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The San Francisco 49ers held their penultimate practice of training camp Tuesday evening, with Wednesday marking the final official "training camp" practice. The team will still practice, but after Friday's preseason game against the Chiefs, practices will no longer be quite so accessible to the media.
Tuesday's practice was run primarily in shells, as opposed to full pads. With limitations on what you can do in shells compared to pads, the pass rush is not really a significant issue. Less physicality is generally going to favor the offense. Strong performances are still valuable, but they need to be considered in the context of the physicality of practice.
Although there was less physicality, that did not stop C.J. Spillman and Michael Thomas from getting into a fracas. Based on the reports, it sounds like they somehow became entangled on a play, and that got one or both of them fired up. They got on the ground and it sounds like Jim Harbaugh jumped right in to break it up. Thomas continued playing, while Spillman was sent to the locker room. The 49ers have managed to avoid too many training camp fights under Jim Harbaugh, and that goes to show the kind of discipline this team has.
Rookie tight end MarQueis Gray and wide receivers Kyle Williams and A.J. Jenkins all solid performances on Tuesday. Gray is converting from playing quarterback and wide receiver at Minnesota. He saw action late in Thursday's game, and with Vance McDonald expected to miss this Friday's game, Gray will have a chance to get some significant snaps behind Vernon Davis and Garrett Celek.
The quarterbacks all put together solid performances again, although the lack of aggressiveness from the defense made for an easier day. BASG has the rundown of completions and attempts.
Eric Reid was once again in the starting lineup next to Donte Whitner. Vic Fangio would not comment on who would get the start on Friday. C.J. Spillman would make sense in terms of the way the team has rotated free safeties, but who knows how the team will play this one. I'm confident that at some point Reid will get first team snaps, but for now it's just a matter of when.
On the injury front, Jewel Hampton and Carlos Rogers both returned from injury. Vance McDonald, Joe Staley and Raymond Ventrone all sat out once again. At this point, I would be surprised if Staley played on Friday against the Chiefs. He's missed several practices now with an undisclosed ailment. Previous reports have indicated it is not believed to be serious, but it's smart to play it safe. Based on last week's game, Adam Snyder could find himself starting at left tackle against the Chiefs.
Practice Reports
49ers.com (pictures)
Bay Area Sports Guy
Cam Inman (via Jimmy Durkin)
Chris Biderman
Christian Gin
Eric Branch
Grant Cohn
Matt Barrows
Matt Maiocco