin move inside... Rough day for DT CJ West, who seemed to be struggling to keep his pads low. He came up out of his stance a bit high a few times and didn't generate much push on a few of his reps, including one where C Jake Brendel handled him well... Brendel also had a good rep against Sebastian Valdez... Rookie DTs James Thompson Jr. and Bryson Eason and Odighizuwa and got the better of Connor Colby... Drake Nugent had a couple of solid showings against Thompson and West... Still no Alfred Collins here, though he's been plenty involved in team periods. And no one-on-ones for Trent Williams today (though he usually only does one rep anyway). - Score one for the defense today, bouncing back after the top offense had torched it a couple of times during the week. - CB Upton Stout led the way with a couple of big plays. First, he had a diving pass breakup near the goal line on a pass from QB Brock Purdy intended for Demarcus Robinson. Later, Stout jumped a throw for Robinson, picked it off and returned it for a touchdown. Stout even did a front flip into the end zone to cap it off. - CB Deommodore Lenoir, who has had his share of pass breakups in this camp finally got his hands on one with another pick (and possible return for a TD?) on another throw from Purdy for Robinson. Seemed perhaps Purdy tried to squeeze some tight ones into Robinson and it just didn't work today like in recent practices. - LB Fred Warner had an impressive pass breakup on a layered throw over the middle intended for Jordan Watkins. Warner also recovered what appeared to be a fumble early in the first period of team though it was unclear what exactly happened from my vantage point. - DB Nate Hobbs flashed some play making today with a bit more work in team. He had a pair of pass breakups in the red zone, one on a throw for Watkins froM Mac Jones in the corner of the end zone (there was an offside penalty called here) and another on a throw over the middle from Adrian Martinez. - DT Gracen Halton had a nice run stuff against Patrick Taylor Jr. right before Stout's pick-6. Collins got his hand up and batted down a Kurtis Rourke pass. - The Niners did a lot of mixing and matching today on offense. There were times where the top OL worked with QB Kurtis Rourke and other QBs were in with different lines. Perhaps made things a bit more disjointed for the offense. - It wasn't all bad on that side of the ball, though. Had Purdy at 15-of-22, including a tight window TD in the red zone to TE Luke Farrell, who continues to be a favorite target for Purdy in this camp. Purdy also hit Farrell on a deep throw up the seam and hit WR Trenton Irwin on a deep ball early in practice as well as a nice job moving in the pocket and finding Christian McCaffrey for a big gain over the middle. - Stribling was back in the mix in team and making an impact again, catching balls from multiple quarterbacks on multiple routes for multiple sizable gains. Shanahan referred to Stribling picking things up in a hurry in his presser and it continues to look like -- if healthy -- Stribling could have a fairly extensive role early on. - The running back situation behind McCaffrey has no clarity right now because Black, James and Guerendo are out. Nothing against the others that are getting reps there but this is such a prime opportunity for one of those young backs to plant the flag as RB2 and it's just not happening because of injury. Perhaps some will return next week because the path is there. - The Niners are off tomorrow but we will have some access to assistant coaches. Will pass along some notables that come from that session and then right back to it next week with the Titans coming for joint practice on Tuesday and the preseason opener on Thursday.  

Dynamic Balance

 Seems Brock prefers shotgun and feels like we operate out of it much more than we used to. Could be it affects how the running game hasn't been the same too.

