The past seven months has been a busy time for San Francisco 49ers offensive guard Joshua Garnett. He injured his knee in training camp, but rather than have him quickly rehab and get back on the field, the 49ers placed him on injured reserve for the entire season. They had him use that time to re-shape his body and better prepare himself for Kyle Shanahan’s more athletic blocking scheme.
We’ve heard plenty about the work he’s done, with John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan praising him. Lynch even said Garnett told the 49ers GM he was feeling sexy.
On Wednesday, Garnett weighed in, and has lost over 25 pounds.
The 325 days may be behind me but ill always be HeavyJG lol pic.twitter.com/N4EpdKiqgl
— Joshua Garnett (@IamJoshG) March 28, 2018
Garnett weighed in at 312 at the 2016 NFL Combine, but given his tweet, it’s clear he was not playing at 312.
Kyle Shanahan suggested on Wednesday that Laken Tomlinson and Jonathan Cooper will be the starting guards heading into the offseason workout program. Shanahan did say Garnett would have the opportunity to compete at both guard positions. He is signed through 2019, with the 49ers holding a fifth-year option in 2020. The team will cut ties if they don’t think he can make the transition to Shanahan’s scheme, but he’ll clearly get a significant opportunity this offseason. Cooper and Tomlinson might have the early lead, but I have to think it is a fairly wide open competition this spring and summer.