Daniel Kilgore rehab something to track heading into OTAs, minicamp, training camp

The San Francisco 49ers head into their OTAs next week, which will run through June 5, and be followed by mandatory minicamp June 9-11. Most players will be able to participate fully in the events, but it is likely that center Daniel Kilgore will be limited through the rest of the offseason workout program.

Kilgore fractured his fibula last season against the Denver Broncos, and has been steadily rehabbing. Rehab is never easy, and it sounds like he faced a fairly lengthy rehab. In a recent article about some charity work he has done recently (worth the read just for a look at his charity work), there was a line about his rehab:

Kilgore's recovery has been steady, but slow. Still, rushing back in order to impress the new 49er coaching staff isn't an option.

"Recovery is going well, I've still got some time," said Kilgore. "I'm being smart and not rushing back into anything. The biggest thing for me is to feel comfortable at going full speed. I am heeling, there is progress in all the scans we are doing. We still have a lot of off-season left."

We will probably not see Kilgore involved in too much on-field work during the upcoming OTAs and minicamp. The key is getting him healthy for training camp and the regular season. If Kilgore is back to 100 percent, the center position is one of the most intriguing competitions heading into training camp. Both Kilgore and Martin could potentially also play guard, but odds are pretty good that the loser of this competition will serve as a utility offensive lineman.

If Kilgore is at or near 100 percent, it opens the door for an intriguing competition. Both are young guys, with Kilgore having recently signed a modest contract extension. Money and draft status won't dictate the starter, so if both are healthy, it makes for an interesting competition. Kilgore looked solid before he got hurt. Martin might very well have more upside, but he struggled with consistency. Martin has a year under his belt now, so he could very well make a nice little leap in year two.

Whatever the case, I don't expect a whole lot of news connected to Kilgore in the next few weeks, other than a basic injury update. Nonetheless, we'll keep an eye out for more.