San Francisco 49ers players scattered across the country — for some, across the globe — during their six weeks off between the final minicamp in June and the start of training camp. Third-year wide receiver Trent Taylor stayed put in the Bay Area.
It was a decision that left teammate George Kittle feeling a little hurt. The 49ers' Pro Bowl tight end had hoped Taylor would join him in Nashville, Tennessee to work with quarterback C.J. Beathard. Taylor's parents live in the area, so getting together seemed like a no-brainer.
"His argument is they have a hot tub here (in Santa Clara), and they don't in Nashville," Kittle said last week.
Wait, there are zero hot tubs in Nashville?
"Not at our training facility," Kittle clarified. "He's pretty high maintenance, I guess."
Kittle wasn't lying about Taylor's desire to want to stay near the hot tub. Although, the receiver told reporters on Tuesday that there was little more to the story. Him staying behind had more to do with his recovery from the back injury that limited him last season. Taylor wanted to stay near the team facility to take advantage of the resources there.
"George was a little offended that I didn't go hang out with him in Nashville, but I had a lot of work to do," Taylor said. "It's a business, so friendship can wait until later."
Friendship can wait till later?!? Wowwwwww @Trent5Taylor
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) July 30, 2019
And the hot tub issue?
"That had a little bit to do with it," Taylor responded while laughing. "Just having the hot-and-cold tub here, that was a big deal, and he didn't have that in Nashville. And just being able to have our whole training staff here to get treatment every day, and our strength staff, I just thought it was a big deal for me to just stay here."
Taylor exceeded fan expectations as a rookie in 2017. Things weren't the same in Year 2 after he underwent a procedure to shave down bone spurs in his lower back. Taylor missed all of OTAs and the team's mandatory minicamp last year.
He's been available this offseason, and head coach Kyle Shanahan said that is significant.
"He had an offseason, and we were real excited about Trent the first year," Shanahan said on Monday. "And he battled all the second year, and just never got back to where it worries you, but we knew what he was. It was really nice when he came back from his time away, his four months away, that we saw it right away. He kept that going throughout OTAs, staying healthy, and 40 days later, he came back even better. We're excited about Trent."
Taylor found 2018 to be extremely frustrating and a major struggle. Being limited by an injury was new to him.
"I never went through a huge injury like that, ever before in my life," Taylor said. "I've never missed a game all growing up. Just to struggle like that and not be moving the way I know I can move was really tough. I kept that in the back of my head all throughout the offseason. I put in all the work I possibly could, and we'll see what happens when the season gets here."
Taylor does see the injury as a learning experience. He feels that dealing with the adversity was good for him. To his credit, the receiver has looked impressive this offseason, including early on in training camp.
"I think that offseason, being healthy, was huge for him," linebacker Fred Warner said on Tuesday. "He looks great. We joke about how he got a speed coach in the offseason. I don't know if he did or not but he's gotten a lot faster.
"He's a twitchy guy. He's been making plays, so it's really good to see out of him, carrying that over from OTAs, because I remember when I was watching OTAs, and he, I think by far, was one of the biggest standouts."
Taylor is working on rebuilding the budding chemistry he had with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the end of 2017.
"We've got a long ways to go," Taylor said. "2017, hopefully, that was just kind of the starting point of what we're going to continue to build off of. We both know we have a long ways to go between us, and between him and the rest of the receivers after his injury, and my injury. It's definitely something that we're really focusing on, and trying to get the most out of it."
