SANTA CLARA — The 49ers returned to the practice field after a day off, activating running back Jerick McKinnon off the physically able to perform (PUP) list.
McKinnon will not be practicing in team drills for some time and will be worked in gradually as all players have when returning after an injury. His activation, however, allows him to be on the field and near the action, as well as participating in individual drills.
Nick Bosa continued to show his skills as a pass rusher, getting past the offensive line on numerous occasions. The staff is giving him more snaps as he progresses along in training camp and it seems like he is making plays on most of them.
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The team turned in a balanced practice between the offense and defense but showed a little bit of rust after the day off.
There were several dropped passes as well as pre-snap penalties. Those same problems were an issue for the team in 2018 and Coach Kyle Shanahan admits they need to focus on correcting them immediately.
“It’s a huge problem, and we got to always harp on it,” Shanahan said. “It’s very easy to stop motioning to make it easier, but that’s really not what we believe in. We try to do a lot of stuff schematically which puts a lot of pressure on all five eligibles, puts pressure on the quarterback, he’s got to have command over that."
“It’s something that we need to coach better and something our players need to have better command at. Saw too much of it today and luckily it’s not a finished product yet but that’s something we really got to harp on it.”
San Francisco 49ers
Offensive Play of the Day
Ross Dwelley has been making a case to be the back up to George Kittle and Tuesday’s practice was no exception. He got open past the secondary and caught a pass from Jimmy Garoppolo deep down the right side.
Dwelley was eventually caught by Richard Sherman, but not before he got more than 40 yards down the field.
Trent Taylor benefitted from blown coverage by the defense, catching a deep pass from Nick Mullens down the middle of the field that resulted in a touchdown. There is, however, a question that there may have been a coverage sack by the defense on the play.
Defensive Play of the Day
With the defense focusing on turnovers they upped their total for training camp by two. Greg Mabin showed that a play is never over until the whistle is blown, as C.J. Beathard’s pass to Dante Pettis looked to be a completion until Mabin came and snatched it from Pettis’ hands for an interception.
Ahkello Witherspoon notched the second pick of the day on what looked to be a sure completion to Kendrick Bourne, but the ball bounced off Bourne’s hands and Witherspoon was able to catch the rebound.
Injury Report
Joshua Garnett is still being held out of practice after having surgery on his finger that was dislocating repeatedly. He was back on the sidelines watching practice.
DE Dee Ford (knee), DB K’Waun Williams (knee), DL Jamel Garcia-Williams (concussion), RB Jeff Wilson (calf), LB Malcolm Smith (hamstring tightness) remain out.
This 'n' That
Rookie Deebo Samuel continues to have a good camp flashing in one-on-one end zone drills. He was three for three facing Jason Verrett, Greg Mabin and Dontae Johnson.
[RELATED: Dwight Clark's 49ers teammates to attend 'Letters to 87' book launch]
The biggest hits of the day were by rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw leveling fullback Kyle Juszczyk on the right sideline and linebacker Mark Nzeocha tackling running back Matt Breida for a loss.
Next up
The 49ers resume practice at 10:15 am PT on Wednesday when the 49ers will celebrate the legacy of Dwight Clark with sales of the book “Letters to 87.” One hundred percent of royalties from the book go to the Golden Heart Fund. Tickets remain available for each of the 49ers’ remaining three open practices in Santa Clara.