© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
We’re through the 49ers’ first preseason game, and now less than a month away from the season opener. As much as it’s all about Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, there are some other important notes heading into this week, when the 49ers head down to Los Angeles for joint practices and a game with the Chargers.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan provided some updates on Sunday, most crucially about some injuries the 49ers are now dealing with.
Rookie right guard Aaron Banks suffered a shoulder injury and will miss up to three weeks, and at least two. Undrafted rookie receiver Austin Watkins Jr. suffered a fractured foot and will be out six-to-eight weeks.
Shanahan said Watkins sustained the injury during the game and tried to play through it, which showed up on the film. He said he respected the effort, but wished Watkins had told him sooner.
In much more promising news, though, there is a swathe of players expected to return to practice on Monday: Azeez Al-Shaair (knee sprain), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (concussion protocol), Samson Ebukam (leg soreness), MyCole Pruitt (calf) and K’Waun Williams (hip contusion).
The 49ers will, however, be without Elijah Mitchell for the rest of the preseason with an adductor strain. Because the 49ers have to cut the roster down to 85 players on Monday, though, he indicated it’s not likely that they sign another running back. This could be an opportunity for JaMycal Hasty to make the roster; he impressed Shanahan in Saturday’s game, running 10 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, plus a five-yard reception.
Shanahan gave assessments on a few players, especially rookies:
On WR Jauan Jennings:
“I was excited with how Jauan played. I mean, he’s a physical guy who loves to play football and I wanted to see it transfer over to the game and make sure he could still stay under enough control and do his assignments. And if you watched him in the running game, he really got after it trying to bring the maximum effort every play. How he dug out those safeties on blocks, how he’s blocking on the backside, on the corners. And then when he got his opportunities when the ball was thrown to him, he came through. We hit him on that seam and on a couple of screens that he hit hard and got us, I think, two first downs on them. I was happy with Jauan.”
On WR Nsimba Webster:
“Nsimba, he did a hell of a job. I mean, he gave us a spark there at the end to take that lead. And that drive was pretty much him and JaMycal Hasty. He started it off with that kick return, then followed up by a reverse, I was just happy how well he ran the ball. Game didn’t look too big for him. He looked like he enjoyed the physicality of the game and definitely got himself a chance to be in the mix.”
On OT Jaylon Moore:
“He’s been mostly at tackle just because of the injuries we’ve had and that started out with Justin Skule in OTAs. I think we’ve got a number of inside guys, and we’re trying to figure out who can play those outside spots. Mainly because of numbers, we’re getting the chance to focus him there the most. If the opposite had happened and we had a little more depth at tackle we would have tried to get him to focus at guard.
I’ve been pleased with him. He’s shown that he’s got the ability to play in this league. We’ve seen it in practice. I think you can see it in the game. But like any other rookie, he’s got to show that he can do it consistently. I thought he got a good learning experience last night, some good, some bad, and hopefully he’ll keep improving from it.”
On RB Trey Sermon:
“I’d like to see a little bit more from him. I mean, putting the ball on the ground. You know, I’ve got a lot of confidence in Trey, and I think when he watches the game tape he’ll see that he can do a little bit more. And I don’t know if he got as clean of looks as everyone else, but putting that ball on the ground in that situation can’t happen. And I expect him to do a little bit better as we get going forward.”
On DB Talanoa Hufanga:
“It was fun to watch him out there. I mean, another guy who plays with a lot of energy and he’s done a decent job in practice, but I wanted to see how he could carry that to the field. And I knew he’d be amped up and ready to go. And it was kind of neat because feeling him out there and watching him play live, I felt like there was a little more to him, even. A little more energy he played with. And sometimes when that happens, sometimes it can make people bust their assignments and do worse. But I thought it helped him play better and I thought it showed up on defense and special teams.”