SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Niners said there will be days like this. There will be days like this, the Niners said.
Second-year quarterback and incoming starter Trey Lance had a rough day at training camp in San Francisco Friday morning, but no one here is hitting the panic button just yet.
“There will always be ups and downs. At this point, I’m more worried about how we respond,” Lance told me after practice. “I thought it was a bit sloppy on my part today. But we will continue to improve. It’s only Day 3, so we have a lot of work to do.”
Early in the team’s practice, Lance appeared to throw a pass just behind tight end George Kittle, who was picked off by sophomore safety Talanoa Hufanga. A few plays later, a deep ball intended for Ray-Ray McCloud hung in the clouds, and good coverage by Charvarius Ward helped it fall incomplete.
Later, another intended pass to Kittle fell incomplete when the tight end appeared to slip and fall as the ball was released. Lance was high on a lateral pass to Kittle with cornerback Emmanuel Mosley in coverage. Finally, Lance’s boot-and-stop throw intended for Brandon Ayuk arrived like a wounded duck, flapping so much that Ward couldn’t judge it well enough to get what should have been an interception.
The question today is one that could be repeated throughout camp: How much of that does the Lance need reps on offense versus how much better is the defense?
It’s hard to say at this stage. The defense could easily be the best in the NFL. Nick Bosa can spoil any game at any time. Fred Warner appeared to suffer two TFLs on rushing attempts during team drills. The Niners have a great defensive backfield with backup depth.
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People I talk to here tell me that Lance had a great spring and summer and took better control of the offense and the huddle. Deebo Samuel should be on the field with his new contract soon (more on that below), and the offensive line is going through a bit of musical chairs right now.
If Lance struggles in training camp before the pads come out, no one here is worried. Lance earned the opportunity to drive the car here, and I asked him why he believes the organization has such faith in a young quarterback who will take over as a playoff contender.
“I’m confident in myself, but I guess that’s a question for these guys,” Lance says. “They know I have their back and I know they have my back 100%. So I’m excited to start this year. I will do everything I can to be as prepared as possible Week 1 and even the preseason.. I will be ready to go.
Camp observations
There is a great sense of optimism here that Samuel’s contract extension will be done in the coming days. The prevailing thought was that Samuel would wait for fellow WR DK Metcalf to complete his deal before signing with the Niners. Metcalf’s deal included a record $30 million signing bonus, and now Samuel has a new goal to reach. Samuel and his agent will want a “win” in this deal, whether it’s average annual value topping Tyreek Hill’s $30 million AAV, or a signing bonus that dwarfs Samuel’s, or record cash flow over the first three years of the deal.
Kyle Shanahan likes this roster more than any he’s had in his six years in San Francisco, but there is a glaring weakness on the interior of the offensive line. Alex Mack’s retirement wasn’t a surprise, but the team still needs Jake Brendel or Daniel Brunskill to win the job. Brunskill could also get the right play at guard, and San Fran had to push Jaylen Moore to handle early in camp while Mike McGlinchey returns from a quad injury. The Niners feel good about Aaron Banks at left guard, but he’s still a second-year player.
San Francisco would love to trade Jimmy Garoppolo to a team outside the NFC West and get a draft pick in return. I would like to sleep eight hours straight a night. Everyone is doing and saying the right things here as far as the former franchise QB is concerned, but there is a very real possibility that the Niners simply release Garoppolo before the final roster cuts when his $26.95 million cap hit is locked. Right now, there isn’t a team that would reasonably trade Garoppolo (and his contract), but that could change as quarterback competitions shake out around the league and/or key QBs go down with injuries. Still, people I talk to around the league say if they need Garoppolo, they’d just wait for the Niners to cut him and work out a deal for him. It’s a bit of a gamble, of course, but it makes sense. Shanahan even reiterated Friday that the team will do what’s in the organization’s best interest, and that reasonably means cutting him and getting cap space.
I know I know. The offseason is the “best shape of my life” at the start of every NFL training camp. I had been told I was coming to camp to take care of Javon Kinlaw and how he had improved his body, and when I saw him walk out of the meeting room early Friday morning, the change was evident. Kinlaw seems to have turned some of his softness into pure brawn. He will soon return to practice from a knee injury and will be the key to what DeMeco Ryans defense tries to do this year.
The 49ers have experienced a pretty significant brain drain recently at various coaching positions. They lost former DC Robert Saleh to the Jets and former OC Mike McDaniel to the Dolphins, and Ryans figures to be the next coordinator to land a head coaching job soon. John Lynch has assembled an impressive team in the Gulf, but his group could be next. Former Niners executive Martin Mayhew is now the GM in Washington, and AGM Adam Peters and director of player personnel Ran Carthon have received GM interviews in recent years and should get their shots very soon.
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