With the San Francisco 49ers not participating in joint practices this week, the team is looking to replicate the intensity of those workouts back at home base and against their teammates. That ramp up began on Wednesday in their first padded practice of the week with some previously injured players back in the mix.
"I just think (joint practices) breaks up the monotony of camp, but we can generate that stuff with ourselves," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Sometimes it's nice to go against different schemes, but it all changes once the year starts anyway."
"I feel like we have some of the best intensity practices in all of the NFL," cornerback Charvarius Ward said. "We're going to always push ourselves every day in practices to get better and better."
Linebacker Fred Warner, who was technically on the field for a light practice Monday, enjoyed his first full-go practice after dealing with some foot irritation last week. Wide receiver Danny Gray was also back on the field and no longer in a blue non-contact jersey.
Wednesday's workout featured some highlights from both sides of the ball. The offense enjoyed its most successful team period in red zones drills. Quarterback Brock Purdy's play of the day came on a back shoulder pass to "The People's Tight End" George Kittle in the end zone with safety Ji'Ayir Brown in coverage. Purdy and the offense were able to add two more scores during this portion of practice. One touchdown came on a shot over the middle to running back Cody Schrader and another was on a carry by running back Jordan Mason.
Over the course of several 11-on-11 periods, the defense strung together a number of splash plays. Linebacker De'Vondre Campbell Sr. nearly had an interception near the right sideline after getting a hand on the ball and corners Darrell Luter Jr. and Deommodore Lenoir notched pass breakups in the red zone. On the special teams front, kicker Jake Moody went four-for-four on his field goal attempts, and wideouts Jacob Cowing, Ronnie Bell and Trent Taylor worked in at punt returner.
