The San Francisco 49ers kick off their mandatory minicamp Tuesday morning, and there are a couple notable names involved. Chip Kelly told the media that quarterback Colin Kaepernick will take part in individual drills during practice, and rookie offensive guard Joshua Garnett is officially back with the team following completion of his finals at Stanford.
The Kaepernick news is big following reports he would not be fully cleared for minicamp. My guess is he is not fully cleared for team drills, but it is a big step forward for him. Last week he was spotted involved in pre-practice warmups, so this is another step toward his return to full participation. He likely will do individual work all three days, and then get cleared for full work at the start of training camp.
The Garnett news is also big. Stanford's academic calendar indicates finals are still going on, but this would indicate Garnett has wrapped up his finals and is ready to compete. My guess is he starts down the depth chart, and then training camp will provide his chance to move into the starting lineup. Three days of minicamp is certainly not enough to make up for missing two months of work, but it's important to get him any kind of work they can before he has a month and a half where he is not allowed to work with the coaching staff. These next three days will be huge for him.
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