The San Francisco 49ers return to the practice field on Tuesday for the start of a three-day mandatory minicamp. They will have practice Tuesday and Wednesday open to the media, with Kyle Shanahan addressing the media each day. Normally there is a third day of minicamp availability, but the 49ers are having meetings and non-practice stuff.
Minicamp is technically separate from OTAs, but it is part of phase three of the offseason workout program, so rules are fairly similar. That is important to note because it means there are still limitations on what we can learn about the 49ers developing roster.
That being said, there is plenty for the media to keep an eye on when practice gets going Tuesday and Wednesday. Tracy Sandler and Jennifer Chan will be on hand, so there will be plenty for them to watch. Some of the things that will be noteworthy
Injury report
Jeremy Zuttah and Bruce Ellington have been sidelined with injuries. Will we see either of them taking part, or will they remain sidelined? Ahmad Brooks left the field with something last week, but by all accounts, it was minor.
Reuben Foster is the other notable injury to consider, but there is virtually no chance he takes part in anything more than individual drills.
Depth chart
The team is rotating a variety of depth chart options, so we have to take things with a grain of salt. But I am curious to see if we get any changes to the offensive line depth chart. Additionally, Elvis Dumervil will join the team. Does he get bumped up near the top right away, or does he have to “pay his dues” given that it’s his first day with the team.
Speaking of the depth chart...
Solomon Thomas rejoins the team
Stanford wraps up finals on Wednesday, June 14, which would be day two of minicamp. I am not sure if Thomas can join the team that day, if he has to wait until Thursday, or if he can join them earlier if his finals are done (Stanford finals schedule). I hope he is there on Wednesday so we can get word on his depth chart status. If he is starting on the second or third string, it would not be a big story. If he gets bumped up ahead of Tank Carradine with the first string, well, that would be a bit of a story.
Kyle Shanahan press conferences
The 49ers head coach meets with the media twice, once Tuesday before practice and once Wednesday before practice. We’ll get a transcript for each, providing us with content for the next six weeks to break down every little detail and crack his code. He’s been pretty straight-forward, but that won’t stop us from over-analyzing everything he says.
Back-to-back days of open practice
The media has been able to observe three practices during the three weeks of OTAs. They have had one practice to observe each week, so minicamp will mark the first time they get to watch back-to-back practices. I don’t expect life-changing information out of this, but seeing how players and units look on back-to-back days offers a little more than watching work at OTAs once a week.
We’ll certainly have plenty to write about in terms of practice performances, but there’s only so much we can take from them. Instead, we can focus on over-analyzing things that are a little less subjective in nature. Should be fun!