Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Thursday, July 28th, 2022
Hutchinson: 49ers Notebook: How Trey Lance looked in first day of practice
“Day 1 of training camp got underway on Wednesday, and while there was not an abundance of fanfare, that may be a good thing for a first day. There were nice catches and pass breakups and a plethora of darts from the new man in charge, Trey Lance.
For those of you abject sickos out there who care about completions in training camp, Lance was 4-of-7 or 5-of-7 in 11-on-11s. It’s such a minute figure it’s worth giving context to each throw, especially given the lack of time Lance has actually spent running the offense as the starter.”
“The Dee Ford era is over. San Francisco signed the edge rusher to a five-year, $85 million contract in 2019, when he was an integral part of the team’s Super Bowl push. But he was never able to get healthy after that season, dealing with serious back issues.”
“[OL Jason] Poe fell out of the draft both because of his size — at 6-foot-1, the contrast between him and 6-8 McGlinchey is stark — and because of his level of competition at Mercer University. But his athleticism is unique and he also has a magnetic personality that’s made him immediately popular in the 49ers locker room. For example, he trained with the esteemed veteran of the group, Williams, during the summer break, with Williams giving the rookie a ride on a private jet when they returned to Santa Clara earlier this week. Poe and Banks were seen getting some extra snaps together after practice ended Wednesday.”
“Aiyuk caught one pass each from Lance and backup QB Nate Sudfeld during 7-on-7 drills and caught two additional passes from Sudfeld during 11-on-11 work. One reception, in particular, was under tight coverage from Jimmie Ward. “
“He told me what type of time it is in the locker room earlier today, so I can’t be mad at him,” Aiyuk said. “We’re all competitors. That defense is the best defense in the National Football League, so that’s the cream of the crop when we go against those guys. We know we have to bring it every single day.”
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan raves about the offseason preparation of WR Brandon Aiyuk
“Aiyuk and Lance turned up around Shanahan’s house recently, where they took on a workout challenge with general manager John Lynch. The two of them were then able to cool off for a bit in the ocean afterwards.
“They were just down by us working out,” Shanahan said. “They went to go run some suicide hill or something they call it. Lynch did it with them. Lynch didn’t win. And then when they were done, they came over because it was right by my house. We were just going to go up to lunch. They went in the ocean for the first time. That was fun to watch.”
“Spencer Burford, the team’s fourth-round pick this season, took all of the first-team reps at right guard, while Jake Brendel began the day as the starting center before Brunskill received some work with the starters.”
“The quiet standout was backup linebacker Curtis Robinson, who reportedly stood out during the early portion of the offseason, and was very vocal and communicative with his fellow linebackers when on the field Wednesday. The Stanford product is a sleeper candidate to potentially make the 53-man roster.”
Lombardi: Azeez Al-Shaair rounds out 49ers’ LB group that may be the NFL’s best
“I didn’t even have a car,” Al-Shaair said. “I would ride my bike from the Santa Clara Marriott to [LB Coach Johnny Holland’s] house. We would hang out on the weekends. Me and Johnny were really close since I was young as a rookie, so not having him last year really hurt.”
“Finding a secret superstar for the 49ers is challenging, and Ward isn’t exactly an unknown quantity,” wrote Monson, “but he is a consistently productive part of that defense despite the attention typically shifting elsewhere.”