The San Francisco 49ers lost a piece of the offensive line this weekend, with Joshua Garnett suffering a knee injury on Friday. He sat out Saturday’s practice, and afterward, head coach Kyle Shanahan said it looked like there would be, “some stuff in his knee we’re probably going to have to clean up.” He said, “I don’t think it’s anything long-term, but it’s going to be a little bit of time.”
It remains to be seen exactly what that all means, but it would seem likely that Garnett will at the very least miss most if not all of the rest of training camp and the preseason. If that proves to be the case, Zane Beadles is the next man up at guard.
The 49ers brought in veteran Brandon Fusco to compete with Garnett and Beadles. Through a week of training camp, it appeared that Fusco and Garnett were on track to be the starters, with Beadles as the primary backup. Garnett’s injury changes that, and the 49ers will be looking at a pair of veterans at guard.
It could shake up more than just the guard position. Beadles can play all five offensive line positions, and as strictly a backup, it might have cut down on the number of offensive linemen the 49ers keep at final roster cuts. With Garnett out and Beadles back in the starting lineup, the numbers could change.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan offered a few comments on both Fusco and Beadles after Saturday’s practice.
What have you seen from Brandon OL Brandon Fusco since he’s been here?
“He’s done a good job. He came in here, he’s just grinded each day. He doesn’t say much. He goes about his job. He works, and he’s just a very reliable guy. When practice is over, you don’t notice him much, which is, to me, how I want it to be with the O-Line. I’m going to keep my eyes downfield and he’s doing his job. His man’s rarely making the play and you know what you’re getting with him.”
Is he kind of in the same category as G Zane Beadles, both guys who have started in this league?
“Yeah, they’ve both played football. They’re definitely both guys the game’s not too big for. You want to see how they do, and they’re both doing a new scheme and being asked to use some new techniques that they haven’t done before. It’s always neat with veterans who have had success in this league, when they’re willing to do that. They’re okay being uncomfortable, with being uncomfortable. They’ve been a little bit, we’ve gotten them out of their shell a little bit. When you do that it starts off bad, but they’re pretty mentally strong, confident people. They’ve both grinded with what we’ve asked them to do and now you can see it coming around and them getting better each day.”