Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, August 27th, 2024
49ers rookie Pearsall returns to practice with heavy workload
“However, Pearsall got into the mix a little on his third snap of 11-on-11 action when he blocked 49ers cornerback Darrell Luter on a running play.
Pearsall took part in nearly 20 plays of the 90-minute practice that consisted of more than 60 snaps from scrimmage.
Within the first couple minutes of practice, Pearsall caught a 15-yard pass from quarterback Brock Purdy near the sideline.
It was Pearsall’s only reception of the day. A couple of other passes intended for Pearsall either were off-target or tipped at the line of scrimmage.”
Rookie wideout Cowing offers 49ers ‘explosive’ punt-return option
“Punt return is fun,” Cowing said after Monday’s practice. “I first got introduced to it my junior year of college. Really honed in on it my senior year of college, got really good at fielding the ball. And then also here too, just kind of getting real comfortable seeing the ball off the kicker’s foot and being able to track it, run to my spot, gather my feet a little bit. Then at that point just playing fast, seeing the kind of alley’s they create, hitting it fast and trying to score touchdowns.”
The rookie wide receiver also revealed the importance of recognizing key signs that put him in position to reel off an explosive run back once the ball is in his hands.
“The main thing that I really got taught was, the way the nose of the ball is when it comes off the foot of the punter, it tells you what direction it’s going to go,” Cowing explained. “So once I see the nose of the ball, if it’s going to be pointing up, if it’s pointing down, then I kind of know where that ball is going to end up, so I can sprint to that spot, get set, get comfortable, and after that be able to gather my feet, see the coverage out there, just going out there and trying to make an explosive play.”
“I have changed this prediction multiple times. But I think Jake Tonges has played too well to keep off this roster, and that the 49ers might still believe in Brayden Willis’ upside. Cam Latu? He’s shown me zero reason to stay on the roster. He misses blocks and is a drop threat. Willis misses blocks but has fullback and run-after-catch upside. Tonges, meanwhile, does everything right. He’s not an elite athlete, but he has great hands, and executes his assignments pretty reliably. He deserves a spot after his camp.”
Predicting the 49ers’ roster before Tuesday’s cutdown to 53 players (paywall)
“This is either a grizzled beat writer’s brilliant gut feeling, or the lingering effects of gorging on the poke nachos in the Las Vegas press box Friday night. Mordecai, the cannon-armed undrafted rookie, has made impressive throws in practices and preseason games and has received a healthy number of training-camp snaps for a fourth-stringer. He was championed by QBs coach Brian Griese before the draft and Griese, of course, did the same for Purdy in 2022, when the 49ers surprised by releasing Nate Sudfeld because they were quietly excited about pick No. 262. This is not to suggest Mordecai is Purdy 2.0, but his 49ers pedigree along with his skill set could prompt a team to take a low-risk shot if the 49ers subject him to waivers, preventing them from stashing Mordecai on the practice squad. It’s true that Shanahan has maintained the backup QB competition has been neck-and-neck between Dobbs and Allen. But it doesn’t take a grizzled beat writer to understand that NFL head coaches can be disseminators of fake news.”
Young questions Williams’ holdout timing as 49ers chase championship
“The [Super Bowl] window never closes, and it’s not going to close on us, but it will narrow. It will narrow significantly next year,” Young told KNBR’s “Tolbert & Copes” show. “So if the window’s [as] open as it’s going to be for some time right now, everybody needs to be on board. And that’s why Trent … I think he set the market [with his original contract]. And I think [49ers CEO] Jed [York] and everybody’s willing to do that because it’s the best tackle in the league.
“And now you’re going to come back and say, ‘No, I want to set it again because there’s another $8 million collectively that I can go get, and I’m on my last contract and I’m getting old. It’s like, bro. Do you not see what we’re trying to get done here?”
49ers’ Darrell Luter Jr. could be a bridge to the team’s future at cornerback (paywall)
“I was waiting for them to break the huddle, and I don’t know what caused me to look at the quarterback,” Luter said Monday.
He was expecting to see Peterman again. Instead, amidst the chaos of preseason football — which teams treat more like practice from a planning standpoint — he locked eyes with Bradley.
“And I’m like, ‘Man, I’m really going against my ex-quarterback,’” Luter said. “It was crazy because, during the game, I totally forgot he was the freaking quarterback. It was a great experience.”
Why 49ers released, re-signed Thomas before preseason finale
“Logan wasn’t a guy we wanted to let go of,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday on a conference call with Bay Area reporters.
“He just had his injury and stuff. We had some other roster issues and we told him if we were able to get him back on before this went, as long as he got healthy we would.”
“The 49ers announced they released two players, in veteran running backs Matt Breida and Ke’Shawn Vaughn. They also waived three more, in punter Pressley Harvin, offensive lineman Lewis Kidd, and wide receiver Jontre Kirklin.”
Report: Lamb, Cowboys agree to contract as Aiyuk-49ers saga persists
“The deal, which reportedly includes $100 million guaranteed and a $38 million signing bonus, makes him the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.”