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The San Francisco 49ers continued their training camp Saturday, marking their fourth practice of the month.
TIED TOGETHER 49ers Training Camp Day 4 Breakdown: Offensive
Since it was still the first week of camp, the pads weren’t on yet. They will probably come during Monday’s practice session.
The 49ers received some unfortunate news on Saturday when it was revealed that defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, who initially looked good, has torn his biceps tendon and will be out for most of the year. Additionally, defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway suffered a quad injury and may be out for a few weeks. Both injuries came on top of Thursday’s news that Arik Armstead has suffered an MCL sprain, although it is not considered serious.
defense
line of defense
The defensive line continued to look good Saturday, even as starters Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey returned to the offensive line. Nick Bosa led the day with multiple sacks before pinching his foot and sitting out the end of the scrimmages.
Another name looking good was newly-signed defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who followed up his 1.5-sack day on Thursday with another sack on Saturday, working against rookie left guard Jason Poe.
Additionally, Javon Kinlaw returned to team practice and scrimmages and looked very handsome, moved fluidly and recorded a pressure against left guard Aaron Banks in the first game of scrimmage.
Finally, defender Kerry Hyder, who I originally predicted would not make the 53-man roster, saw some action with the first- and second-team defense playing both inside and on the fringes. While not necessarily having a disruptive day, its use will continue to be monitored as the training camp progresses.
Combat in the Trenches will be something to watch as the pads are sure to show up.
linebacker
Linebacker rotations remained the same as yesterday, with Al-Shaair coming off the field and being replaced by cornerback Dontae Johnson in nickel situations.
1st team
SLB Azeez Al Shair
MLB Fred Warner
WLB Dre Greenlaw
2nd team
SLB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
MLB Curtis Robinson
WLB Oren Burks
3rd team
SLB Segun Olubi
MLB Jeremiah Gemmel
WLB Marcelino McCrary Ball
One name that caught the eye today: Marcelino McCrary-Ball, who had a good play in cover against running back Tyrion Davis-Price on a bike route and forced an incomplete from Nate Sudfeld. Additionally, McCrary-Ball’s speed in the running game was highlighted when he was step-in-step with Danny Gray during a jet sweep, forcing the wideout just four yards out of bounds.
Linebacker Fred Warner scored his first break from training camp by picking off Trey Lance in a game where the sophomore quarterback missed the All-Pro while looking for Ray-Ray McCloud.
cornerbacks
The top cornerbacks continue to have strong performances as Charvarius Ward recorded an interception from Nate Sudfeld while Emmanuel Moseley recorded a pass break-up.
Here were the cornerback rotations that saw only one change from the day before:
1st team
CB Charvarius Ward
CB Emmanuel Moseley
NB Dontae Johnson
2nd team
CB Ambry Thomas
CB Deomodore Lenoir
NB Darqueze Dennard
3rd team
CB Ka’Darr Hollman
CB Tariq Castro Fields
NB Samuel Womack/Qwuantrezz Knight
Dennard was replaced by veteran Dontae Johnson as the starting seed cornerback for the 49ers on Saturday, knocking all current slot corners down one spot in the depth chart.
Deommodore Lenoir, who was in danger of losing his job, got off to a good start at camp, particularly on an interception from Tarvarius Moore where he kept up with fast receiver Danny Gray.
Ambry Thomas had an up-and-down camp against Lenoir after giving up some catches but was eventually thrown into the fire during Saturday’s second scrimmage when the 49ers allowed him to play pressman coverage. Thomas held receiver Malik Turner in one game but also perfectly guarded Danny Gray on a comeback route, forcing quarterback Nate Sudfeld into a mess.
The cornerback fight at the slot will be intriguing given the strength of the outside cornerbacks, and this secondary certainly has more depth than last season.
collateral
Talanoa Hufanga and Jimmie Ward were once again the starters to safety, with the USC product being the first on the field to begin practice Saturday, coming out 45 minutes before practice was due to begin. Here were the security rotations:
1st team
SS Talanoa Hufanga
FS Jimmie Ward
2nd team
FS Tarvarius Moore
SS George Odum
3rd team
FS Taylor Hawkins
SS Leon O’Neal
Moore took center stage on Saturday, intercepting two passes from Nate Sudfeld and appears to have regained the athleticism that made him an intriguing safety in the first place.
Ward had a great game, rocking running back Jeff Wilson Jr. when the latter tried to make a catch, forcing the drop and incompletion.
So far, the 49ers’ high school has been looking great, and they’ll be looking to build on their first week’s performances when the pads come out for Monday’s practice.
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The San Francisco 49ers began training at training camp on Wednesday, marking the first time since June that players have shown up on the field with their teammates for a 75-minute practice that includes individual drills, team drills, 7-on-7s and some 11- counter-exercises included -11s as well. RELATED: 49ers Training Camp Day 1 Breakdown: Offense Since it was day one of training camp, the pads weren’t on. However, they will likely come during Monday’s practice session; the exact date is unknown
The San Francisco 49ers continued training camp practices Thursday, marking the second time since June that players have shown up on the field with their teammates for a 75-minute practice that includes individual drills, team drills, 7-on-7s and some 11-on- Exercises included -11s as well. RELATED: 49ers Training Camp Day 2 Breakdown: Offense Since it was day one of training camp, the pads weren’t on. However, they will likely come during Monday’s practice session; the exact date is unknown
The San Francisco 49ers began training at training camp on Wednesday, marking the first time since June that players have shown up on the field with their teammates for a 75-minute practice that includes individual drills, team drills, 7-on-7s and some 11- counter-exercises included -11s as well. RELATED: 49ers Training Camp Day 1 Breakdown: Defense Since it was the first day of training camp, the pads weren’t on. However, they will likely come during Monday’s practice session; the exact date is unknown
The San Francisco 49ers continued training camp Thursday, marking their second practice of the month. RELATED: 49ers Training Camp Day 2 Breakdown: Defense Since it was day two of training camp, the pads weren’t on. However, they will likely come during Monday’s practice session; the exact date is currently unknown. The 49ers’ offensive starters remained the same as yesterday, with Jake Brendel starting as a center over Daniel Brunskill, though the two