49ers training camp: No shoulder injury for Jones, Bosa sits, Sherman teaches Garoppolo a lesson
The 49ers got some bad news about defensive tackle D.J. Jones on Saturday, but it could have been significantly worse.
Jones suffered a concussion in Thursday’s practice when he was landed on by an offensive lineman. It appeared his left shoulder was driven into the ground taking the brunt of the collision between two 300-pound men.
But after extensive testing Friday and Saturday, it was determined Jones’ shoulder is fine, though he’ll remain in the concussion protocol. The good news for San Francisco: Jones isn’t expected to miss the Sept. 13 season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
“We were concerned because he landed on it,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He went in and we looked at his shoulder, and ended up being totally fine to where he would have come to practice the next day, but he ended up having a concussion that we found out when we brought him in. So, we’re not exact when it happened, but it was good that we found that out after looking at his shoulder.”
The injury ended Jones strong day on the practice field. The former sixth-round draft choice is entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract and seems poised for a productive year with an expanded role with DeForest Buckner gone to Indianapolis.
Jones wasn’t the only notable absence along the defensive line during Saturday’s practice. Nick Bosa sat out individual and team drills after missing the last portion of Friday’s session.
Shanahan said Bosa is healthy and he was just given a “maintenance day.” Bosa had been having a strong second camp after a high ankle sprain derailed his rookie training camp last summer less than a week in.
Solomon Thomas spoke to the media following the session. He was asked about his role coming into his fourth season (also a contract year) and said he’s looking forward to working more as an interior pass rusher. The third-overall pick in 2017 entered the league with versatility to play on the edge or inside as his calling card.
But three seasons have proved Bosa is a far more effective player on the inside, where he can use his quickness to penetrate against interior linemen rather than trying to beat tackles along the edge. With Jones out, Thomas has been given more practice reps and has earned positive marks for his explosiveness.
“That’s the biggest thing for me being a smaller interior defensive lineman,” Thomas said. “You have to be able to get off (the ball), you have to play well with your hands, you have to play low so that’s what I have to do to make it in there but it’s where I feel natural at, it’s where I made my money in college, so it’s where I feel good.”
Thomas says he’s playing at 280 to 282 pounds after ranging from 260 to 270 last season. The 49ers are hoping Thomas focusing on playing inside can lead to increased production, perhaps leading to a long-term contract to stick around beyond this season despite not living up to his draft status.
“It’s a year for me to just go off and play, just go have fun, go ball out. I’ve got nothing to lose,” Thomas said.
Sherman intercepts Garoppolo again
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was intercepted by All-Pro corner Richard Sherman for the second day in a row. Garoppolo appeared to be looking for George Kittle on deep pass up the right sideline. Sherman, while covering someone else, read Garoppolo’s eyes, made a play on the ball and returned it some 50 yards for a touchdown.
Shanahan was asked how he coaches his quarterbacks through interceptions on the practice field and mentioned how plays Sherman’s interceptions can provide crucial coaching points that might get lost if Garoppolo were to be flawless through training camp.
“Practices are great because you get to experience it from practice and you can coach it the exact same way you would in a game, but it’s a little bit easier because the emotions aren’t there of winning and losing the game and everyone in the world seeing it,” Shanahan said.
Garoppolo has mostly been sharp while practicing without a knee brace the past two days for the first time since his 2018 ACL injury. But as we learned last season, Garoppolo’s work on the practice field, against San Francisco’s elite defensive, might not be indicative of what to expect from other opponents.
Shanahan would argue that going against last year’s top-ranked passing defense, anchored by Sherman on the outside, will benefit his quarterback.
“It’s great to remind him, hey, you’ve got to work on your eyes here. Just because you’re looking here, it doesn’t mean someone else isn’t looking at you and showing up at the end of the play,” said Shanahan. “… If no one reminds you of that, like Sherm, for an entire training camp or throughout the preseason and you get reminded in Week One, you’re like, how the hell did that just happen? It’s, well, no, that’s bound to happen, but one of our players showed you that, so you correct it. It always goes back to iron sharpening iron.”
The Garoppolo and the first-team offense had an extensive red-zone period and scored touchdowns on three of six attempts against the starting defense.
Rookie Brandon Aiyuk was targeted twice and scored once with Sherman in coverage. Safety Jimmie Ward dropped a would-be interception on a pass in the back of the end zone to Aiyuk. Running backs Tevin Coleman and Mostert also scored.
Coleman was back at practice after missing Friday’s session as a precaution because of the poor air quality in Santa Clara. The air quality index on Saturday was worse than Friday, hovering above the 150 mark as fires continue to rage west and east of the team’s facility.
49ers notes
Trent Taylor continues to be a favorite target of quarterbacks and is having a strong camp. Shanahan said he expects the slot receiver to have a big role.
Taylor, of course, missed all of last season because of a Jones fracture and a nasty infection from a botched surgery.
Fellow receiver Kendrick Bourne was asked what the offense was missing with Taylor sidelined. Both players were brought in during the 2017 offseason and Bourne said he learned a lot about playing in the slot from Taylor — and credited Taylor for his success there.
“He’s a third-down guru. He just knows how to get open,” said Bourne. “He’s been making plays all camp. Very proud of that dude, man, what he’s been going through, and he’s just unfazed by it.”
▪ Rookie fifth-round pick Colton McKivitz has seen increased reps in recent days while injuries mount along the interior of the offensive line. The West Virginia alum has been improving in his one-on-ones while working on the inside after playing predominately tackle in college.
“We’re probably going to have to keep him moving around positions because he’s got to be ready for everything,” Shanahan said. “What has been cool about him, you don’t always do that to the rookies and stuff because they can’t always handle it.”
▪ The 49ers have just three healthy tight ends. Ross Dwelley, last year’s secondary option, missed Saturday’s practice with a foot injury. His prognosis is unknown.
That leaves Kittle, sixth-round pick Charlie Woerner and undrafted rookie Chase Harrell as the available tight ends to practice.
Jordan Reed still hasn’t participated in practice since signing with the team at the start of camp. Shanahan reiterated the approach with Reed will be to take things slowly after he missed all of last year with a head injury.
“We look at him each day, we’re conditioning him, trying to get him in football shape, but he’s a guy that we don’t want to just throw in there for the wear and tear with his history. Hopefully he’s getting closer,” Shanahan said.
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 3:58 PM.
