After Wednesday’s practice at Kezar Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers returned to Santa Clara for day 10 of training camp. The biggest news of the day was that Colin Kaepernick did not practice. According to a 49ers spokesperson, it was a planned rest day. He had a rough day at practice yesterday, so it remains to be seen if there’s more to the story. For now, "planned rest day" for Kaepernick.
- Defensive Lineman Arik Armstead, who is having a pretty stellar camp, was back at it Thursday, after sitting out two practices with a shoulder injury from Sunday. Although Armstead was wearing a brace, he had no trouble getting a sack on QB Thad Lewis. He looks like he’s feeling just fine.
- Safety Jaquiski Tartt had a pretty impressive interception on a Blaine Gabbert pass that was intended for wide receiver Quinton Patton. The pass was broken up by safety Eric Reid before Tartt nabbed it. Overall, Gabbert had a decent day that included a long pass to WR Torrey Smith and TD pass to tight end Blake Bell. Bell said after practice that it would be fun to be a quarterback in Chip Kelly’s offense. It’s anybody’s job, but let’s assume he’s staying at tight end, a role he’s very happy with.
- QB Jeff Driskel completed 4 of 9 passes, including two touchdowns - one to WR Dres Anderson and one to WR Bryce Treggs. If you’re only going to complete four passes, two should definitely be touchdowns.
- It was kickoff return by committee as Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington, DeAndrew White, Treggs, and DuJuan Harris all put in work at the position. Someone asked about this on Facebook Live. It’s an important special teams battle.
Tomorrow, the 49ers will host a joint practice with the Houston Texans, who will be without J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. O’Neil spoke with the media before practice, and he is excited for tomorrow.
"I’ve had a lot of conversations with [Houston Texans offensive coordinator] George Godsey ... just to make sure me and him are on the same page with what we’re going to do," said O’Neil. "But, for us defensively, it’s going to be huge just from a player evaluation standpoint ... It’ll be a lot more two-back formations, stuff we need to see to get ready for the season. So, it’ll be a big test for our defense."
O’Neill is also excited about rookie DL Ronald Blair and his ability to do different things on the field.
"Doesn’t matter what group he plays with. He finds a way to make plays. He’s very different than anything else we have in that defensive line room. He’s a good change-up for us. But, I’ve been very impressed with him."
Tomorrow should be a good learning day for the Niners ahead of Sunday’s preseason game. If you have any questions, comment below or tweet me @49ersfangirl.