Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Thursday, August 19, 2021
These next couple of days should be entertaining if anything as the 49ers get the chance to practice against fresh blood as they’re in Costa Mesa to face the Chargers. We’ll see how many players on both sides participate. Hopefully, both squads are as close to full strength as possible.
Both Shanahan and John Lynch look for players who love football, and Jennings clearly has that quality. He not only has impressed on the field, but has made it a goal to take care of himself off the field. Jennings worked with team nutritionists to eat healthier, which will improve his performance in the long run.
“Just grinding,” Jennings said Monday. “I feel better, I’m just working my tail off. I can’t wait until the next one. I love football. That’s why I chose it. I got to play like that for my team. I just try and go out there and make the best plays.”
Russell Wilson in an interview with Bleacher Report talked about his divisional counterparts, and mentioned both of the signal callers atop San Francisco’s depth chart.
“Obviously I have a lot of respect for Matthew Stafford,” he told Bleacher Report’s Scott Polacek. “And Jimmy’s been there playing great ball over the years he’s been there, and they just drafted Trey Lance, who is a really talented player.”
Wilson’s involvement with San Francisco’s quarterbacks doesn’t go very far beyond a postgame handshake. He’ll be more worried about the 49ers’ defense when he faces them twice this season.
49ers GM John Lynch on Trey Lance’s debut, Jimmy Garoppolo’s competitiveness and more
“I didn’t see it, I heard about it,” Lynch said. “And it doesn’t surprise me. I mean, that’s expected. That’s just the way he was raised, it’s his DNA. He’s always going to look inward, always thinks that there’s more out there. You love that. But really, we have a real healthy dynamic in that whole room. Jimmy has been so tremendous. Obviously, (acquiring a new QB is) not welcome news when you’re an established franchise guy like Jimmy, but from Day 1, he’s responded. A lot’s been said about our first conversation (after the trade-up to get the pick and the announcement that it’d be for a new QB), me and him, he simply asked me, ‘Hey, am I going to have a chance to compete?’ My answer was, ‘Of course you are.’ That’s what we build our organization on is the chance for everyone to compete. He’s done that.
49ers undrafted WR Austin Watkins clears waivers, reverts to IR
Recently-waived rookie wide receiver Austin Watkins is back with the 49ers. San Francisco waived Watkins with an injury designation after he suffered a broken foot in the preseason opener. The injury designation means he reverts to the 49ers’ Injured Reserve list.
Watkins will have two options now that he’s on IR. First, he can opt to stay on IR all season with the 49ers. He can rehab at the facility, but he won’t be eligible to play this year because he went on the injured list before final roster cuts.
The shoulder might be a “new thing,” but missing time due to an injury is not new for Kinlaw. Having his name mentioned for missing time or being limited is starting to become the new norm, which is a problem. It isn’t going to start becoming a red flag until he misses games, but this is definitely something to be concerned.
Is Kinlaw trending toward an injury prone path?
I’d say he already is on it.
It is hard to forget that he has knee tendinitis. That was the top concerning unattractive feature with him in the lead up to the 2020 NFL Draft. The 49ers knew what they were getting with Kinlaw, but perhaps they underestimated the maintenance for it.