{"id":5302,"date":"2026-07-24T11:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5302"},"modified":"2026-07-24T11:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:38:17","slug":"five-areas-to-watch-at-49ers-training-camp-over-next-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5302","title":{"rendered":"Five areas to watch at 49ers training camp over next month"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SANTA CLARA \u2013 Time to clock in at the \u201cpower plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what 49ers outcast Brandon Aiyuk, amid his recent social-media rants, mockingly called the practice facility that neighbors an almighty electrical substation.<\/p>\n

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Those two storylines \u2013 Aiyuk\u2019s bizarre estrangement since last September, and a conspiracy theory about players\u2019 injuries linked to an electromagnetic field \u2013 should fizzle out as a new season arrives.<\/p>\n

Training camp opens Saturday with all players due to report.<\/p>\n

Aiyuk\u2019s status remains an exhausting saga until he\u2019s officially off the 49ers\u2019 roster and seeks NFL reinstatement from the reserve\/left squad list. Plus, he has an outstanding arrest warrant for a Santa Clara traffic infraction last December. As for the electrical-substation theory, it is a \u201cnothingburger,\u201d as general manager John Lynch explained in March after a team-issued study.<\/p>\n

These 49ers have no time for those old distractions. They must get their bodies, minds, passports, and sleep patterns ready for the NFL\u2019s first regular-season game in Australia, that being a Sept. 10 (5:35 p.m. PT) opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Here are five aspects worth scrutinizing at camp, with practices starting on Sunday and the first padded session due a few days later:<\/p>\n

1. HEALTH CHECK<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Six months since last season ended in 41-6 fashion with a skeleton squad in Seattle, the 49ers must monitor the comebacks and workloads of so many players.<\/p>\n

The list includes tight end George Kittle (Achilles); defensive linemen Nick Bosa (ACL), Mykel Williams (ACL), Keion White (ankle) and Alfred Collins (shoulder); linebackers Fred Warner (ankle), Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps), and Tatum Bethune (ankle); quarterback Mac Jones (shoulder); wide receivers Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Jacob Cowing (hamstring); and, running backs Patrick Taylor Jr. (shoulder) and Isaac Guerendo (pectoral).<\/p>\n

Anyone backing up those players should get ample opportunities to shine throughout camp.<\/p>\n

Odds are there are more previously unreported health issues, and inevitably camp will deliver another wave of them. Ideally, the 49ers will have enough healthy bodies to participate in ever-meaningful joint practices, against the Tennessee Titans and the Los Angeles Chargers; the 49ers\u2019 injury-fueled attrition nixed 2024 joint practices with the Saints.<\/p>\n

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2. EVANS\u2019 PRESENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike Evans arrives as a 13,000-yard receiver who can use every practice (or cameo) to develop chemistry with Purdy, presuming Evans\u2019 health (hamstring) cooperates.<\/p>\n

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No, they don\u2019t need 1,000 jump-ball drills in the red zone, but the 49ers\u2019 offense will look different with Evans\u2019 ability to get open, make plays and draw defenders at the benefit of other receivers and space-seeking running backs.<\/p>\n

Speaking of fellow targets, the 49ers know what they have in Evans but not with many others, because injuries robbed Pearsall, Cowing and Jordan Watkins from contributing last season. One of those guys may have to double as a sure-handed return specialist.<\/p>\n

3. MORRIS\u2019 MOVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 49ers\u2019 revolving defensive front needs to streamline its communication so everyone is on the same page Week 1. Morris won\u2019t have the same, stale approach as past 49ers\u2019 pass rushes, meaning pressure must come from beyond the Wide-9 defensive ends. In the back end, let\u2019s see how defensive backs fare in more man-to-man looks throughout camp, even in one-on-one drills.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s especially curious is how he\u2019ll integrate lengthy rookies Romello Height, Jaden Dugger and Larry Worth III. Morris may not give away his full intentions but seeing how those newcomers both rush the passer and drop into coverage will impact the 49ers\u2019 strategies.<\/p>\n

With so many defensive linemen coming off injury, it would be surprising if the 49ers didn\u2019t add a veteran to compete in camp. The only question would be how prominent and expensive (and available) one might be.<\/p>\n

4. TRUSTED BACKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey is famously coming off an NFL-high 413 touches and near 1,000\/1,000 rushing\/receiving season. In an effort to curtail that heavy lifting, the 49ers need to figure out if rookie Kaelon Black can overtake Jordan James as McCaffrey\u2019s probable backup. Running backs earn trust not just through their burst past thudding defenders in no-tackle practices, but especially through their pass-protection ability and receiver capabilities.<\/p>\n

Patrick Taylor Jr. and Sincere McCormick also are in the mix, but the 49ers surely could bring in more fresh legs, considering Guerendo is shelved from his pectoral tear.<\/p>\n

5. COMPETITION TIME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brock Purdy and Mac Jones should steer Shanahan\u2019s system with ease at practice without a hint of a quarterback controversy. The competition to watch will be at QB3 between Adrian Martinez and 2025 seventh-round pick Kurtis Rourke. Whoever wins that spot could replace Jones as QB2, either before the Nov. 10 trade deadline or next year. This franchise knows a thing or two about elevating backup QBs.<\/p>\n

Aside from QBs Martinez-Rourke and RBs Black-James, training camp\u2019s other top battles are at left guard (Connor Colby vs. Rob Jones), cornerback (Renardo Green vs. Jack Jones), safety (any and all comers), and, apparently, punter (Jack Bouwmeester vs. Corliss Waitman).<\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: Veterans don\u2019t stop being veterans at the prison gate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Training camp opens Saturday as the 49ers’ veterans report, with the first practice coming Sunday at the Santa Clara facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nFive areas to watch at 49ers training camp over next month - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5302\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five areas to watch at 49ers training camp over next month - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Training camp opens Saturday as the 49ers' veterans report, with the first practice coming Sunday at the Santa Clara facility.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5302\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T11:38:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Five areas to watch at 49ers training camp over next month\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T11:38:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302\"},\"wordCount\":860,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/6efd415bb5dabd4291506959ddfd83da-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5302\",\"name\":\"Five areas to watch at 49ers training camp over next month - 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