After a 40-day break following the end of offseason workouts, San Francisco 49ers veterans have returned to team facilities in Santa Clara and are ready to dive into training camp.
With the first camp session scheduled for Wednesday morning, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took time to meet with reporters on Tuesday, as did tight end George Kittle and defensive end Nick Bosa. Shanahan and Lynch spent much of their media session speaking about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but there were a number of other topics discussed as well, including the team's quarterbacks, running back Christian McCaffrey, and more.
Meanwhile, Kittle and Bosa reflected on their offseasons and also offered some thoughts on their mindsets after losing the Super Bowl, among other subjects. Here's a roundup of some of the key points of conversation from Tuesday's media sessions that didn't involve Aiyuk.
Purdy heading into camp with momentum
Things look much different for quarterback Brock Purdy heading into this year's training camp than they did a year ago, and perhaps that will lead to a step forward in his game.
Last July, Purdy was coming off an offseason of rehab for the torn UCL in his elbow he sustained during the 2022 NFC Championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. This year, Purdy has a full offseason of work behind him as training camp begins, which certainly puts Shanahan at ease compared to last year.
"It's cool. I mean, it's nice," Shanahan said Tuesday. "It's just there's a lot more uncertainty (when he's injured). I felt good about him last year and just talking to him every day and watching his rehab. He looked great, but it's still a scary injury and you're nervous when he comes back. This year, just being able to go through an offseason that just wasn't in the film room -- it was the film room and the football field-- was great."
Purdy's offseason wasn't completely focused on football. He married his girlfriend Jenna Brandt in March and like other 49ers veterans had the opportunity to get some rest in before getting back into the grind at training camp.
"I know he had a good 40 days away," Shanahan said. "Awesome that he got married and I think he's in a great spot in his life. Great spot physically, and I'm just pumped to start tomorrow with him."
The only question mark at quarterback for the 49ers heading into this year's camp will be what happens behind Purdy. Brandon Allen, who was with the 49ers in 2023, will compete with offseason addition Joshua Dobbs for the backup spot behind Purdy in the weeks ahead.
"Yeah, they'll keep splitting those reps to compete for the two-spot," Shanahan said.
Bosa, Kittle share offseason observations
Like Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa will be coming into training camp in a clearer state of mind after missing last year's camp while holding out for a new contract. As usual, Bosa spent time working out this offseason with his brother, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, and is coming to camp ready to go.
"It was a good, good offseason," Bosa said. "Took it slow after a really long year. I think I kind of built it up better than I have in the past, but me and Joey did a really good job, and I think I'm in as good a shape as I'll be in."
Bosa has had the opportunity to play deep into the playoffs in four of his five NFL seasons, which adds to the wear and tear on his body. But he's learned to adjust his approach to the offseason as a result, and it sounds like he's exactly where he wants to be as camp gets underway.
"There's plenty of time in the offseason to take it slow and sometimes I get antsy and want to get after it quicker," Bosa said. "But as I go in my career, I understand that you have to build it up at the right times, especially when you're playing 20-game seasons, just building it up slow and peaking at the right time. And this year was much easier with knowing when I'm going to report. Last year was tough (because) I was kind of in no man's land for a month and a half not really knowing. So it was tough to really set it up the right way, but much more structured this year."
Kittle had a particularly challenging offseason as he had to recover from multiple injuries, including core muscle surgery that contributed to his weight dropping down to 213 pounds. But he's been able to build himself back up and now seems to be heading into camp at full strength.
"After I got back in the gym and I was able to start it back up, I got back up to 230 decently, and then I gained like 10 pounds these last four to six weeks," Kittle said Tuesday. "So, feeling pretty good about it."
Kittle certainly had some fun this offseason as well. In particular, Kittle had a memorable time at teammate Christian McCaffrey's June wedding to model/actress Olivia Culpo in Rhode Island, where he got to experience a taste of Hollywood paparazzi.
"Oh, it was phenomenal. Are you kidding me? Any excuse to get the boys together is a fantastic time for me," Kittle said. "I've never been to Rhode Island. I don't know anyone from Rhode Island except for Olivia and her family. So it was kind of cool to meet other people from Rhode Island. It was kind of wild, too, because she's really famous. And so having the amount of police officers that were around as security and stuff and people from Rhode Island just like standing there on the corners with photographers and paparazzi stuff, that was a wild experience for me.
"But, overall, beautiful wedding. Everyone there was incredible. So much fun. Hopefully they have another one just for fun and invite me again."
Keeping McCaffrey happy
McCaffrey probably didn't get any wedding gifts that were better than what he received from the 49ers early in June when they gave him a $38 million contract extension that keeps him under contract through 2027.
The 49ers felt it was important to get a deal done with McCaffrey after a stellar 2023 performance (1,459 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns; 67 catches, 564 yards, seven receiving touchdowns) that resulted in him winning the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award. The extension also kept McCaffrey as the league's highest-paid running back, which he undoubtedly proved worthy of last season.
"It's a whole challenge that you've got to understand the market and how that works in the league, and you've also got to understand what works for our team and how to build your own team with it," Shanahan said. "And there's two things that you're constantly weighing, and it's not easy to figure out, and there's never an obvious right way or wrong way. You try to figure out the best way, and a lot of stuff goes into that.
"And to be able to get Christian here with what he's done the last couple years and what we plan on him doing for the next few years, we're really excited to get that done and felt great about it."
Better off in L.A.?
