SANTA CLARA -- Fred Warner and Raheem Mostert’s intense interactions at practice are what the running back says are necessary in the absence of preseason matchups.
There were several scuffles at 49ers practice on Wednesday, and Warner seemed to be the instigator in most of them. Even without live tackling, Warner’s contact with Mostert was a little heavy and led to some extracurricular shoving and yelling.
On Thursday, Mostert shared that there were no hard feelings between the two and the mood between he and Warner was much lighter after it was all said and done.
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"We laughed about it at the end of practice,” Mostert said. “It’s not that big of a deal with me and Fred. Just a little competition just to get each other right when the season comes. It was fun.”
Robert Saleh explained that he sees Fred Warner’s aggression as healthy competition that will help the team stay prepared. Mostert agrees, especially with the league’s offseason not featuring the standard minicamps and OTAs.
Without any preseason games or joint practices with other teams, players are heading into their Week 1 matchups without any live tackling. Fellow running back Jerick McKinnon shared with Mostert that he was a little nervous returning to the field after two seasons away, especially without preseason games as a transition.
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San Francisco 49ers
Warner’s aggressiveness might be just what McKinnon, Mostert and the rest of the running backs need to prepare them physically and mentally for the team’s opener against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 13th.
“That’s the type of approach that you want when you’re not having a preseason,” Mostert said.
“It’s definitely important to have those intense style practices [where] you can go out there and thud up. We aren’t live tackling but you still get something out of it.”
The 49ers have one final open practice on Friday that will be held on the field inside Levi’s Stadium. The remainder of training camp practices will be closed to the media after team warm-ups have concluded.