Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022
“Lance hasn’t been poor. He hasn’t been dominant. It’s been a mixed bag. He’s demonstrated the elite arm talent he possesses which his predecessor lacked along with the athletic bag of tools he has at his disposal.”
“He mostly practiced running for his life, which is a valuable lesson because he’ll have to do that all season behind this atrocious offensive line. While running for his life, Lance ran for a touchdown and threw a beautiful TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk while backpedaling to his left. He also completed a 40-yard pass up the right sideline with pressure in his face while throwing off his backfoot. Plus he had a touchdown pass dropped by Jauan Jennings. All things considered, Lance practiced well, but he didn’t really get to practice running the offense because his receivers weren’t getting open quickly and his blockers weren’t blocking well. When he threw the pick, he scrambled up through the pocket to avoid pressure, then forced a pass to a heavily covered Kyle Juszczyk and got picked by Charvarius Ward. This was the only pass of the morning that Lance forced. The rest of the time he made good decisions. “
Barrows: Trey Lance’s deep strike to Brandon Aiyuk fires up the crowd: 49ers camp report (paywall)
“A pair of backup defensive ends, Kemoko Turay and Drake Jackson, stood out Monday. Right tackle Jaylon Moore had a hard time keeping Turay out of the pocket during the red zone drill discussed above. Jackson, meanwhile, continues to get a few first-team snaps a day. He also had a would-be sack on fellow rookie Brock Purdy while working with the third-team unit.”
“Exasperation! Frustration! Is everything going off the rails for the 49ers’ plans? Well, nope. The 49ers continue to point out that the offense struggling to find a rhythm early in Lance’s first camp as the starting QB is precisely what should be expected against this very talented and motivated defense. And it’s also the very best way to make sure Lance is ready for the regular season. Presumably against some defenses that aren’t as good, or as tuned into the 49ers’ offensive scheme, as what he’s seeing in Santa Clara every day.”
Branch: 49ers’ practice report: Trey Lance hasn’t got the time (paywall)
“That’s what really gives me the most confidence — watching him against a very fast, very intense, very smart, knowledgeable defense,” [Trent] Williams said. “It’s a tough outing for a quarterback. If you look … when he gets to the top of his (drop), (linebacker) Fred (Warner) is taking all the underneath things away. The corners are on the receivers like white on rice. The safeties are flying around. They’re doing it all.
They’re disguising looks and they don’t give him anything easy. So anything you see, he works for it. He’s made the adjustments. And he’s got himself in the right situation. Going against a defense like that is the greatest tool you can use.”
Lombardi: Deebo Samuel contract analysis: How 49ers and their star receiver made it work (paywall)
“Of course, Samuel’s contract grows much pricier by 2024, but the 49ers are fine with this. With the NFL’s new media deals kicking in and expected to infuse over $100 billion of new money into the league’s coffers, the salary-cap ceiling — which is tied to revenue — is expected to surge. The 49ers are comfortable pushing bills into that future, as they already showed in March by restructuring the contracts of Arik Armstead and George Kittle.”
Deebo Samuel contract incentives offer substantial bonuses for running back role [report]
“Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the incentives are split into yearly maximums, with $650,000 if he exceeds 380 rushing yards and $150,000 if he scores three-plus rushing touchdowns.”
“To me, that’s the nuance of the business that gets lost. Everybody gets so enamored with the new prospect and the guys who had a nice college career, following the path to the draft. If it’s a person you never heard of, maybe went to a small school, I think a lot of us just say they’re just development guys.
“I think you go through the draft year in and year out, and you’re seeing people that come from small schools that can really play, and they can play really well, and they can really help a team. I like to see that this organization turns over every stone before they just say, ‘We’re going to take this player.’”
San Francisco 49ers consider offensive options for newly signed Deebo Samuel, ‘a special player’
“I think [it’s] based off of whatever happens,” Shanahan said. “From my standpoint schematically, from our team’s personnel, from Deebo’s, from what we think gives us the best chance to win, if we wanted to move Deebo to running back that would have been something that we were honest about. … You can’t do that with anybody. You’ve got to do that with a special player and Deebo is a special player. That’s why he’s earned this contract that he’s got and I think that’s why he’s going to continue to earn it going forward.”
Ebukam: It would be ‘different story’ if career began with 49ers
“The way he is bending around that hoop, that reminds me of my younger years as a rookie. If I was here as a rookie, it would be a different story. I’m not going to lie to you. But him being here as a rookie, it’s going to help him so much. Especially with Coach K. He is going to get him right and you’re going to see big things from him.”
“A more unexpected turn of events has been the elevation of fourth-round rookie Burford to starting right guard. With Daniel Brunskill seemingly fighting with Jake Brendel for the starting center role, Burford has taken all the first-team reps at RG.”
“The good news is San Francisco’s defense looks the part of a championship-caliber unit, and Lance was able to make some terrific plays by getting outside the pocket. The bad news is the offensive line is struggling early and the 49ers would probably like to see Lance get into more of a rhythm with plays running on time.”
Mike Florio explains how Watson suspension could be extended, likelihood Garoppolo goes to Cleveland
“If the commissioner wants to appeal. Wants to consider the appeal, he can pump it up higher. He can go to 10, 12, whatever he wants, there’s enough there by way of a finding of a violation. That if the league appeals to the commissioner, he can take six and turn it into something more.”
Branch: 49ers’ Elijah Mitchell’s painful NFL debut included multiple broken ribs (paywall)
“He had some serious injuries,” Shanahan said. “He was as tough as can be. He was able to (play) on Sunday a lot, but we need Elijah to get back into practicing and being consistent with that. What he did his first year was great. But if you miss that much, it’s just not built to last.”