"Unofficial" 49ers depth chart is released: Surprises and Disappointments + Injury Report: Bad news for Deebo
Tons of news throughout the NFL + orange apocalypse!
San Francisco 49ers
Not a very eventful day in 49ers land, but a mixed bag in the injury department today, less than 24 hours before Mahomes faces off against his 2017 draft counterpart in DeShaun Watson to kick off this crazy season. Ben Garland was limited during practice today, giving us hope that he will play on Sunday and help alleviate the concerns over the interior OL - Bosa and Ford also practiced today, and the best/biggest news, Fred Warner was activated and practiced with no limitation, meaning that he will play on Sunday! A near miracle that Warner was able to test negative just in time for the deadline, and he’s officially back. Good - against a mobile QB and explosive RB like Murray and Drake, Warner will be key.
The bad news: Both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel did not practice. Deebo Samuel has not practiced even once this offseason - is it really a good idea to have his first action be Week 1, especially with how easy it is to re-injure yourself? As we get closer and closer, the chances of Samuel playing get lower and lower as he does not practice. Aiyuk has a better shot of playing than Samuel, but from what beat reporters are saying, if both do not play, Dante Pettis and Kendrick Bourne will get the start. Additionally, Jason Verrett did not practice either.
The 49ers also announced their 6 captains for this season: Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Mike McGlinchey, Fred Warner, Arik Armstead, and of course, Richard Sherman. No big surprises, although no Robbie Gould representing special teams is interesting - also no Nick Bosa.
In case you have been living under a rock, California, actually the entire west coast, is burning.
Yeah. It’s bad: bad enough that the sky looks like Mars at the moment all over NorCal, and all the way up to Oregon - due to to the coastal wind and air, the AQI remains OK, hovering around 60: The 49ers have played at nearly 150, so as long as the fires don’t get much worse over the next couple days, Sunday should progress with no issue, especially with no crowd.
Around The NFL:
Ryan Shazier, the former Steelers LB who has been recovering from a paralyzed lower body following a tackle made which resulted in a concussion, has formally retired. A sad ending for a super talented player, but more for a really good person.
In more retirement news, the former All-Pro, Super Bowl champion, and yet another adversary of Michael Crabtree, Aqib Talib, has also formally retired - despite getting an offer from New England.
Jalen Ramsey signed a massive 5 year, $105 million deal with the LA Rams, making him the highest paid DB in NFL history - the record was just broken by Tre’Davious White a little less than 2 days ago. LAR somehow still has cap space.
Dare Ogunbowale, the former Bucs RB and special teams standout is finalizing a contract to sign with the Jaguars.
“Unofficial” 49ers Depth Chart Released
The PR staff at 49ers.com announced their unofficial depth chart today - while the key word shows that it should not be taken directly, this is the closest thing we will get to gameday.
On offense, no big surprises, though Jerick McKinnon being ranked behind Tevin Coleman is interesting to say the least. Although Brunskill is ranked the same as Compton, if training camp was any indication, the 49ers plan to roll with Brunskill, the AAF standout. Bourne and Pettis look to start at outside WR if Aiyuk and Samuel are out, which is weird because Aiyuk is ranked third on here - again, should not be taken at face value, but Aiyuk will likely start when healthy.
Here is where the surprises start - the first big one: Solomon Thomas has unofficially won the starting 3-tech job. Good for him, he had a great camp and showcased some of the ability that got him drafted so high in the first place - quickness, burst, and hand usage. In particular, Thomas, who works out with Aaron Donald in the offseason, has been using the Donald jump-chop move to perfection - he’s legitimately in the best shape of his life and it shows.
Once again, the 49ers refuse to show their hand in the competition between Moseley and Witherspoon, though we know unofficially know that Verrett is no longer in that running, especially with his current injury. Everything else is as expected, good to see Kentavius Street getting run on the inside, at NT too - thought Kinlaw would switch spots with him there.
Richie James, despite not playing all of training camp, has got the job at both PR and KR. Interesting, though I don’t think that will be the case on gameday - my money is on Pettis at PR, at least.
The 49ers are clearly banking on growth - whether it’s from Thomas, Brunskill, McGlinchey, Samuel, Pettis, whoever - there are a lot of bets being taken, especially on young players - it paid off last season, will it pay off this season?
Leave a like and comment to support us if you like the article and our content, or if you have criticism, or simply for discussion. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of an in-depth look into Jimmy Garoppolo, where we look at what his issues were last season, and a in-depth look into the Kittle vs. Kelce argument.
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I honestly think Pettis will do KR and Taylor will do the PR
Well, if Aiyuk plays, it’ll be because the coaching & medical staff believe he won’t aggravate his injury; not holding my breath on Deebo...although, Shanny does like to play things close to the vest...