Nick's Notes #8

- Once again, coach Kyle Shanahan was on the field for almost all of practice and keeps getting more involved each day. As QB Mac Jones noted after the session, Shanahan is "inching closer" to his usual spot on the field. That's an indication he's also inching closer to being back to full duty. - The Niners had their Dwight Clark celebration Thursday. That's usually reserved for August 7 in honor of Clark's jersey number but with only a walk through tomorrow, they had it today. Former Niners TE Brent Jones was in attendance and spoke to guests about Clark's legacy. - On the injury front, the only new addition to the list from yesterday was OL Nick Zakelj, who injured his elbow in practice Wednesday. The full list of those missing practice today: Zakelj, DE Nick Bosa (soreness), OL Carver Willis (concussion), WR Jacob Cowing (hip flexor strain), FB Kyle Juszczyk (broken finger), OL Brett Toth (concussion), WR Christian Kirk (calf), WR Mike Evans (quad), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), RB Kaelon Black (adductor), RB Jordan James (rib), DL Keion White (adductor), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle) Players on PUP: TE George Kittle (achilles), RB Isaac Guerendo (pec), DL Mykel Williams (ACL) - LB Dre Greenlaw (soreness), WR De'Zhaun Stribling (hamstring) and DT Osa Odighizuwa (soreness) were in pads and easing back in today. They did some individual but not much in team periods (Osa did a little it seemed). Saw Stribling doing some running at or near full speed during team drills. Greenlaw was again watching from behind the defense during team. - DE Sam Okuayinonu was back and participating after he was shaken up late in practice yesterday. - Many of the Niners on the injured list were doing full workouts and conditioning on the side. Evans was doing some running and Guerendo continues to look like he's close to a return from PUP. - One roster move given the injuries on the interior OL: The Niners signed OL Kion Smith and waived WR Colton Dowell. - Rookie DT Gracen Halton continues to make a strong first impression. The guy has a lot of juice with a quick first step and short-area burst paired with some powerful hands that seem to catch OL off guard. He had impressive 1v1 wins against Robert Jones, Connor Colby and Jake Brendel. And then made some plays in team periods also. Halton also isn't afraid to express his passion, often letting out a yell after making a play or winning a 1v1 rep. Fresh legs help but this is also what he flashed at Oklahoma. It's early and he needs to do it against someone else but it's not hard to envision a role for him on third downs early as a rookie. - Other notes from 1 on 1s today: RT Colton McKivitz just continues to be rock solid in his spot. Did well against Romello Height on a pair of matchups... Same for Dom Puni, who Chris Foerster clearly thinks has the makings of a guy ready to take another step forward in year 3... Austen Pleasants had a good rep against Okuayinonu when Okuayinonu seemed to have him beat with a spin but Pleasants recovered and walled him off... CJ West showed off his powerful hands and ability to re-direct them in a good rep against Colby... Rookie Enrique Cruz Jr. has had some rough reps in these, including one against Igbo Okoronkwo today. After, Foerster spent some time with Cruz giving him some pointers... Still intrigued to see undrafted DT James Thompson Jr. against another team. There's some tools to develop there in the rookie out of Illinois. - For the second day in a row, the story of team drills was QB Brock Purdy and the top offense. They had the rough outing earlier in the week and have responded with a pair of excellent practices. Purdy was 13-of-14 on Wednesday and 11-of-14 today. That included three of his best throws of camp: deep balls perfectly placed for likely TDs to WRs KhaDarel Hodge and Malik Turner and then a crosser to WR Deebo Samuel who had Deommodore Lenoir in excellent position in coverage but the ball was in the one small window where Samuel could get it. The first play of team was a rope to Demarcus Robinson for a big gain, too. Credit to Purdy and Co. for the bounce back. I asked DC Raheem Morris what he's observed about Purdy being up close with him for more than a week now. His answer: "The Layer King has some really intensive intensity and I like that about him," Morris said. "Today he got fired up, which was cool, which was fun, which is competitive. And I love that. And when he does those things, it just makes the team go." - CB Jack Jones finds a way to make a play in practice nearly every day and did so again today. He jumped in front of a crosser from Mac Jones for Jordan Watkins for an