Here is what some of the San Francisco 49ers beat writers had to say about today's practice held at Levi's Stadium in from of SBL holders.
Grant Cohn, The Press Democrat:
On the third play of 11-on-11's Colin Kaepernick attempted a short pass to running back Jarryd Hayne. Bowman read Kaepernick's eyes, dove in front of the pass and knocked it away with the tips of his fingers.
Bradley Pinion: Blasted a 65-yard punt so high in the air punt returner Mario Hull had no choice but to call for a fair catch.
Vance McDonald: Caught three passes and dropped none during team drills. McDonald has dropped just one pass during training camp so far this year.
Blake Bell: Falling behind McDonald in the competition to be the No. 2 tight end.
Read all of Grant Cohn's notes
Cam Inman, The Mercury News:
No significant injuries, although there was a scare when safety Antoine Bethea limped off the field after having his right foot stepped on in the end zone.
Only four middle linebackers participated, and one was NaVarro Bowman, who suited up in pads for the first time in over 1 1/2 years. The others were Shayne Skov, Desmond Bishop and Nick Moody.
Moody provided the top defensive highlight, intercepting Colin Kaepernick's possibly telegraphed pass for Torrey Smith over the middle in the end zone.
The offensive line arguably had its best day of camp, devoid of false starts and miscommunication gaffes. Right tackles Erik Pears and Trent Brown each had positive moments.
Several 49ers alumni were in attendance, including Ricky Watters, Greg Clark, Eric Heitmann and Barry Sims.
Matt Maiocco, CSN Bay Area:
Linebacker Nick Moody continued to state his case as a possible regular-season starter alongside NaVorro Bowman with a strong practice on Wednesday night at Levi's Stadium.
After that red-zone period, the 49ers dialed back practice to walk-through speed. The field at Levi's Stadium was particularly torn up, but a 49ers official said it was coach Jim Tomsula's plan all along to convert the final period of team work into walk-through speed.
Running back Mike Davis and safety Antoine Bethea got up slowly after going down in practice. Both players were fine, the team reported.
The 49ers had an Oklahoma-style drill involving a quick pass to a wide receiver, while another wideout blocked a defensive back. Quinton Patton looked good as a blocker, but he met his match when he tried to block safety Eric Reid.
Newly signed wideout Nigel King managed to tie up Reid in the drill.
Read all of Matt Maiocco's notes
Matt Barrows, The Sacramento Bee:
Kaepernick was 7-9 during 11-on-11 and team drills, although one of his misses was a costly one and turned into an interception by inside linebacker Nick Moody.
The divot issue that cropped up during Saturday's and Sunday's training-camp practices at Levi's returned, and rookie running back Mike Daviswent to the ground awkwardly when he cut on a particularly chewed up portion of the field. Davis got up slowly but returned.
The 49ers have a day off on Thursday and are back on Friday.
A day after his busiest practice as a 49er, defensive lineman Darnell Dockett went through individual drills but not team drills.
For the second day, the 49ers used alignments in which they had three safeties in the game at one time.
Read all of Matt Barrows' notes
Eric Branch, The Mercury News:
The 49ers continued to practice at full-speed for about 20 minutes after Davis' fall. They finished the final 30 minutes of practice by conducting an 11-on-11 session and special-teams period at half-speed.
Inside linebacker Philip Wheeler (muscle strain) and Nick Bellore (illness) were not available. Head coach Jim Tomsula has taken pains to guard against injuries and fatigue during training camp and he evidently didn't want to have his remaining inside linebackers take an inordinate amount of snaps.
Read all of Eric Branch's notes
Chris Biderman, Niners Digest:
Michael Wilhoite, who started 16 games last season, remains on the active/non-football injury list and has yet to practice.
At one point, safety Eric Reid was working at a linebacker position in a nickel formation. It's unclear if that will be a new package for the defense, or if Reid was simply standing in to get replacement reps.
After having a brutal day of practice Tuesday, the offensive line bounced back in a big way Wednesday, giving Colin Kaepernick time to make his progressions and proper check downs.
The 49ers were working in base formations, meaning there were no more than two receivers on the field for the majority of the evening session.
Defensive back Jimmie Ward, who has not participated in any full-team drills this offseason, left the field with a member of the training staff before the start of team drills. Ward was not mentioned on the team's injury report given before the end of practice. The team said he may have left the field to do conditioning drills with Dockett back at the practice facility.