There was a little doubt over Joey Bosa's future with the Los Angeles Chargers early in the offseason, which led some to wonder if he might wind up teaming up with Nick in San Francisco. But, instead of moving on from Joey and his sizeable contract, the Chargers came to an agreement on a restructure that keeps him in place for the foreseeable future.
Nick admitted on Tuesday that the thought of Joey being his teammate crossed his mind but that maybe it's for the best that his brother is still with the Chargers.
"I did, yeah," Nick said. "It was fun to think about, but I think he wanted to stick with the team and be a part of hopefully their turning it around. I think they have the people to do it but haven't really had everything come together. So, yeah, I'm excited. He's been there for a long time, so it would be a shame if he left when they turned it around."
The new additions
While Joey Bosa wound up staying in Los Angeles, the 49ers were busy adding new faces to their defensive line over the offseason, including defensive ends Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos along with defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott. Those players will be replacing departures such as defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw as well as defensive ends Chase Young and Randy Gregory.
Bosa was encouraged with how his new teammates were adjusting back in the spring.
"I liked how it was going," Bosa said. "I liked how the edge guys were starting to develop and get used to the scheme. Floyd looks great, which is expected, but yeah, I like all the additions. Really good dudes.
"We had a nice D-Line dinner before we left to get to know each other a little bit and I'm excited."
Bosa also hopes to see defensive end Drake Jackson get back to 100 percent after knee surgery.
"He's doing great," Bosa said of Jackson. "It's tough when you're injured. It's kind of lonely. You don't feel a part of it. Everybody's going out to practice and you're in the weight room and in the training room all day. So it's kind of a tough road and gets lonely. So I'm just trying to support him through it, and hopefully he gets back to himself."
Not a complete reception
Kittle and 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel were among five NFL players to be featured on the acclaimed Netflix show "Receiver" this offseason, but Shanahan and Lynch didn't pay much attention when it was on. Both of them seem to have gotten updates on the show from their kids, however.
"I haven't watched it. My kids have watched it," Lynch said. "I don't have anything against it. I think there's great programming. During those 40 days away, I try to really embrace my family and embrace some of the things we're doing, our kids and all that. So I've shut it off. Maybe I get to it as we're traveling this season, but I have not. I've heard great things about the content."
Shanahan added, "I'm the same. My son has told me everything about it but I haven't personally watched it."
The series featured behind-the-scenes accounts from the 2023 season from Kittle, Samuel, Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, and Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. There was a time when Lynch was on the cutting edge of behind-the-scenes sports television, but these days it's commonplace.
"It's the world we live in, and I think some of those things are exciting," Lynch said. "I think back to, I think I was the first player, me and Jerry Rice in Super Bowl XXXVII, to wear a live mic during the game. And that was such a foreign concept then. It was unheard of. And John Madden talked me into it because he said you'll have this for your kids someday. I was most concerned about my mom hearing my language on the field. Nowadays, I think people are accustomed to it."
Unlike Shanahan and Lynch, Kittle saw how the show turned out. He gave the final product his seal of approval.
"They sent me all my footage before they cut everything together, so I got to watch just my stuff straight through with my wife, and then once they did the full edit, watched the whole thing through," Kittle said. "Then I think my wife's watched it, like, three, four times. So I'm a big fan. I think they did a really good job of portraying all five of us.
"I think it was really fun, too. Just a very intriguing story of me and Deebo's seasons and how you kind of weave that together. And I thought it was kind of fun. You got a lot of 49ers content, so I really enjoyed the whole process."
Super Bowl reflections
The 49ers will soon have the opportunity to get onto the playing field and work towards putting the sour memory of their Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs behind them, but as of Tuesday the subject was still lingering.
Kittle was asked on Tuesday about his vow to return to the Super Bowl after losing to the Chiefs in 2020 and if he feels similar coming off another loss.
"I'd say pretty similar. Losing your second Super Bowl, it's not very fun," Kittle said. "You know, it's a horrible feeling because you have a dream of winning the Super Bowl as a kid, and so that's what you're trying to do is achieve those dreams. And so when you're not able to do that, it's like, ah, well, the only thing to do is to go right back at it because, you know, I'm going to year eight and I'm not like, 'Oh well, the opportunity is completely gone.' I have a completely other shot this entire season. So all I could do is focus on this season, what I could do every single day, make myself better, helping this team along."
The window isn't closed yet for this group of 49ers players, so there's plenty of reason to think Kittle and the rest of the group has a good chance of getting back to the big game.
"The fun thing, too, is we still have a really good team. We were able to keep our entire offense together for the most part," Kittle said. "Our defense still looks pretty good with Bosa and Fred (linebacker Fred Warner) over there, and Mitch Wishnowski is still an amazing punter. We have a really solid team with solid coaches. So what's not to be excited about?"
Bosa also spoke a bit about the Super Bowl on Tuesday, admitting that doubt over whether or not the team will win a Super Bowl can creep in after such a tough loss but that it subsides when the time comes to get back to the grind.
"It does when you lose the games, but I think that passes and then you get to work and you really have no other option but to grind it out again," Bosa said. "I think by the end of the offseason I'm always ready to get back to work."
Bosa said it helps that he heads back to his home state of Florida at the end of each year because it allows him to regroup and get him focused on the upcoming season.
"That's kind of the nice thing about having two halves of your year. I spend half my year in Florida and half my year out here, so by the end of the season, I'm ready to get home, and by the end of my time at home, I'm ready to get to work. So it's a good split."
Comments