The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweeted that the 49ers are working on holding a joint practice with the Denver Broncos this summer
Last summer, the San Francisco 49ers were set to hold planned joint practices with the New Orleans Saints ahead of their preseason matchup. It would have come at the perfect time, too. The practices would’ve taken place on August 15 and 16, usually around a week and a half after the Niners put on their pads.
By then, you’re sick of repeatedly going against the same person and are ready to hit somebody in a different colored jersey.
Unfortunately, too many injuries caused San Francisco to pull the plug and significantly adjust their preseason schedule. The team announced on August 11 last summer, “The 49ers and Saints have mutually agreed to cancel the joint practices scheduled in Irvine on Thursday, August 15, and Friday, August 16.
The driving force behind that decision was apparent. The 49ers didn’t want to risk further injury to their already depleted roster. At the time, Christian McCaffrey and Ricky Pearsall were already banged up, and neither Brandon Aiyuk nor Trent Williams were available to practice.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, the 49ers and Broncos are working on holding a joint practice this summer. Barrows said there are no details yet, but that would break up the monotony of training camp and provide some much-needed juice during the dog days of training camp.
It would also provide some world-class trash talking between a couple of former 49ers. Denver has former Niners defensive tackle D.J. Jones and right tackle Mike McGlinchey. During free agency, the Broncos signed Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga. That’s four familiar faces and relatively essential pieces for the 49ers during the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch tenure.
It would give the players something to look forward to, and allow the coaches to evaluate their depth pieces and some starters against different competition in a controlled setting. The 49ers should be all for it.