Niners missing out on a whole lot
Team learning to adjust in offseason unlike any other
The 49ers came together a year ago for an offseason program that ignited their Super Bowl-bound chemistry.
Jimmy Garoppolo was practicing for the first time on his rebuilt left knee. New defensive line coach Kris Kocurek was hollering at new pass rushers. And offensive linemen, the “Bro-line,” were bonding over beers at a San Jose Sharks’ playoff win.
Today, players are scattered around the country, except for when they meet an hour or two a day for video conferences.
What are they missing being so remote? Plenty. When will they reunite? That’s to be determined, perhaps not for another two months until training camp, wherever that may be.
“We’re missing out on a lot, for sure,” defensive lineman Arik Armstead said in a video conference with reporters last week. “We’re missing being on the field, building chemistry together, especially for the younger guys.
“… Every year around this time, it’s a reset, things start over and everybody starts that journey,” Armstead said. “We’re definitely missing that, but times are what they are, and we’re having to adjust and do the best we can in virtual meetings and build continuity on that end.”
What would the 49ers’ lives look like if not for the COVID-19 pandemic? Let’s see:
OFFSEASON PROGRAM >> April 20 was the original start date for the 49ers and other teams with returning head coaches. That got pushed back a week as virtual offseason programs got arranged.
Thus, this is Week 4 of the revised version. In a normal offseason, this is when coaches are allowed on the field for workouts, which for this three-week phase does not allow offense-vs.-defense or one-onone drills, and no helmets.
Virtual or not, this time
of year is all about installing plays and schemes. While newcomers learn through online meetings, veterans use classroom sessions to “refresh our brains,” Armstead said.
The first two weeks of normal offseason programs are restricted to strength and conditioning. The offseason program’s final phase covers four weeks, including three weeks of organized team activities (two days on, one off, one on). The final week has been reserved for mini-camp, the only mandatory portion of the otherwise voluntary offseason program.
This year’s offseason program must end for all teams by June 26.
ROOKIE INITIATION >> The 49ers’ five-man rookie draft class would have met in person for the first time during a three-day mini-camp. That session also would convene the 10 undrafted rookies who were signed, along with other players auditioning for a spot.
Instead, the rookies just last week met their teammates, including veterans, via Zoom.
A refresher of those 49ers draft picks: defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, tight end Charlie Woerner and wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
Aiyuk had core-muscle surgery April 7, so his workload likely would have been limited, although he’s been working out in his native Reno. Kinlaw, upon being drafted with the 49ers’ top pick, declared himself 100 percent healthy despite knee tendinitis that limited him at the Senior Bowl four months ago.
At this point of the program, we’d get our first glimpses of those rookies, and the scouting would resume. Would McKivitz line up at right tackle, as he did at West Virginia, or at right guard, where the 49ers’ have a vacancy? What is Jennings like as a potential seventh-round gem?
The crop of undrafted rookies on the 90-man roster: quarterback Broc Rutter, cornerback DeMarkus Acy, defensive lineman Darrion Daniels, wide receiver Chris Finke, linebacker Jonas Griffith, tight end Chase Harrell, fullback Josh Hokit, safety Jared Mayden, running backs Jamycal Hasty and Salvon Ahmed.
“I couldn’t imagine being a rookie right now,” said guard Tom Compton, a sixth-round pick in 2012 with Washington. “When you’re a later-round pick or not drafted at all, your chances are less, so you have to seize your opportunity early and often.” PRESS CONFERENCES >> A year ago, Garoppolo was among the veterans who spoke to the media when the offseason program began. Garoppolo has yet to take part in any interview since a few days after the Super Bowl, and there has been a lot to talk about since then (see: Joe Staley’s retirement, COVID-19 impact, the team’s courtship of Tom Brady, the draft and free agency).
This, of course, has been anything but a normal offseason for press conferences. In the wake of Staley’s retirement April 25, the 49ers set up Zoom calls a few days later between the media and Staley, George Kittle, Mike McGlinchey and Trent Williams.
The next wave of media sessions came two weeks ago with Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Travis Benjamin and Laken Tomlinson. Last week, it was Armstead, Compton, Deebo Samuel and Jimmie Ward.
MAIN STORYLINE >> The coronavirus pandemic has created an obvious diversion when it comes to the 49ers’ offseason plans. Blowing a Super Bowl lead seems so long ago. Plenty of time remains in the offseason (and forever) to revisit that collapse, but it’s not a hot topic repeatedly being broached by reporters to players, coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
The more pressing questions are about how the 49ers are adjusting their offseason program and where they might move training camp or even their games out of state if health officials don’t clear Santa Clara as a hosting site.
When the offseason began, all the talk was about becoming only the fourth team to rebound from a Super Bowl loss and win the Lombardi Trophy the next season. That’s still the goal, just not the hot topic.
The pandemic prevented the 49ers from hosting draft prospects, but Shanahan and Lynch believe they struck it rich in the draft. They were unable to wine and dine free agents, so there’s no telling if they could have lured bigger names than Benjamin, Compton, Kerry Hyder and Joe Walker.
HEALTH CENTER >> With no on-field activities, the 49ers’ bodies have extra time to rest and recover from last season’s extended action. Only players who are rehabilitating serious injuries are allowed at the facility, such as those coming off knee reconstruction.
If this were a normal offseason, all eyes would be on the wide receiver unit to see how Trent Taylor (foot) and Jalen Hurd (back) look after missing last season. Is cornerback Jason Verrett ready to get past his leg injuries and sneak into the starting cornerback spot that Emmanuel Moseley otherwise is battling for against Ahkello Witherspoon?
Williams, acquired in a draft-day trade with Washington to replace Staley at left tackle, could be showing how refreshed he is after sitting out last season. The 49ers also would be evaluating Compton and Daniel Brunskill as potential successors to Mike Person at right guard, and monitoring center Weston Richburg’s recovery from the torn patellar tendon that ended his season in Week 14.