SANTA CLARA -- Guard Laken Tomlinson, whom the 49ers acquired in a trade two weeks ago, will get a long look this week in practice as the team prepares to face the Seattle Seahawks.
Veteran Zane Beadles has struggled at left guard, which might accelerate the 49ers’ urgency to get Tomlinson on the field. The 49ers on Wednesday have their first practice in preparation to face the Seahawks.
“It's pretty simple,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “What it comes down to (is) who we think at the time gives us the best chance to win. If that's the case, that's what we'll go with.”
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Laken was a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 2015. He started 24 of the 32 games in which he appeared over his first two NFL seasons. Current 49ers personnel executive Martin Mayhew, formerly the Lions general manager, was responsible for Tomlinson's selection at No. 28 overall.
Tomlinson is picking up the 49ers’ system quickly, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area, and it is apparent he has played in the NFL and understands what the team requires of its linemen. However, he has never before played in an offensive system similar to what the 49ers deploy.
“You look at O-linemen and schemes, all schemes are different,” Shanahan said. “When you've been in more gap-oriented schemes where you've never really had to run that far. . . He's never used the techniques that we've ever asked him to.
“He's definitely got the ability to and that's why we're excited to have him here and we're just trying to work with him and get him comfortable to do it and put him in an NFL game for the first time in a while.”
San Francisco 49ers
Beadles, 30, an eighth-year pro, started all 16 games for the 49ers last season. He started games at left guard, left tackle and center. But his skills have seemingly not been a good fit for the 49ers’ system. On Sunday, he surrendered a game-turning sack-strip against Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Wes Horton in the first half of a scoreless game.
Shanahan described Beadles’ performance as “up and down.”