interception. It wasn't an easy one, either, as Jones tapped it to himself with his right hand then hauled it in. - Another day with the 1s at LG for Robert Jones, who is going to get a good look there it seems. Connor Colby ran with the 2s and 3s again, including on the right side. And Pleasants got some more work at guard, too. My early read: The Niners are going to have to keep looking for the best option for LG. Not sure that person is on the roster, though the concussion for Carver Willis is unfortunate because he might have been able to force his way into the conversation. - WR Demarcus Robinson continues to quietly have a nice camp. Said it before but a dependable wideout who has the versatility to play any position usually finds his way on to the roster. - Some pressures/potential would-be sacks today in team from Height, Okuayinonu, Odighizuwa. Run stuffs from Halton, West, Height, Thompson and Jaden Dugger, among others. - S Ji'Ayir Brown forced a fumble by TE Luke Farrell after a completion from Purdy with CB Renardo Green scooping it up and returning it. LB Luke Gifford nearly intercepted Jones on a throw for Deebo. Lenoir was in tight coverage to force one of Purdy's incompletions and Purdy's final pass of team for Farrell was a bit long though it seemed Farrell got his hands on it and had a chance to make the play. - Dugger got some work with the top defense today as the Niners continue to find ways to deploy him. Morris explained the "fever backer" position in his defense and what he wants and it sounds like something a guy with Dugger's versatility could fit. That's also true for Height and Nick Martin. As preseason goes on, that should clarify a bit how often the position is used and who they envision handling it the most. - Haven't seen or heard much from Nate Hobbs in this camp. He's been out there but hasn't been super involved in team of late. Perhaps still working his way back to football shape but others asserting themselves in the DB competition in the meantime. - Rookie CB Ephesians Prysock is stringing some good practices together. Looking forward to seeing him against another team. Sounds like Morris is, too. - Niners have walkthrough tomorrow and then a full practice Saturday before a Sunday off. Soon enough, we'll be to next week and joint practices with the Titans.  

Nick's Notes #7

Notes and observations from 49ers practice No. 7: - By the end of Wednesday's practice, the Niners had 20 players (including the 3 on PUP) not participating because of injury. In 2024, they had 23 not practicing when they canceled joint practices with the Saints. Chris Foerster says that's not something that's come up to him with the Titans for next week, though it could have been discussed elsewhere in the building. Don't think the Niners are super concerned that the injuries they have (aside from Pearsall) are long term but they still need to have enough healthy bodies to handle the rigors of joint practices. - The full list of those missing practice today: New additions: DE Nick Bosa (soreness), LB Dre Greenlaw (soreness), DT Osa Odighizuwa (soreness), OL Carver Willis (concussion), WR Jacob Cowing (hip flexor strain), FB Kyle Juszczyk (broken finger), OL Brett Toth (undisclosed). Shaken up in practice: OL Nick Zakelj, DE Sam Okuayinonu Previously disclosed: WR Christian Kirk (calf), WR Mike Evans (quad), S Malik Mustapha (hamstring), WR De'Zhaun Stribling (hamstring), RB Kaelon Black (adductor), RB Jordan James (rib), DL Keion White (adductor), OT Vederian Lowe (ankle) PUP: TE George Kittle (achilles), RB Isaac Guerendo (pec), DL Mykel Williams (ACL) - For the record, many of these guys, including Evans and Kirk did some work on the side, including some full speed running. Guerendo and Mustapha, in particular seem to be close to back. Greenlaw also seemed to be fine as he got a bit of a rest today with soreness. He watched practice from the defensive back field. - Coach Kyle Shanahan continues to be out around his normal time (10:47 today for those keeping score) and handling more and more. Not quite fully back but still seems to be trending the right way. - The Niners released DT Kevin Givens and DL Cam Sample and signed DL Ogbo Okoronkwo and WR KhaDarel Hodge. - Niners had enough OL and DL to do some one-on-ones today... Halton's fresh legs showed up here a few times, including a really strong rush against Zakelj and a solid one against Robert Jones. His quickness and burst is evident. Just a matter of staying healthy and getting much needed reps... Okoronkwo also has some fresh legs and had a nice power rush against Enrique Cruz Jr., who has struggled in this drill... Good day for Sebastian Valdez both in one on ones and in team. He gave