The San Francisco 49ers returned to practice on Wednesday following a pair of player days’ off. The 49ers will travel to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and the first day of practice brought all sorts of news.
Jennifer Chan put together a quick recap of some of the news, which you can watch above, or at the NN Facebook page. Jennifer is doing this as part of a new regular video series called the Niners Nation News Minute. It’s a quick update that will provide a recap Sunday night or Monday morning, and then a preview of what’s going down on Thursday morning. We’re keeping these relatively short, but if you have any suggestions for the videos, we’re all ears.
Jimmie Ward, DeForest Buckner are practicing
The 49ers activated Jimmie Ward off the PUP list. He is back at practice in limited fashion. Kyle Shanahan said he hopes Ward will be able to play on Sunday, but he has no expectations on how the next few days will play out.
DeForest Buckner has been out with an ankle injury, and it cost him last week’s preseason game. He returned in limited fashion on Wednesday. His status for Sunday is also unknown. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is meeting with the media on Thursday, so we’ll see if he has anything to offer other than, “you’ll have to check with the training staff.”
49ers sign DT Sen’Derrick Marks
The 49ers added some depth at defensive tackle signing Sen’Derrick Marks to a one-year deal. With Buckner returning to practice, it is not entirely clear what Marks’ role will be through these final two games. He played in Jacksonville the same time Robert Saleh was linebackers coach, so he likely knows the kind of defense Saleh is installing. Kyle Shanahan had this to say about the addition:
“We just wanted more competition inside. I’ve played against Sen’Derrick a number of times over the years. He’s been a good player for a while. We wanted to see where he was at now, along with those other guys. We thought he had the lead in the workout. He’s got 10 days to show us he deserves to be on this 53-man roster.”
As for Marks? He made his plans pretty clear when he told 49ers media, “I wake up and kick ass. That’s what I do.” We’ll see if that’s enough to land a roster spot over the course of two preseason games.
Backup QB competition is undecided
Kyle Shanahan said he has not decided who will be the No. 2 quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Matt Barkley was No. 2 in Week 1, and C.J. Beathard was No. 2 in Week 2. The 49ers have three practices this week to make a decision.