The 49ers are starting to deal with some injuries, and they’re just a couple days shy of their preseason opener. Both of those keys played a role in Day 12 of training camp.
Some takeaways and thoughts on reports from Santa Clara:
Elijah Mitchell sits
It’s been a big camp for the 49ers’ starting running back, so it’s not a surprise he got a day off Wednesday. The club will have a light practice Thursday and he may not play at all in Friday’s preseason opener. Getting him some added rest is significant since he dealt with some injury problems last year and the team needs him to be healthy going into the 2022 campaign.
Speaking of RBs
Mitchell’s fellow RB Trey Sermon took advantage of some added reps. He’s looked better throughout camp according to reports and his emergence as a genuine offensive threat gives the 49ers some added depth in the backfield. The 2021 third-round pick was mostly a non-factor last year so seeing him cap the final practice before the preseason opener with a big day is a good sign.
Lance comes to Earth
Tuesday was Lance’s best practice of the offseason per reports, but Wednesday he normalized some. The biggest concern here is that ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported a couple miscommunications with WR Deebo Samuel. That can’t continue happening into the regular season, and the fact the star WR and Lance aren’t on the same page yet is starting to move toward the realm of a problem. They have a month to figure it out, but the days are ticking down quickly.
New starting nickel CB
Wagoner noted rookie Samuel Womack was with the first-team defense at slot cornerback. That spot has belonged to veteran Darqueze Dennard for most of camp. Emmanuel Moseley and Charvarius Ward are both injured which led to Ambry Thomas and Ka’dar Hollman running with the first-team. That may be why the club moved Womack into the No. 1 spot, but there may also be some movement in that battle. It’ll be interesting to see how the playing time gets broken up in games.
