The injury bug made an appearance at San Francisco 49ers training camp on Friday. Chip Kelly opened the day by sharing unfortunate news: Eric Rogers suffered a torn ACL at Thursday's practice and will be out for the year. The injury, coupled with other nagging nicks and bruises, opened the door for more practice reps for the team's young wideouts.
For more on who stepped up and what we saw, we bring you the key observations from Day 5 of camp.
1.A day after Torrey Smith hauled in a deep ball from Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco's No. 1 wideout sat out of practice with a minor injury. DeAndre Smelter joined the first-team offense in his place on the right side of the field. The promising receiver turned in an impressive 35-yard reception on a stop-and-go route thrown by Blaine Gabbert.
2. Anthony Davis and Joshua Garnett continued their depth-chart climb on Friday. The right tackle and right guard worked primarily with the second-team offensive line.
3. In other depth-chart news: Gerald Hodges joined NaVorro Bowman as the first-team inside linebackers. Chris Davis resumed his role as the first slot cornerback. Smelter's spot on the first-team offense saw him working with Quinton Patton on the perimeter and Bruce Ellington in the slot.
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4.** Ronald Blair III continued to flash his play-making ability. The rookie defensive lineman sacked Kaepernick in the opening 11-on-11 period of practice.
5. The very same team period concluded with a Kenneth Acker interception of a Thad Lewis pass intended to Devon Cajuste. Acker later fielded punts with Elington, DeAndrew White and Bryce Treggs as the team's returners during special teams work.
6. Kaepernick led a touchdown drive in a situational 7-on-7 period. The offense trailed 21-16 with 1:06 on the clock and in need of a game-winning score. After a completion to Ellington and two more connections with Patton, the signal-caller finished the drive with a lofted touchdown pass to Garrett Celek on a wheel route in the back left corner of the end zone.
7. Tramaine Brock stopped a red-zone drive with a goal-line interception on a pass intended for Smelter. The veteran defensive back was not fooled by the very same stop-and-go route that Smelter caught earlier in the day. Aaron Lynch later added a third-down sack to end a scoring drive. The offense got into the end zone with a 3rd-and-goal touchdown plunge by Pierre Garçon from two yards out.
8. The final team period of the day also featured situational work. The offense had to drive into field goal range with :51 seconds left on the clock. Ahmad Brooks ended the opening drive with a fourth-down sack. The next series, however, saw Phil Dawson connect on a 50-yard field goal to tie the game. Blaine Gabbert's deep ball to DeAndrew White kept the drive alive and helped put the offense in position to score. Eli Harold recorded a sack on the very same drive and rookie cornerback Will Redmond broke up a pass. The Lewis-led third-team offense set up a 55-yard Dawson field goal to end the practice. Lewis' 20-yard pass to Cajuste picked up the necessary yards to end the day on a positive note.
Meanwhile in the trenches, Arik Armstread continued to display his improved strength and confidence
