The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their sixth day of practice. They have two more days of practice and then their next off day. More importantly, a week from tomorrow, the 49ers will be playing their first preseason game! That's right, football is oh so close. Here are a few quick thoughts from today's practice, with the various beat writer reports linked below.
Reserve cornerbacks have a day
Tramaine Brock and Chris Culliver sat out another day of practice, giving the reserves plenty more opportunities to show their stuff. Perrish Cox, normally competing for the nickel role, has gotten some starting time in the base defense, alongside Chris Cook. Cox apparently had a pair of interceptions on the day. Darryl Morris broke up four passes, and had an overall solid day. Morris is competing with Cox and Jimmie Ward for any kind of opportunity outside of special teams. He has no practice squad eligibility, but given his performance on special teams last year, I don't think that would really have mattered too much.
Defensive line depth gets a chance
Justin Smith and Ray McDonald both say out again. Smith has not practiced in team drills throughout camp as he gets his shoulder back to 100 percent following offseason surgery. McDonald is dealing with a more recent leg issue. Vic Fangio said it was not a huge deal, but better to avoid making it worse.
Their absences open the door for a deep group of reserves. According to the reports, Tank Carradine started at right defensive tackle in place of Smith, while Tony Jerod-Eddie started at left defensive tackle in place of McDonald. It sounds like Tank got some big push against Mike Iupati. Given Iupati's size and strength, that's impressive.
David Reed showing some things
The 49ers are plenty deep at wide receiver, but it's still interesting when someone deeper down the depth chart shows off. Reed had a touchdown today, and according to Matt Barrows, he's put together a nice little string of practices the last few days. Odds are pretty good he will still be primarily a fourth quarter receiver. He does not have practice squad eligibility, so he will be playing hoping to impress another team.
Practice absences
Aldon Smith was in Los Angeles wrapping up his LAX court case. Matt Maiocco has the full rundown of participants at the end of his practice report. Jon Baldwin did not practice, and at this point, he might very well be part of the first round of roster cuts when the 49ers cut down to 75. He has had few looks in practice, and generally has not done much of anything. Marcus Martin and Aaron Lynch continue to sit out the team drills. They are off the NFI and PUP list, but are being slowly worked back. Bruce Ellington is back in team drills, but again, it is a slow process. Demarcus Dobbs was the only other new absent player, with no reason given.
Michael Crabtree had what Matt Barrows described as an abbreviated practice. Barrows said that if it was injury related, it did not appear serious.
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Practice Reports
Chris Biderman
Matt Maiocco
Matt Barrows
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