In spite of all the news surrounding Aldon Smith on Friday, the team did manage to get in a practice. The team is a week away from their preseason opener against the Houston Texans, and these practice sessions will get them that much closer to figuring out some position battles.
We're still waiting for a lot of practice reports to come in, but we've got the 49ers.com report and Grant Cohn's practice report, as well as a variety of tweets. I have embedded the 49ers media Twitter list at the bottom of the page, so keep an eye out there for more links of practice reports.
Fooch's update: New practice reports up for Matt Barrows, Cam Inman
No major injuries
Tank Carradine sat out Friday's practice with an illness, but otherwise nothing of injury note happened. As long as that can continue, I'll be pleased. The 49ers are taking their time working some of their players back. Jimmie Ward and Aaron Lynch are two of the more notable in this regard.
Reggie Bush continues to sit out offensive 11-on-11 work, but it sounds like he got some kick and punt return work in on Friday. Bruce Ellington was seemingly the favorite for this, but with his leg strain, it could become a more wide open competition.
Replacing Aldon Smith
Cam Inman tweeted that Corey Lemonier got the bulk of the work at Aldon Smith's former right outside linebacker position. Ahmad Brooks and Eli Harold got some snaps there as well, but Lemonier held it down for now. Considering Aaron Lynch is still working back into shape from his offseason hamstring injury, it makes sense for Lemonier to get the first team work. He has two years under his belt, while Harold is still figuring out the team's defense. Harold is viewed primarily as a pass rusher. Lemonier did not impress in his second season, but his experience would seem to give him the edge for now.
Shareece Wright seems to be rolling
He had another interception on Friday. This is his second of camp, and all signs point up for the cornerback. Counting stats don't hold a lot of value, but they are intriguing nonetheless. I think we can safely expect to see him in the starting lineup when September gets here.
Vernon Davis seems to be doing some things
The San Francisco 49ers offense will be looking for a return to form from Vernon Davis. By all accounts, he is having a solid training camp, and on Friday, it sounds like he was especially busy. 49ers.com is reporting a nice catch from Dylan Thompson. This tweet sums up many of our feelings about Davis:
Just watched Vernon catch another pass with his hands on the 49ers snapchat feed. I'm holding out for the miracle that this is a thing now
— Kyle Madson (@MadSports8) August 8, 2015
Tweets from https://twitter.com/NinersNation/lists/niners-media