Warner and Aiyuk fight at practice; Garoppolo throws off to the side

After being a nuisance throughout the first week of practice, the 49ers prized free agent signing, Charvarius Ward, had a “maintenance day.” And deservedly so, after intercepting or breaking up a pass during the first five days of training camp.

Mike McGlinchey and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles were also out. Head coach Javon Kinlaw was suited up but took minimal reps during team periods. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the plan was to ease back in both McGlinchey and Kinlaw.

One potential injury to keep an eye on is tight end Jordan Matthews, who was seen leaving the facility on crutches.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was on the side field throwing during practice. A group of fans seemed more interested in how Garoppolo looked instead of the players who will play for the 49ers in 2022.

One fan challenged Garoppolo to a race. They were heckling and doing anything to get Jimmy’s attention, but the race piqued Garoppolo’s interest. He pointedly responded to the fan by saying, “who said that,” with a grin.

Garoppolo was throwing the ball upwards to 50 yards during certain drills. He looked like a quarterback who has been throwing for a while.

Royal rumble

Aiyuk aggressively went after Talanoa Hufanga on one running play to block him. On the next play, Aiyuk caught a pass underneath that led to plenty of contact. Warner and Aiyuk wrestled on the ground before they had to be separated.

Warner didn’t let that go. The next time the starters took the field, Warner unnecessarily laid out wide receiver Marcus Johnson on a crossing route, and that opened the flood gates.

Aiyuk rushed Warner, and the two squared up as if they were ready to go 12 rounds. Jauan Jennings hopped in the mix and was on the bottom of the pile at one point. It was essentially the receivers versus the linebackers for 45 seconds before the coaches finally got things under control.

There was something in the air at Tuesday’s practice. Multiple fights broke out during a span of ten minutes. The two culprits warned us this was coming.

Fred Warner said he has purposely been agitating Brandon Aiyuk throughout camp. That’s Warner’s way of lighting a fire under Aiyuk and bringing the best out of him. Warner wants Aiyuk to take his game to an elite level.

BA took it to another level on Tuesday, all right.

Kyle Shanahan rallied the troops together in the middle of the field, likely giving them a stern dad talk, and the team returned to practice.

It’s training camp. Fights are supposed to happen. It tells you the team has passion that they care. And that they’re willing to stand up for one another. Aiyuk and Warner likely shook hands in the locker room. This isn’t something that leads to holding grudges against one another for the rest of camp.

I imagine this is exactly the outcome Warner was looking for. To stoke a fire in Aiyuk, who has looked the part for the second training camp in a row.