The San Francisco 49ers have wrapped up their offseason program with mandatory minicamp in the books. Kyle Shanahan met with the media following practices on Tuesday and Wednesday and gave updates on the team before breaking for the summer. Shanahan, as has become customary, cancelled Thursday's practice in favor of a barbecue for players, coaches and their families. Here are six player updates from the 49ers head coach.
1. Competition at QB
Over the last two seasons, the 49ers have seen glimpses of both C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens excel in game situations. The quarterbacks split full-team reps during the offseason program with Jimmy Garoppolo still not cleared for 11-on-11 work. The competition to be San Francisco's No. 2 QB will ramp up throughout training camp next month.
"I know both of them so well because we've been here two years with them and we've gotten a chance now to see both of them in practice and both of them in games. So I don't think it really starts until you get to training camp," Shanahan said. "They've both been doing a real good job, both playing at a high level, so that's been exciting.
"But to sit there and really stress over, from a coaching standpoint, trying to make the decision, we're not there yet because a lot could change. These guys have both proven that they can play in this league and we're going to have to make a tough decision at the end of preseason to which one we want to give that number two job to."
2. McGlinchey-less Minicamp
Mike McGlinchey sat out of San Francisco's three-day minicamp while recovering from a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment on his knee. The recovery timeline for PRP injections is around a month. The 49ers timed the treatment in order to get the tackle back by Day 1 of camp.
3. "Jet" Preparing for Takeoff
San Francisco is remaining cautious with Jerick McKinnon's return. McKinnon sat out the entire offseason program in order to prevent any setbacks, and every indication is that the running back is right on track in his rehab. Shanahan feels confident McKinnon will be good to go by the start of camp.
"If Jerick was a quarterback, he could go out there and do stuff on air," Shanahan said. "He looks good on air but when you throw a guy in and it's not a planned route or something like that, and someone runs at him or dives at his legs, he's just going to react and do something. That's where you want to give it one more month, the time that it needs. We're real excited about him. It's a different position.
"I'm hoping that he's going to be full go Day 1, just like Jimmy. Then we'll decide how we want to treat them with reps and stuff like that because you've got to be smart with guys coming off an ACL, just like Kwon (Alexander). But we're hoping that they all are ready Day 1 and I think they have a very good chance to be."
4. Setback for Celek
Garrett Celek missed OTAs and minicamp as he's still in the concussion protocol. In addition, San Francisco's tight end will miss two months while recovering from a recent back surgery.
"He can't get tested to get out of (concussion protocol) yet. He can't until we put pads on and stuff like that since he missed his last protocol test," Shanahan said. "We can't do that until training camp. However, that's irrelevant right now because he had his back surgery and he's going to be out for some time with that. We'll see how it goes, I don't know, but I'm more worried about him coming back from the back. That's going to be a little longer."
Celek has appeared in 86 games (30 starts) over his seven-year career with the 49ers. He's expected to compete with Ross Dwelley and sixth-round pick Kaden Smith for the No. 2 tight end spot behind George Kittle.
5. Bosa Continues to Impress
San Francisco has been without its No. 2 overall pick for a few weeks due to a strained hamstring. Despite the missing on-field reps, the 49ers are pleased with Nick Bosa's efforts from a mental standpoint.
"For not being out there very much, I've been very impressed," Shanahan said. "He's been one of the guys, he's not too loud, doesn't try to stand out, but also doesn't sit there and hide in the corner. He's one of the guys. I think he's fit in very well and I think he's very attentive in his meetings. I think he enjoys football. He's not a guy who's falling asleep in the meetings just because he can't practice that day. He enjoys watching it and watching other people and learning from other people. He's handled himself great so far."
The 49ers expect Bosa to return for the start of training camp in late July. They have shown no concerns in the first-round pick getting back up to speed.
6. The Wait for Robbie
Robbie Gould has yet to sign his franchise tender placed earlier this offseason and as a result was not a participant in the team's mandatory minicamp this week. The 14-year veteran could miss all of training camp, however, the 49ers are hopeful Gould will arrive ahead of their Week 1 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Obviously, I'd much rather Robbie be here and doing everything," Shanahan said. "We love having him around. But, I understand how he feels and what's going on. If that's the way he would like to do it, no problem with that at all. We'd always rather it be perfect the way we want it, but if he doesn't want to show up until Week 1, it is what it is. I'll take a very good kicker at any time, whether it's Week 1 or third down just one play before we're about to have to kick. Robbie's a hell of a kicker and nothing's really changed on that. I just really hope he shows up by the time we play Week 1."
Jonathan Brown is the only other kicker on the 49ers roster. Brown was signed earlier this offseason after spending the last three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, however has yet to appear in a regular season contest.
Odds and Ends...
- Receiver Deebo Samuel missed minicamp due to a tweaked hip. He is also expected to be ready by camp.
- George Kittle began experiencing tightness in his hip on Tuesday, causing the team to pull him from the remainder of minicamp as a precautionary measure.
