The San Francisco 49ers are conducting their first joint practice with the Denver Broncos, and as Jim Tomsula has suggested, we are continuing to see new roster combinations. On Wednesday, Dontae Johnson was the latest cornerback to get first team reps opposite Tramaine Brock.
The cornerback position remains at least publicly unsettled opposite Brock. It has become pretty clear Brock is the No. 1 cornerback, but the team has been pairing him with several corners. Shareece Wright got the bulk of the work the first two weeks and the first game, with Johnson coming in for the nickel defense. Last week, Keith Reaser got the first team work, with Kenneth Acker coming on in the nickel. That carried into the second preseason game. This week, Kenneth Acker got some first team reps on Tuesday, and now Johnson is getting some reps.
The 49ers still have one more practice with the Broncos, and then Saturday's game. If Johnson gets first team reps on Thursday, my guess is he gets the first team reps on Saturday. What that means for Week 1 of the 2015 regular season remains to be seen. The 49ers really do seem to have opened up this competition pretty significantly.