On Wednesday, San Francisco 49ers president Al Guido tweeted out that 22,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday's practice at Levi's Stadium. Tickets remain at the cost of $5 per ticket with proceeds going toward the 49ers Foundation. 49ers Webzone writer and co-host of our "No Huddle" podcast, Zain Naqvi (@zain49ers), will be covering that practice from the field, giving fans updates and observations from the session.
Below are some notes from Wednesday's practice, which was the 49ers' fifth of training camp.
A number of players did not practice on Wednesday. Jaquiski Tartt (rib), Keith Reaser (knee), Eli Harold (head), and J.P. Flynn (knee) all missed practice with injuries. Safety Eric Reid (ankle) and rookie tight end George Kittle (hamstring) took part in individual drills but did not participate in team drill.
During individual drills and with the 49ers already short on defensive backs, undrafted free agent defensive back Zach Franklin was seen hobbling off of the field.
During team drills, second-year defensive lineman DeForest Buckner injured his left leg. He was seen limping off of the practice field and then receiving attention from the 49ers medical staff, who taped up the ankle. Buckner did not return and was an observer for the remainder of practice. Chris Biderman of Niners Wire noted that the injury did not appear to be serious.
DeForest Buckner just injured his left leg.
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) August 2, 2017
"I haven't been told anything yet," 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said following practice regarding the injury.
Following Buckner's injury, Chris Jones filled in at defensive tackle in the 49ers' base defense while rookie Solomon Thomas came in during nickel formations. Linebacker Aaron Lynch also lined up with the ones during nickel packages.
On Friday, safety Jimmie Ward was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he's hoping to get Ward back by the time the 49ers play the Denver Broncos for their preseason game on August 19 at Levi's Stadium. That means Ward is likely to miss the team's August 11 matchup in Kansas City against the Chiefs.
Edge defender Elvis Dumervil was given the day off.
During Wednesday's practice, Joe Fann of 49ers.com discussed the battle for the nickel cornerback spot saying that cornerbacks Will Redmond and K'Waun Williams are the top two candidates to start.
Quinton Dial, who has been working with the second-team defense, has had a relatively quiet training camp. However, Fann noted that a quiet training camp does not necessarily mean a poor one.
"Quentin Dial is an underrated veteran of this group and an underrated locker room presence," Fann said while also noting that the defensive lineman has never been a guy who has "blow you away" but has been consistent throughout his career.
Rookie running back Joe Williams was a popular topic of discussion leading into training camp. The fourth-round draft pick was a player who Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner fought to select.
"I think he's going through some rookie growing pains," Fann said of Williams.
Fann noted that it's a position where that will happen and the rookie running back has a hill to climb with veterans like Carlos Hyde and Tim Hightower in front of him.
Play of camp so far: Carlos Hyde de-cleated rookie Ahkello Witherspoon on a 6-yard TD run. Looked like a train running over a rag doll
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) August 2, 2017
"Tim Hightower has been fantastic so far in camp," Fann added.
Wide receiver Tim Patrick, who was claimed off of waivers from the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, participated in Wednesday's practice.
Below is a video of undrafted free agent wide receiver Victor Bolden posted by Kevin Jones of KNBR.
Undrafted WR Victor Bolden Jr. in a goal line drill pic.twitter.com/xur7C2B7ou
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) August 2, 2017
During team drills, quarterback Brian Hoyer completed six of his nine passes including an interception and a pass defensed by Ahmad Brooks, according to the numbers reported by Ryan Sakamoto of Niner Fans.
CB Dontae Johnson bounced back nicely today. Climbed the ladder on Jeremy Kerley to pick off Hoyer in 11-on-11s. Johnson's best practice yet
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) August 2, 2017
Rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard completed three of his five passes during team drills, according to Sakamoto, who also noted that both of the incompletions were way off target.
You can watch a video of the 49ers' warm-ups and individual drills below.
