Training camp is here. After 40 days away from the facility, the 49ers are back. That is, everyone but Trent Williams. Williams surprised many by holding out due to a contract dispute that Kyle Shanahan said has been ongoing for months.
I broke down just why Williams is holding out here. In short, he has no guaranteed money remaining, and at age 36, has an immense amount of leverage that will not be there after this season, when the focus shifts to Brock Purdy’s extension.
Isaac Guerendo injures his hamstring
Let’s start with the bad first. Isaac Guerendo suffered a hamstring injury in practice in an odd way. He was not going quite full speed, but stumbled and hit the ground. He got up limping and holding the back of his left leg.
He was evaluated by the 49ers’ training staff, but it was clear he would not be able to carry on. After that period of 11-on-11s concluded, Christian McCaffrey was the first to go over to Guerendo and talk to him, followed by Jordan Mason. Guerendo, who has a history of hamstring injuries in college, and is someone in major need of reps, will miss some sort of time. No timeline will likely be available until Kyle Shanahan speaks again Saturday.
More praise for Dee Winters
What is clear is that the 49ers hope De’Vondre Campbell (now with a “Campbell Sr.” on the back of his jersey) can be their second linebacker behind Fred Warner. If he plays to his potential, that’s an outstanding option. If he’s not himself, as injuries have made the case over the past few years, they may need to look elsewhere.
Either way, they need to identify a third linebacker for base downs. And if you listen to the way the 49ers talk about Dee Winters, he may be the choice.
Fred Warner called Winters the best player in OTAs for the 49ers. Kyle Shanahan echoed some of that sentiment Wednesday.
“He made a huge jump,” Shanahan said. “Always waiting to see the guys to do that in the second year and I thought he really did in OTAs. I think it was nice for him not having Fred and Dre out there. So he gets a lot of reps. And he was ready for those reps. When you go through your rookie year sometimes things click for guys and I think being behind guys like Dre and Fred being able to watch how they work. He's kind of cloned himself after those guys, just the work ethic, being a pro and just so dialed in and locked into everything. He was so ready for OTAs and when you're that ready for OTAs, then you get so much better in OTAs which will allow him to be a lot better here in training camp.”
That praise guarantees nothing, but it would point towards Winters being a near lock for the roster and a strong candidate for the LB3 title at the start of the season.
Malik Mustapha’s pick
One thing that was intriguing about Malik Mustapha, and part of the reason he required so much projection, is that there were limited snaps of him playing so-called center field at Wake Forest. He was not frequently asked to play that single high role.
But on the occasions that Mustapha was asked to do that, he showed outstanding movement ability and range. It’s one thing to flash it. It’s another to prove that ability on the first day of camp.
With Josh Dobbs – who will need to do serious convincing if he wants to win the backup quarterback role – launching a deep ball to Danny Gray down the right sideline, Mustapha triggered immediately. Dobbs’ ball was underthrown, but Mustapha prevented Gray from making a play on the ball. He cut underneath, jumped, and secured an outstanding interception. He ran the ball down to the end zone accompanied by Fred Warner – and Warner alone – who was just as jubilant as the rookie.
“That was awesome because I just watched the route and I thought Danny got the corner, so I thought he was going to win on the go route, and then the middle third safety picked it off with ease. He showed his range there. I’ve got to kind of see what the quarterback did. Hopefully he didn't stare it down, but if he looked him off and he still got there, then it was extremely impressive. But it still showed a lot regardless of what the quarterback did, being able to get there, eat that up because if he didn't, that was a big play.”
Other notes: Deebo vs. Yiadom, glut of options in the secondary
- The most entertaining matchup of the day was Deebo Samuel – who looks in shape and will have a chance to play for his job this season if Brandon Aiyuk is not extended – versus Isaac Yiadom, who should be given a real chance to compete for the second outside corner job. As it stands, Yiadom seems like he’ll be the outside corner on nickel downs with Deommodore Lenoir on the outside in base. Yiadom absolutely locked up Samuel on a go ball down the left sideline, but Samuel won later on a crosser with strong hands to pull away from Yiadom.
- Also impressive was Jauan Jennings, who looked very much worth his two-year extension. There was one play in which he would’ve been crunched over the middle by Mustapha if pads and full contact were allowed. It’s one of those we’ll never knows, but that sort of impact would have been biblical.
- George Odum was impressive alongside Ji’Ayir Brown, the latter of whom is the only certainty at safety. But if Odum and Mustapha look this consistent throughout camp and Talanoa Hufanga returns (especially in a blitz-favorable role), one of the 49ers’ biggest question mark position groups could become a plus group for then. As a reminder, though, this is day one. We shall see.
- Until pads come on, it will be difficult to evaluate the trenches, but there was at least one clear sack from Nick Bosa on the day, and some pressure against the right side of the offensive line. There’s little question Trent Williams’ leverage will grow the longer he remains out.