San Francisco 49ers rookie offensive lineman Carver Willis missed valuable training camp reps due to a concussion. However, he returned to practice on August 10 and has quickly entrenched himself in the competition for the starting left guard job.

Willis is competing with second-year offensive lineman Connor Colby and veteran Robert Jones for the starting spot. He should get another significant opportunity at left guard when the 49ers face the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium tonight, this time protecting franchise quarterback Brock Purdy with the first-team unit.


Willis played 33 offensive snaps last week against the Tennessee Titans, all at left guard, and earned an impressive 84.4 overall offensive grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF). His 90.1 run-blocking grade is encouraging, although his 55.5 pass-blocking grade shows there is still room for improvement. Willis allowed three pressures, including three quarterback hurries, against the Titans.

With the 49ers' starters sitting out, all 44 of Colby's snaps against the Titans came at right guard. He and Jones could see reps at that position against the Chargers with Dominick Puni sidelined due to a concussion.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated that, despite the regular season quickly approaching, the competition for the starting left guard job is far from over.

"It's still a competition," Shanahan said. "No one's really completely made it easy on us yet. I still think we've got a lot more time to go, not a ton, but enough for guys to step up and do it.

"I think Carver, missing that time, has made him a little bit behind the 8-ball on it, but it's good that he's gotten a full week in and hopefully has no setbacks, so we can make that opinion here in about two weeks."


Purdy offered his early impressions of Willis, who has struggled at times, as would be expected from a rookie, but is trying to make the most of his opportunities.

"I think he's done a good job with coming in," Purdy said. "There's a lot within our offensive run scheme and everything. As a young guy to come in and learn that quick, it's a challenge. I think he's been able to handle it pretty well, and I know he's going to keep getting better with more reps.

"But any guy that is in front of me, I'm going to have their back, and I know they're going to give it their all for me. So I'm going to keep believing in them, working with them. I've got a lot of trust in him."

With the 49ers still evaluating their options at left guard, Willis has another opportunity to strengthen his case against the Chargers. If he can build on his strong run-blocking performance against the Titans while improving in pass protection, the rookie could make a strong push for the starting job before the regular season begins.

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