49ers’ Nick Bosa practices fully for first time since ACL injury
“Bosa’s recovery from the knee injury hasn’t been linear. He was far enough along in his rehab that he didn’t need to start the preseason on the physically unable to perform list and was doing individual drills on the side during the opening days of training camp in July.
But Bosa had a setback that the team originally described as soreness and then later added that he was dealing with knee tendinitis. On Wednesday, Bosa offered a deeper
look into the series of fits and starts he has dealt with in his comeback.
“It was a long road,” Bosa said. “There’s some stuff I dealt with, with that patella tendon, and then I kind of ramped it a little too fast with the football stuff a month ago or whatever it was. And that kind of told me to back off. I’ve just been trying to get it as strong and myself as confident as I can to where I could rip the Band-Aid off and go to team stuff today.”
….The next challenge for Bosa will be to make it through the 16-hour flight the team is set to take to Melbourne on Wednesday night. Bosa said he plans to use the “Game Ready” machine, which is a sleeve for his legs that combines compression and ice at the same time, a few times; ice his knees; use a foam roller; and stretch as well as making sure he gets enough sleep.
From there, Bosa said the next step to returning to play will be participating in the four practices (Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) the team has scheduled in Australia. The NFL will require the Niners to have an official injury report for the first time this season after Monday’s practice.”
Grading the 49ers’ initial 53-man roster: Is this a Super Bowl-caliber team?
“Guess who makes the offensive line better? Mike Evans. The blocking shouldn’t be as congested as it was a season ago with a legitimate WR1 who can win outside of the numbers.
Quantifying offensive linemen on a down-to-down basis is one of the most difficult things to do in football. They could do their jobs to perfection, but if the quarterback doesn’t get rid of the ball in time, or the running back doesn’t go where he’s supposed to, the line gets assigned the blame.
For the longest time, Kyle Shanahan’s offensive lines have been known as the sum being greater than the parts. Despite constant fan blame, I thought the line turned a corner last season. With a better supporting cast, this group will be viewed much more positively this season.
Because no one dominates besides Williams, individual matchups are the one area where the line can be susceptible. I mean something along the lines of Myles Garrett versus Colton McKivitz, or Josh Sweat against Carver Willis — the extreme mismatches. As a unit, there are few busted assignments….At their best, Green and Lenoir look like a high-end CB2. In fairness, that’s been without a semblance of a pass rush. The Niners are hoping that changes this season. You still have to cover on third down, and that was an issue last season, even when the quarterback didn’t have five seconds to throw.
This group’s variance makes them the most unpredictable on the team. We need to see better coverage skills from Upton Stout in Year 2. And if Morris is going to run more man-to-man concepts, the perimeter cornerbacks will need to do a better job of holding their own.”
Kawakami: John Lynch on the 49ers’ goals heading to Australia and beyond (paywall)
“For years there were teams that wouldn’t touch guys that were a little bit older, 24, 25,” Lynch said. “I think by virtue of NIL and all that, that’s the reality of this league now. But I think maybe we’re seeing some of the advantages. They’ve got some pelts on the wall, they’ve been through a variety of situations. They’ve transferred different places — all three of them, on multiple occasions. And that used to mean, like, what’s wrong with this guy? Why is he transferring? Now it’s just part of the landscape that we’re forced to deal with. …
“Something I keep thinking of is that [Stribling, Height, and Enrique Cruz Jr.], they’re all sons of marines. I think you see it in their discipline. You know, we knew that about each of them. We didn’t say, ‘We’re only drafting sons of marines,’ but it’s pretty cool to see the impact of that, because you can tell they’ve taken hard coaching, probably at their home, and they aren’t averse to that. There’s a little more maturity by virtue of their age, by virtue of the circumstances they’ve dealt with, with transferring, and there’s some added value there. I think that has them ready to embrace this moment, and we’ll see how they take advantage of the opportunity.”….“Kyle’s a wonderful person; he’s fun, he’s funny; but he challenges everything. And sometimes will get a little ornery,” Lynch said with a chuckle. “And I think some of that in the last 15 days, you know, some of that [has been] coming out. And challenging things. …
“And then, ultimately, just talk to [his wife] Mandy. Mandy will tell you where he’s at. She said, ‘Alright, he’s good.’ And I believe that.”
49ers star Nick Bosa shares encouraging update about Week 1 status vs. Rams
“I’ve gotten a good amount of cardio work and I feel explosive,” he said. “But once I throw pads on, that’s another aspect of it that I’ll get this week. But I think the wind comes pretty quick for me. Once I get out there, once I get through the first drive, it just gets fun.”
Inside Brock Purdy’s ever-evolving leadership role as 49ers’ star quarterback
“When I first got into the league, it was all about, for me, learning the offense, learning myself, how I can get better and always accepting the coaching,” he said. “I still do that, but now I’m at a point where these young guys and the new guys that come in, I want to get them on track as fast as I can with the standard that we play at, the standard that they need to be playing at for our offense to move as a machine.”
Purdy, 26, showed those leadership qualities on the practice field during training camp. It was not uncommon to see him exhorting his teammates to execute at high levels and not repeat mental mistakes….
“The biggest thing for me is building trust,” Purdy said. “When we’re out on the field and we’re under all that heat and pressure of executing and winning games, what it comes down to is trust.
“Can I trust you? Can you trust me to make the right decisions in the heat of the moment and do it over and over again, over a long stretch of a long season…If there’s a moment where I can call a guy out, it’s because I trust him and I love him and I want him to understand what it means to me, and vice versa,” Purdy said.
“But I think there’s definitely a way to go about it. And at the end of the day, I think my teammates know that. They love it. I love being able to be honest with them, and they know that it comes from an authentic place in my heart.”
49ers stars return to practice on Wednesday before team’s flight to Australia
“Evans and Juszczyk made their returns to the practice field, too. Evans has been dealing with a tight groin, while Juszczyk has been out since Aug. 5 with a fractured finger.”
