The San Francisco 49ers are at the end of their offseason programming, capping off their springtime schedule with a two-day mandatory veteran minicamp. The entirety of the roster was in Santa Clara for the last couple practices of the offseason, and the next time you'll see the team all together is in late July for training camp.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and several veterans including All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, AP Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, tight end George Kittle, defensive back Deommodore Lenoir, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and defensive lineman Javon Hargrave all addressed the media before leaving for their break.
Here are six takeaways from veteran minicamp:
Quarterback Brock Purdy is continuing to make progress through his recovery program and is now throwing three times a week.
The second-year pro was cleared to begin a throwing program last week during the team's second week of OTA practices, and to date, he has not suffered any setbacks since his UCL repair surgery in early March. Shanahan did not offer many details on Purdy other than reiterating he is "right on pace" with his projected recovery timeline.
"I see him in the meetings, talk to him about football," Shanahan said. "We're just waiting for him to get healthy."
Quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Trey Lance are currently splitting first team reps, and for Shanahan, the true competition doesn't begin until later in the summer.
As stated earlier during open OTA practices, the head coach is having both of his potential starting quarterbacks split reps with the first team for the time being. Darnold took the first snaps on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, it was Lance up first for each of the quarterback and team drills at practice.
The head coach revealed that training camp is where the real competition (at every position) truly begins. All of the workouts and practices during the offseason are in preparation for the grind that begins in just a few short weeks.
"It's very hard to come to training camp and be ready to beat someone out, and that's why you try to provide all this stuff to give guys a chance to learn the offense," Shanahan said. "Now when they go to training camp, they're ready to compete, and that's truly where I see the competition starting."
Bosa was back in The Bay but not out on the field for veteran minicamp. After earning AP Defensive Player of the Year honors, the defensive lineman isn't making any huge changes to his offseason routine.
"Most of the offseason is just preparing myself for a long year and making sure that my body is going to be able to take on a load of 21 games," Bosa said.
Per the defensive lineman, a lot of that preparation involves learning to swap out or scale back some workouts to allow his body to heal from the 2022 campaign. Additionally, he's looking to improve his speed and strength, but that's a typical focus of Bosa's offseason work.
"I don't take days off very often, and that's probably been the biggest change is knowing when to take the days off," Bosa added.
Samuel, who is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he amassed 42 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and another 56 catches for 632 yards and two scores through the air, evaluated his season performance.
"The main focus this year is to get back to the summer and what I did in 2021," Samuel said. "Not even the season, just the summer and the groove of things and getting back in the routine."
While Samuel's numbers and playmaking abilities played an important role in fueling the team to a second-straight NFC Championship Game appearance, the star wideout wants to get back to and go beyond his stats from his career-best season (2021). Two years ago, Samuel closed out the regular season as the 49ers top receiver, recording 1,400-plus receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns. The starting point for that breakout year for Samuel started with a solid few months of training in the offseason.
"I'm competing with myself," Samuel said.
Hargrave is feeling at home with the 49ers after being welcomed in by his new teammates.
Relationships with his new team are still being formed, but the consensus is that the defensive line is incredibly excited to work with Hargrave. The last time the 49ers faced the defensive tackle out on the field, he was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, so it was a nice change of pace to see him sporting a red and white jersey for the first time this week.
One player that's taken the time to ensure that Hargrave is receiving a proper introduction to the organization is Bosa. He, along with the rest of the defensive line, wanted to fill their new teammate in on what to expect from the coaching staff, training camp and more.
"(Bosa) is just really humble," Hargrave said. "Being Defensive Player of the Year, coming to talk to me, welcoming me in, trying to help me catch up on things, it's kind of like a family."
Williams is looking forward to Colton McKivitz taking over at starting right tackle.
"It's well deserved. It's been a long time coming," Williams said. "I remember having conversations with him when he didn't make the roster and he had to go to the practice squad for a couple weeks and how bummed out he was. He was playing great, but it's a numbers game more than anything.
"To see him continue to grind, not to be discouraged, continue to let his talents show, play with confidence -- he earned it."
Williams echoed the sentiments of both Shanahan and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster in his endorsement of McKivitz as the team's starting right tackle. McKivitz has filled in for Williams during critical times in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons and with the departure of Mike McGlinchey, is set to take on a primary role on the offensive line in the upcoming season.
