49ers Clips
The Saints are trading veteran linebacker Deion Jones to the 49ers in exchange for running back Zamir White, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
The Saints needed running back help with Alvin Kamara out at least a month with an MCL sprain. Devin Neal (hamstring) and Kendre Miller (back) have also missed time in camp with injuries.
The 49ers signed White on Aug. 12 as they dealt with backfield injuries of their own. Christian McCaffrey returned to practice on Sunday.
Jones reunites with 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris after the two were together with the Falcons from 2016-20. Jones was a Pro Bowler in 2017.
Jones spent the past two seasons with the Bucs, and he played all 17 games last season.
Christian McCaffrey returned to practice on Sunday, his first time on the field with his teammates since Aug. 8. The 49ers’ terming his injury as “tightness” raised some eyebrows given he had calf tightness during the 2024 training camp that carried into the season. His absence has some others wondering whether it had anything to do with his contract.
The running back said Sunday the time away was planned as part of his load management.
“This was kind of part of the plan from the jump,” McCaffrey said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “Was to ramp up pretty big, get 9, 10 practices in, kind of come back down, and then ramp back up so we’re fresh for the duration.”
McCaffrey played only four games in 2024 with what was later announced as Achilles tendinitis, and he had a separate injury to his posterior collateral ligament.
The 49ers have been deliberate with his practice schedule since.
McCaffrey, 30, led the league with 413 touches last year.
“I can probably be my worst enemy in how much I just love being out there,” McCaffrey said. “I want to run. I want to go. I want every play. I’m a competitor. I love it.”
He sounds as if he will be ready for Week 1.
“I feel great,” McCaffrey said. “So I feel fresh, and it’s good to be back out there.”
McCaffrey has watched Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor sign extensions this offseason, pushing him to the fifth-highest paid player at his position. He makes an annual average of $19 million a season and is under contract through 2027.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said recently that McCaffrey’s absence was not related to his contract.
There is more positive news on the injury front for the 49ers.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, running back Christian McCaffrey has returned to practice.
McCaffrey has been sidelined by what the team has termed only as “tightness.” McCaffrey had been sidelined since Aug. 10. While his level of participation does not have to be announced because it is not yet the regular season, video from multiple reporters shows McCaffrey is at least going through individual drills.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently told reporters that McCaffrey’s absence was not contract-related.
McCaffrey registered a career-high 413 touches in 17 regular-season games last season, a figure that also led the league. He then had 37 more in the club’s two postseason games.
49ers tight end George Kittle is getting close to a return.
The 49ers announced they have activated Kittle from the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Kittle will play in the 49ers’ Week One game against the Rams in Australia, but it is a strong indication that Kittle is progressing toward being able to play in the opener.
Kittle tore his Achilles tendon in January and has reportedly healed ahead of schedule. He’s not eligible to practice, and if practice goes well we may see Kittle when the season starts.
The 49ers brought tight end Khalil Dinkins back to the roster on Saturday.
Dinkins signed with the team after going undrafted in April, but was waived off of their non-football injury list in July. Defensive lineman Xavier Thomas was waived with an injury designation in a corresponding move.
Dinkins had 37 catches for 399 yards and seven touchdowns in 49 games at Penn State.
George Kittle remains on the physically unable to perform list, but the Niners hope he will be able to go at the start of the regular season. Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell, Brayden Willis, Hayden Rucci, and Josiah Deguara are their other tight ends.
One of the most exciting plays in Thursday night’s preseason action was an 83-yard punt return touchdown from San Francisco’s Jacob Cowing. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was not happy that punter JK Scott let that happen.
Asked what went wrong on the return, Harbaugh made clear that Scott didn’t land the punt where he was supposed to.
“The punt was short and in the middle, and then we got out-flanked,” Harbaugh said.
Scott’s attempt at tackling Cowing was so weak that Harbaugh was asked after the game if Scott had been instructed not to tackle, on the theory that maybe it’s not worth a punter injuring himself in a preseason game. Harbaugh made clear that was not the case.
“No, he’s got to have a plan when he’s in that position to make the tackle. Something we need to work on, coach up,” Harbaugh said.
Scott is the only punter on the Chargers’ roster, so he doesn’t appear to be in a competition to keep his job, but it’s safe to assume Harbaugh is telling him he needs to be better.
49ers wide receiver Jacob Cowing came into training camp without a secure hold on a roster spot, but he made a strong case for one on Thursday night.
Cowing averaged 8.8 yards per punt return as a rookie in 2024, but missed all of last season with a hamstring injury that put him on shaky ground as this summer’s training camp got underway. Cowing wasn’t helped by a hip flexor injury early in camp and he didn’t play in the first preseason game, but got a shot against the Chargers and made the most of it.
Cowing returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of the game. Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t put an end to the punt returner competition after the game, but said he likes “that he’s making it easier” and that Cowing has been healthy enough to show the ability that made him a 2024 fourth-round pick.
“He’s always shown us his talent since he’s been here,” Shanahan said. “He’s been able to string together a couple of healthy weeks, and that was a huge play he had today.”
Nothing is set in stone at this point, but it looks like a better bet that Cowing will be sticking around into September.
Brock Purdy got some playing time against the Chargers on Thursday night.
But the most notable element of his performance was that he got through it without injury.
Purdy played one drive that lasted 12 plays, but it didn’t even get into Los Angeles territory — going from the San Francisco 6-yard line to the 45.
The quarterback completed 4-of-6 passes for 29 yards and also had a 3-yard scramble. He was able to complete a pair of third-down passes, both of which went to rookie De’Zhaun Stribling.
Mac Jones came in to relieve Purdy on San Francisco’s second possession, leading the offense to a scoring drive with Eddy Pineiro’s 48-yard field goal.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was on the field for Thursday night’s preseason game against the 49ers.
But if you blinked, you would’ve missed it.
Herbert’s exhibition debut with Mike McDaniel as his play-caller lasted just three snaps, with the Chargers going three-and-out on their first offensive possession.
Omarion Hampton lost a yard on the first play from scrimmage. Then Herbert completed a 9-yard pass to tight end Charlie Kolar while rolling to his left. But on third-and-2, Herbert’s downfield pass to Ladd McConkey was well off and incomplete.
With the ball at the Los Angeles 43, the club elected to punt.
Trey Lance came in to relieve Herbert at quarterback on the Chargers’ second drive later in the first quarter.
There is another positive update on 49ers tight end George Kittle, who is recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in January.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Kittle visited surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and the result was encouraging. Kittle’s recovery process is considered ahead of schedule, and he now has a legitimate chance to play in the 49ers’ Week 1 matchup against the Rams in Australia.
Kittle is currently on the active/physically unable to perform list, so he hasn’t practiced during training camp. But he said within the last week that he’s confident that he will not remain on it to start the regular season, which would keep him out for at least the first four games.
The 49ers will have to take Kittle off of the PUP list by Aug. 30 to have him available to start the season.
Kittle tore his right Achilles in a Jan. 11 playoff game against the Eagles. He underwent surgery three days later, with ElAttrache, the Rams’ team physician, repairing the tendon.
Kittle made his seventh career Pro Bowl last season despite playing only 11 regular-season games due to hamstring and ankle injuries.
