No major injuries during this session. Are you happy with how everything went these last three days?
"I don't have any wood to knock on. Yeah. Thrilled. Thrilled. Yeah. Absolutely."
What stood out for you?
"The team aspects of it. The way everybody's working together. The way these guys talk to each other. The way these guys treat each other with the dignity and the respect that everybody deserves. The way they treat everybody around the building. And just where they're going in that and the way they're doing it together. And then, obviously, schematically and fundamentally, I think we've come a long way. We've achieved what we needed to achieve up to this point."
Did you offer any kind of message as you guys now break until training camp?
"I'm not really big into don't do this, don't do that and one hundred things. We've got one rule; do right. Do right. Basically the only thing I have is have fun, be smart and be safe. That's where we've got to go."
What needs to be better? What are some of the things that stood out that you'd like to really focus on once training camp begins?
"Well, I think a continuation of some of the things you saw here with the situational football. We've just got to stay on it. Not that it's bad, but we've got to improve there. We've got to keep improving there. But, in every area, we have to improve in everything. Every area we've just got to keep getting better. Situationally, staying on top of that. That's been the emphasis here. And they're handling it real well right now. It's more of an introduction in three days, but we'll continue in that way and something every day."
You said that one of the aspects that you guys improved on was schematically. How much overhaul or did you have to blend in with the old scheme to the new scheme?
"Again, I'm staying away from, this isn't the old scheme. This is our scheme. This is the 49ers offensive schematic. It was installed. It's the 49ers defensive schematic, special teams schematic, player engagement schematic and we've installed them all and we own it and we're moving forward with it."
With offensive coordinator Geep Chryst's familiarity with QB Colin Kaepernick and a lot of these guys on offense, how has he taken charge of the offense?
"He's done a tremendous job. And again, I'm excited for you to get the opportunity for you to talk to him today. We took our time putting the coaching staff together and we wanted to get the right people and I feel great about that right now. Take full responsibility for it. It's a fantastic staff."
What do you recall of your meetings with DT Darnell Dockett? He recalls fondly you guys meeting at mid-field after every matchup when you guys saw each other twice a year. What were those exchanges like?
"Just simply, there's nothing really sexy about it or anything. It's just, 'Hey man I've got a lot of respect for the way you play on game day.' That was it. Somebody does something good, you read something that's really good, sometimes you get the urge, you want to pick up the phone, give a call and say hey that was great. That's all it was. Just respect the way the guy played on game day."
It meant a lot to him.
"Yeah. And again, I didn't really know him personally or anything like that. That's just all it was."
Would he walk over to you after the game or would you walk over to him? Who would initiate the interaction?
"I don't even remember. I know from my point of view I was looking for the guy to tell him, 'Much respect man.'"
Is he going to be back for training camp?
"Yeah. Well, we're thinking that. But, we're not going to, it's an 11-year guy and we're not going to, now, I'll tell you we're really excited about the guys that are practicing, too."
So, it could be that the only guy that's not ready when training camp begins is WR DeAndre Smelter? Is that accurate?
"I don't have that in front of me. I don't want to mislead you. I do know that he's a guy that we've talked about that wouldn't be ready. Honestly, [Vice President of Communications] Bob [Lange], is there any that come to your mind?"
DB Jimmie Ward?
"No. Jimmie Ward I think right now is scheduled to be ready. But, we're dealing medically."
G/C Daniel Kilgore?
"Kilgore is in a process. We think so. But, yeah again with Kilgore we're just talking about healing. That's what we're talking about."
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers announced today that they are canceling the third and final week of organized team activities (OTAs) and moving up their mandatory minicamp to next week.
The team's mandatory minicamp was initially scheduled to begin on June 13 and run through June 15. It will now begin on June 6, with practices at 10:40 a.m. PT on Tuesday and 10:50 a.m. PT on Wednesday. Both sessions will be open to the media.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and select players are scheduled to speak with reporters on Tuesday, and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and players will field questions from the media on Wednesday.
Initially scheduled to be a three-day minicamp, the 49ers will likely give players the third day off from practice, as they have done in
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead joined NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Thursday to discuss the state of the team at the start of organized team activities (OTAs). Armstead is part of a defensive line that includes NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and added former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The question that had to be asked: Does San Francisco own the best defensive line in football?
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It's premature to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on practices in May. That is especially true when you do so based on one practice. The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week, and all eyes were on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
The two players are battling for that QB2 job behind last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy. One could even start Week 1 if Purdy is not healthy enough to do so himself.
Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury but looks completely healthy now. Darnold is trying to turn his career around after never living up to his high draft status.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic was on hand for Tuesday's practice, the only one open to reporters so far, and one that Barrows describes as a
One of the biggest criticisms about Jimmy Garoppolo has been his availability. The quarterback wins football games but has been available for an entire season just once in his career—in 2019.
Garoppolo's latest injury occurred on December 4 while with the San Francisco 49ers. The veteran left a regular-season game against the Miami Dolphins with a foot injury. It was later revealed that he suffered a broken foot and would miss significant time. However, it wasn't believed to require surgery.
That led to the emergence of Brock Purdy, the seventh-round draft pick that took the NFL by storm. He led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game before suffering an injury himself.
Garoppolo remained on the 49ers' 53-man roster through all that. The 49ers