Connor Colby some problems here then had success in team... Austen Pleasants took a rep or two at right guard here which is unusual. Foerster indicated he wanted to move a handful of OL around in these drills but the injuries messed up those plans. Presumably, Pleasants got to move because of that... CJ West showed his power a few times, including against Jones and Zakelj, though Jake Brendel had a good rep against him... Romello Height is made for this drill in some ways. His first step and bend impresses nearly every time. Will need to expand his bag (and maybe it's already there) a bit but the tools to be effective in obvious passing situations seem apparent. He had a good rep against Colton McKivitz who has otherwise been stout in these. - Speaking of the offensive line, Jones got his first crack at running at left guard with the 1s today with Colby getting reps with the 2s and 3s. Foerster said he hoped to get Colby some work on the right side and had all kinds of plans to move the pieces around a bit but injuries to Toth and Willis scuttled that. Not sure this means a big change in the plans but worth noting and following. - DT Alfred Collins got his first extended work in team periods after returning from PUP last week. Haven't seen Collins in 1v1 yet but a step forward for him, especially with Odighizuwa not participating today. - With Greenlaw watching, Garret Wallow got a look at the weak side linebacker spot. Also, Nick Martin was supposedly shaken up last open practice but he was on the field today seemingly no worse for the wear. - A really good practice for QB Brock Purdy despite musical pass catchers. Had him at 13-of-14 (he had another one broken up by Lenoir but looked like a would-be sack first) on the day and the one incompletion could have been a flag as LB Garret Wallow either perfectly timed or was a bit early on a throw to RB Christian McCaffrey. Some highlights from Purdy: Escaped pressure from Height, rolled to his right, got a good block from TE Luke Farrell and dropped one in the bucket to McCaffrey over the middle for a big gain... In a three-play red zone sequence, he threw a TD to Patrick Taylor Jr. on a ball that was perfectly placed low and to the left where only Taylor could get it as Ji'Ayir Brown closed in from the other side then ran for a score on a designed run and finished by rolling out and finding Junior Bergen for a touchdown. He capped practice finding WR Jordan Watkins deep down the left side for another score in move the ball. - Farrell hasn't proved much of an option in the pass game since his arrival but he was very involved on Wednesday. Had him down for five catches, all from Purdy, including three in the move the ball period to set up Watkins' TD. Jake Tonges has been more involved, too, and with all the injuries at WR, it's clear Purdy has a level of comfort with the TEs that can pay dividends. - Watkins is putting together a nice camp and Purdy has faith in him but he also has had some go through his hands that he probably should have had. A good opportunity right now for him to carve out a role given all the other injuries. The good outweighs the bad, just needs a bit more consistency. - Foerster said McCaffrey and LT Trent Williams are on a rep count in this camp, as you'd expect. But he also tipped his hat to them for being at practice every day and setting a tone for the young players. Both were their usual, productive selves on Wednesday. - Best defensive play of the day came when CB Jack Jones jumped in front of a pass from Martinez to deflect it into the waiting arms of LB Jaden Dugger. Dugger caught it and returned it for a would-be pick-6. - Among the other defensive highlights from team drills: Okuayinonu got some pressure and a would-be sack but if it wasn't, Lenoir had yet another PBU. Darrell Luter Jr. had a nice pass breakup on a throw to the end zone for Demarcus Robinson from Martinez. West burst through for a run stuff on the first play of team. LB Fred Warner snuffed out a run for McCaffrey early in that period, also. Halton stuffed Khalil Herbert with a quick move in the first period for the 3s. A nice PBU on a throw for TE Brayden Willis, was hard to tell but I *think* it was Siran Neal who knocked it away. LB Jalen Graham also had a nice read and run stuff against Sincere McCormick. CB Ephesians Prysock with sticky coverage to deny a deep ball from Kurtis Rourke for Wesley Grimes. - The Niners are back at it tomorrow after AC/DC plays Levi's tonight. In the year 2026, I wouldn't think they still move the needle enough to have concerts at a place as big as Levi's but here they are. Can only respect it for a group that's been doing it for more than five decades. Shoutout to them.