49ers training camp: Brandon Aiyuk sighting during practice, other notes

On Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers held their 15th training camp practice. The team is preparing for Sunday's exhibition game against the New Orleans Saints, which will be the 49ers' only home game this preseason.

Here are some highlights from the 10:25 a.m. PT practice at the SAP Performance Facility, compiled from various sources.

Noteworthy non-participants

• WR Brandon Aiyuk (hold-in)
• OL Ben Bartch
• OL Spencer Burford (hand)
• DT Kalia Davis (knee)
• OL Jon Feliciano (knee irritation)
• RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring)
• RB Christian McCaffrey (calf)
• RB Elijah Mitchell (hamstring)
• WR Ricky Pearsall (shoulder)
• RB Patrick Taylor Jr.
• CB Ambry Thomas (forearm)
• TE Brayden Willis (soreness)
• P Mitch Wishnowsky (knee)
• CB Isaac Yiadom (ankle)

Brandon Aiyuk observed the entire practice, marking the first time reporters had seen the receiver in quite some time. More on this below.

Unavailable players

• LB Dre Greenlaw (Achilles)
• S Talanoa Hufanga (knee)
• DE Drake Jackson (knee, season-ending)

• DE Austin Bryant (hamstring)
• OL Pat Elflein (calf)
• WR Terique Owens
• WR Frank Darby (hamstring)

• T Trent Williams (hold out)

Wide receiver Frank Darby sustained a hamstring injury against the Tennessee Titans and was waived/injured on Monday. After clearing waivers, he reverted to the 49ers on Tuesday and was automatically placed on the team's injured reserve list.

Quick notes

Wide receiver Danny Gray shed his blue no-contact jersey and practiced in full. Linebacker Fred Warner, who returned on Monday, saw an increased workload in this session.

"QB Brock Purdy was nearly picked off while throwing on the run to his right for WR Tay Martin," wrote Nick Wagoner of ESPN. "LB DeVondre Campbell was tight in coverage and knocked it away. An incompletion on a throw for RB Jordan Mason was too high but almost a disaster. Purdy nearly got rolled up on in the pocket and DE Nick Bosa found himself on the ground. A brief moment of holding their breath but Purdy and Bosa were fine and finished practice."

Later, in red-zone drills, Purdy connected with tight end Eric Saubert and wide receiver Jauan Jennings. He also hit tight end George Kittle for a touchdown against safety Ji'Ayir Brown and found running back Cody Schrader for another score.

During red-zone drills, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir broke up a pass from Purdy intended for Kittle. Linebacker Curtis Robinson recorded a would-be sack, while Jalen Graham and Dee Winters combined to stop a screen pass.

Jake Hutchinson of Audacy noted that all three backup quarterbacks threw some off-target balls, either intercepted or nearly so.

"Brandon Allen had Deebo Samuel running free and underthrew him a good five yards," Hutchinson reported. "Samuel couldn't locate the ball, and neither could Darrell Luter Jr. until the last second. He dropped what should've been a pretty easy pick. Josh Dobbs wildly underthrew Robbie Chosen while pressured. And Tanner Mordecai threw a terrible ball for a wide open Chris Conley that Jaylen Mahoney picked off easily."

Wagoner added, "Luter has been banged up in this camp but still think Niners would like to see him win a job and become an eventual contributor on defense, even if it's not this season."

Hutchinson commented, "On the whole, Samuel looked great with the ball in his hands, and the linebacker corps looked phenomenal tracking down runners."

In other highlights, cornerback Charvarius Ward broke up a pass intended for Jauan Jennings over the middle, with defensive end Leonard Floyd pressuring Purdy into a high throw. Rookie Renardo Green provided solid coverage to prevent a Purdy-to-Jennings touchdown, forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave recorded a would-be sack.

Kicker Jake Moody connected on all four of his field goal attempts, hitting from 33, 38, 43, and 48 yards.

Reporter details Aiyuk's actions

For those curious about Aiyuk's activities during practice—his first appearance near the field in about two weeks—Matt Barrows of The Athletic humorously shared what might be the most detailed breakdown ever of a player who didn't participate.

RELATED How teammates responded when asked if the 49ers miss Brandon Aiyuk

11:11 a.m.: Brandon Aiyuk, in a red t-shirt & black pants, is spotted watching practice from the sideline. He has a blue water bottle in his hand. He watched from about the same depth behind the action as GM John Lynch, but was not next to GM as he'd been at an early practice.

11:29 a.m.: During a special teams session, Aiyuk strolled over to talk to Deebo Samuel, who had taken a knee at the sideline. Aiyuk did the boredom clap (arms behind back, then forward into clap) for a while. Then he chatted up WR Danny Gray for a while.

11:31 a.m.: Aiyuk has a sideline chat with national scout Josh Williams.

11:33 a.m.: Aiyuk has a quick handshake with Lynch. Actually, it was more than a handshake. It might have been a dap? Hard to say. But they seemed to have a quick, good-natured chat after that.

11:38 a.m.: Aiyuk has some words – again, good-natured – with cornerback Deommodore Lenoir after Lenoir breaks up a pass at the sideline during a red zone drill.

11:43 a.m.: Aiyuk wanders over to a group on the sideline that includes Samuel, George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk. He chats with Kittle for about 40 seconds.

11:45 a.m.: Aiyuk gets a football from an equipment staffer. He throws away his water bottle, which is clearly empty.

11:47 a.m.: Practice ends. Aiyuk walks off the field and throws a couple of passes back and forth to the equipment staffer.

Injury updates

Safety Talanoa Hufanga worked out on a side field as he continues his recovery from the ACL injury he sustained in November 2023. He could be cleared to practice soon.

Next practice

Thursday, August 15 at 10:25 a.m. PT
SAP Performance Facility, Santa Clara, CA

Videos

None of the following videos are from team drills, as the media must stop recording once team drills begin.