On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers held the last of two joint practices with the Denver Broncos. The two teams will face each other in an exhibition matchup at Levi's Stadium on Saturday. It was also the final full practice of the 49ers' three-week training camp.
On the injury front, rookie LB Reuben Foster came away from Wednesday's joint practice with a mild AC joint sprain, which is in the same shoulder that required surgery but the injuries are unrelated. He was limited during Thursday's practice and just participated in 7-on-7 drills. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he expects Foster to play on Saturday.
WR Aldrick Robinson did not appear as an injured player on the 49ers' practice participation report but did not practice.
WR Aldrik Robinson not practicing today in #49ers session vs #Broncos pic.twitter.com/n55AkRNJrv
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 17, 2017
DL Ronald Blair (groin), DL DeForest Buckner (ankle), WR Aaron Burbridge (hamstring), OL Joshua Garnett (knee), LB Aaron Lynch (ankle), LB Sean Porter (quad), CB Will Redmond (ankle), and S Jimmie Ward (hamstring-PUP) did not practice. TE George Kittle (hamstring) was limited.
QB C.J. Beathard will be the second quarterback off of the bench on Saturday night against the Broncos. Shanahan named the rookie as QB Brian Hoyer's backup for the game.
RELATED Shanahan: C.J. Beathard will be the second-string quarterback against Broncos
Below are some quick notes from Thursday's practice, which was the 49ers' 15th and last of training camp.
Unlike Wednesday's practice, there were no one-on-ones during Thursday's session. The two teams went straight from individual drills to team drills.
Team drills were physical with a number of skirmishes taking place mostly between the 49ers' defensive line and the Broncos' offensive line early on. Chris Biderman of Niners Wire reported that WR Pierre Garçon and LB Pita Taumoepenu were pretty involved in three fights. Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group reported that Foster was also in the mix, despite his injured shoulder.
Garçon tackled Harris to the ground and the two were seen seen wrestling on the ground. #BEASTwriter #49ers #49ersCamp
— Ryan Sakamoto (@BEASTwriter_) August 17, 2017
LB NaVorro Bowman sat out the final portion of practice after complaining about a shoulder injury. Following practice, the linebacker said that he suffered a stinger and could have gone back in. The injury is not expected to keep the All-Pro linebacker out of Saturday's game.
LB Eli Harold got work over LB Ahmad Brooks with the first-team defense at the Sam linebacker spot. S Jaquiski Tartt and S Lorenzo Jerome rotated in and out with the first-team defense.
Inman reported that the Broncos quarterbacks were sharper than they were on Wednesday.
#49ers @JohnLynch49ers thanking U.S. service members after practice pic.twitter.com/dd6GvJFgO9
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 17, 2017
Joe Fann of 49ers.com believes that the highlight of practice was a deep ball thrown from Hoyer to WR Victor Bolden, who beat Broncos CB Aqib Talib. Unofficially, Hoyer completed 12 of his 19 passes during team drills.
On Wednesday, the 49ers converted five touchdowns in six plays during 7-on-7 red zone drills. On Thursday, they were not as successful but Hoyer still opened the session by finding FB Kyle Juszczyk for a touchdown. Broncos S Justin Simmons had an interception off of Hoyer, who was targeting WR Jeremy Kerley, and Beathard found Boldin for a touchdown.
"Defensive linemen DeForest Buckner (left ankle), Aaron Lynch (right ankle) and Ronald Blair (groin) did individual condition and are unlikely to play Saturday," reports Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group.