It sounds like things are progressing well for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in his recovery from a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. The team plans to remove the restriction of two consecutive practices for the second-year player and incumbent starter.
"Yeah, that's off," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters via a conference call on Monday afternoon. "So he'll get to go the three practices in a row this week."
The 49ers will hold practices on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in preparation for their second preseason game, a Saturday home matchup against the Denver Broncos.
Below are some other notes from the conversation with Shanahan.
Evaluating Trey Lance
Trey Lance finished Sunday's preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders 10-of-15 for 112 passing yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 111.0. Yet, the third-year quarterback was the game's lowest-graded offensive player, according to Pro Football Focus.
What did Lance's coach take away from his play at Allegiant Stadium?
"I thought he played a lot better as it ended," Shanahan said. "He came out, the first play was tough. The corner just keyed his three-step drop and sat on it. He did the right thing. He reset to go to the tight end over the ball, but one of our eligibles busted on the play and put two guys in the same spot. So, he had to protect the ball and take a sack there.
"Another sack on the 3rd-and-8 wasn't his fault. We kind of had a jailbreak on it. But the two ones after that, I thought he could have got rid of it a little before the sack. And a couple of things: He just hesitated on a hair early in the game, but as it went, I think he made a huge third down on the 3rd-and-8—I think it was to [WR Chris] Conley. [He] made a very decisive one in two minute that got us down there to [TE] Troy [Fumagalli] and ended up doing some good things.
"I wish we would have converted that short yardage and kept him out there a little bit longer, but that's some of the frustrating things about preseason."
Lance got lucky on his touchdown pass. It should have been a Raiders interception, but the ball bounced off the defender's hands and landed in tight end Ross Dwelley's for the score.
"I kind of like seeing him trying to make that play regardless of the result," Shanahan said. "And obviously, we got a little bit lucky. It ended up being a good result. And I wouldn't have been happy if it was a pick, but I can understand what he saw rolling out to the left.
"Usually, when a middle third player cuts a route, someone's vacated in the middle third, and that corner was hesitant to get there. And so Trey didn't see him, and he let it rip. Those are things I want to see more of him. Not picks and bad decisions, but just playing a little bit faster, a little bit more aggressive."
Isaiah Oliver not guaranteed a starting job
It's been assumed that Isaiah Oliver was brought in to take over the starting nickel cornerback job vacated by Jimmie Ward, who is now with the Houston Texans. Oliver finished Sunday's game with the worst coverage grade of the contest, an abysmal 29.4 from Pro Football Focus. He was targeted four times, giving up four receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Oliver seemed to be the lone 49ers starter playing on Sunday. One curious reporter asked the coach why he played in the preseason contest.
"Because he isn't a guaranteed starter," Shanahan responded. "I mean, he's been doing that spot a lot, but there's a lot of competition there. And we sat down our outside corners, but we didn't want to sit down any nickels and needed some guys to play because there's a lot of things we're still deciding."
How does Shanahan feel the cornerback played?
"Kind of like everybody—some good, some bad," the coach said. "There's a couple of things where he stood out that weren't always his fault. I think he needs a little bit more help on the goal line. The touchdown they gave up, with our corner playing with vision, and understanding he's got to come off on that for our quarters-type coverage there. But it was a good first game for him, and hopefully, he'll keep getting better for us."
