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The San Francisco 49ers continue moving toward training camp, as they will enter phase three of the offseason program this week. The team has been in football school thus far, and tomorrow they will move into Organized Team Activities, better known as OTAs. This third phase allows the players and coaches to do even more together. They are only in helmets and shorts, but for purposes of implementing the playbook, it is another step forward. Training camp is when things really step up, but for now, it's all about learning and initial implementation.
The 49ers OTAs start on Tuesday and run through Thursday. They will follow that up next week with OTAs May 28-30, and then the following week from June 3-6. That is followed by a mandatory veteran minicamp June 11-13.
What is phase three of the offseason? Here's a run down on what the 49ers can and can't do:
- All coaches are allowed on the field.
- No live contact is allowed
- No one-on-one offense vs. defense drills are permitted (i.e., no offensive linemen vs. defensive linemen pass rush or pass protection drills, no wide receivers vs. defensive backs bump-and-run drills, and no one-on-one special teams drills involving both offense and defense are permitted).
- Special teams drills (e.g., kicking team vs. return team) are permitted, provided no live contact occurs.
- Team offense vs. team defense drills ... are permitted, provided no live contact occurs.
- Teams may require players to wear helmets; no shells are permitted
The OTAs will be partially open to the media this week. There will be player media availability on Tuesday, then player and Coach Harbaugh availability and two hours of practice on Wednesday. The media will have plenty of comments from the players, so we'll see what kind of intel it provides starting Tuesday.