The 49ers made it through the first three practices of training camp with relatively little drama. That’s a huge victory this time of year when pads are left in the locker room and players are working their way back into football shape.
San Francisco will take Saturday off before returning to action Sunday for the NFL’s “back together weekend.”
It’s tough to draw a ton of conclusions from the first few days of camp, but these are the things that stuck out as important and worth following as we roll toward the preseason opener:
Brock Purdy is healthy
Purdy’s performances weren’t stellar, but the fact he’s practicing and making throws without pain is a huge early win for the 49ers. There was some concern they might not even have Purdy for the start of the regular season. Then they wound up having him cleared for the start of training camp. Getting work in as early as possible is a great opportunity for Purdy to knock off the rust and get virtually a full training camp in.
Backup QB battle
The battle for QB jobs is now set with Purdy firmly in place as the team’s starter. That means Sam Darnold and Trey Lance will be duking it out for the No. 2 job, while Brandon Allen tries to work his way into the mix as a potential third signal caller. Perhaps the 49ers wind up keeping four QBs and rendering the Allen portion of this moot. Purdy has taken all the QB1 snaps through three days, with Darnold and Lance splitting the second-team reps down the middle. That’s where the real battle is.
Deebo in shape
The end of July is prime “best shape of his life” season in the NFL. For 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel that might actually be true. A video from the Athletic’s Matt Barrows showed Samuel looking much more slim than he has the past couple years. The veteran WR attributed his struggles last season to “sluggishness” due to the offseason distraction of his contract extension. There was no such distraction this year, and Samuel looks the part of a star WR ready for a bounce back season.
Still no Nick Bosa
Bosa’s absence is glaring, though not a significant concern just yet. Ideally the team would’ve hammered out a long-term extension with Bosa before camp, but there are a ton of cap gymnastics that come with a deal that will likely make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. It’s not surprising this negotiation has taken as long as it has. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year will surely be in good shape once he returns, but the sooner San Francisco can get its star DE back the better.
Mitch Wishnowsky returned
Wishnowsky began training camp on the non-football injury list because of a back injury he sustained while lifting weights away from the team facility. General manager John Lynch the day before camp began said he wasn’t worried about a long-term issue with Wishnowsky. That back injury wound up costing Wishnowsky one day of practice. He was activated off the NFI list ahead of Day 2.
K Jake Moody strong start
All the No. 99 overall pick can do right now is hit the kicks he’s asked to make. He’s yet to miss in camp, which is a great early sign. The next step will be connecting in preseason games, then in regular season games. For now though he’s perfect in practice which is the ideal scenario.
