Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers remain hopeful that offensive linemen
Mike McGlinchey (knee) and
Daniel Brunskill (hamstring) will be ready for Week 1 when the team faces the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. McGlinchey returned to practice this week. As for Brunskill, general manager John Lynch says the 49ers remain optimistic.
"We're hopeful that we have him for Week 1," Lynch said Thursday. "You just never know with [hamstring injuries]."
Getting Brunskill back would be good news for what is considered to be one of the 49ers' weakest areas—the interior of the offensive line. The team claimed guard Blake Hance of waivers because of his versatility, hoping that he could help if Brunskill isn't ready.
"He brings real five-position versatility," Lynch said. "Sometimes we talk about versatility, but he's actually done it in our league, played five positions, and has that center versatility, which is so important. We put a claim in, not knowing if we'd get him, and we were pleased when we did."
Hance arrived at his Santa Clara hotel at 1:30 a.m. and was at the facility early, ready to learn the offense.
"He has played left tackle," Lynch added. "He has played right tackle. He's played both guards. So we're excited about that. Those guys are extremely useful.
Lynch also discussed the team's sixth-round pick, offensive lineman
Nick Zakelj.
"He just is a guy who kept getting better every single day, and that's what you want in this league," Lynch said of the rookie. "He came from a smaller school, lesser competition. So probably, it was an eye-opener when he got here, just like it was at the Senior Bowl. I remember [assistant general manager] Adam [Peters] talking about, at the Senior Bowl, his Day 2 was so much better than his Day 1, and he's got a lot in his body. And he just kept looking like more and more of an NFL player with every given day.
"We have really focused on him at the guards (positions). We don't want to throw too much [at him], but we do believe he has center in his future, and he'll start snapping out here and make that part of his repertoire under the thought that the more you can do, the better for him, and the better for us."
San Francisco took a risk waiving undrafted rookie offensive lineman Jason Poe but got him to the practice squad.
"You talk about a guy you respect and just the joy he brings to playing football," Lynch said. "I think it's palpable. You feel it. And we were hanging on for dear life. That was a hard call [to waive him]. And the guys love him in the locker room. When he makes a play, everybody, you hear it. We're just going to put him in and allow him to keep getting better.
"Guys like that, despite the challenges of being a little smaller, when you have heart, fight—and it's not just that—he has the ability. Those guys tend to make it."
The 49ers are high on their fourth-round pick, guard
Spencer Burford, who mainly played tackle in his last two seasons at UTSA. However, he also played some guard, which prompted the team to move him inside.
"He's held pretty well there, playing right guard the whole time," assistant general manager Adam Peters said. "He'll have his wins, he'll have his losses, good days, and bad days, but you see little incremental growth every single day. And I think he's got a really bright future. He's got long arms, he's very strong, he's smart, and he's a hard worker, so that's all you can ask for."
Related News
The San Francisco 49ers gave up a lot for Christian McCaffrey, sending second-, third-, and fourth-round picks in the 2023 draft and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the star running back. General manager John Lynch acknowledges it was a lot to give up. However, it just speaks to how much the 49ers respected McCaffrey and what he could do in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Lynch and Shanahan already had great confidence in the offense's potential, but they knew that it could be something special with McCaffrey in the picture.
"You're not going to make a move like that if you don't think you can compete with anyone in this league, if you don't think this could be the thing to push us over the top," Lynch told NBC Sports Bay
The San Francisco 49ers defense might get a significant boost on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Following Thursday's practice, defensive lineman Arik Armstead told reporters that he plans to play this weekend, his first on-field action since October 3 against the Los Angeles Rams.
#49ers DT Arik Armstead (ankle, foot) said he will play Sunday vs #Dolphins. Armstead has been sidelined since Week 4 win vs. Rams on Oct. 3.—
The San Francisco 49ers defense came into Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints having shut out three consecutive teams in the third and fourth quarters of their last three wins. On Sunday they took it to another level, shutting out the Saints for all four quarters in a 13-0 win that gave the 49ers their fourth victory in a row.
The performance came at the right time for the 49ers offense, which faced a tough task against a stout Saints defense and wasn't running on all cylinders the way they were in their previous win, a dominant 38-10 showing over the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico last Monday. But 13 points was more than enough on this day for the 49ers defense, who held the Saints to 260 yards of total offense and just 63 yards on the ground in front of a home crowd
Nick Bosa grew up in Fort Lauderdale. He spends his time off during the offseason there, training with his brother, Joey. The Miami Dolphins are his hometown team. On Sunday at Levi's Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers defensive end will be looking to end the Dolphins' winning streak and maybe silence some of his friends.
"I've got some friends coming out," Bosa told reporters before Wednesday's practice. "They'll be wearing Dolphins jerseys. It would be good to shut them up."
Bosa is excited about the matchup and believes it may be a preview of things to come. Maybe these two teams will see each other again in February. For now, the pass rusher is focused on getting the win this
