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In news that is not remotely surprising, San Francisco 49ers center Daniel Kilgore told Ryan Sakamoto that his leg recovery is going well, and he expects to be ready for training camp. It is good to hear positive news, but I think we can also safely say that few players in his position in OTAs are going to say they will not be ready for training camp.
While that is not something new, Kilgore did provide an interesting tidbit:
#49ers C Daniel Kilgore tells me his recovery is going well. Says he maintained weight at 302-305 to ensure he kept up his size.
— Ryan Sakamoto (@SakamotoRyan) May 29, 2015
The 49ers have an extensive strength and conditioning program, but it is good to hear he has maintained his weight in spite of the injury. The recovery process continues on, but keeping at playing weight removes some later aspects of putting on or losing weight. Again, not a huge deal, but it is definitely a positive.
Prior to Kilgore's injury last fall, he was looking very sharp in replacing Jonathan Goodwin. The team drafted Marcus Martin the previous May, but Kilgore was not going to give up his chance at starting without a fight. Of course, he benefited from Marcus Martin's knee issues. Martin was rehabbing his knee in the offseason from an injury the previous fall, and then suffered a dislocation in the preseason. I think Kilgore was going to win the job even without the preseason injury, but it locked it in.
The 49ers are apparently making some zone adjustments to their offensive line blocking. Martin benefits from doing the implementation in OTAs. Kilgore has more NFL experience, but with this change being made, Martin gets a little extra benefit. I've said before that if both men are healthy in July, this will make for one of the more intriguing training camp battles. Martin is viewed as the superior talent, but Kilgore looked better when he was in the starting lineup. Of course, Kilgore had gotten the first team snaps all offseason, so that could bode well for Martin.