49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk ‘not close’ to return, GM John Lynch says (paywall)
““I keep coming back to (there are) different levels with these ACLs,” Lynch said. “And Brandon had a fairly significant injury involving a lot of different things in his knee.”
“George is doing really well,” Lynch said. “He’s tracking well, putting in a lot of good work like George always does.”
49ers LB Dee Winters getting rave reviews for his Dre Greenlaw impression (paywall)
“Winters said the New York Jets were one of the teams eying him that spring. When they told him they preferred him to be heavier, he obliged.
“They said, ‘We want to see what you look like at 230.’ And I was like 218 at the time,” Winters recalled. “I had, like, two or three weeks to put on 12 pounds. So I was eating everything under the sun.”
As a result, he began his rookie season at 232 pounds and without the zip that had made him jump out at TCU….“I thought that’s what it would take to be a linebacker in the NFL,” he said — and felt slow all season. That wasn’t due solely to the extra pounds (nowadays he’s 223). He admits he sometimes didn’t know where he was going as a rookie.
“I would say I was uncertain of what to do on some plays,” he said. “There would be some formations, and I would be like, ‘All right, I don’t know what to do. Let’s not just run anywhere. Let me kind of find a place to sit, find the ball, then run to it.’”
The defense became more second nature in his second season……The 49ers drafted Winters in 2023 because of his resemblance to Greenlaw, who was coming off arguably his best season. Both were around the same height — at 5-11 1/2, Greenlaw is a half-inch taller than Winters. Winters is lighter and faster, though Greenlaw’s plodding 4.73-second 40 in 2019 was recorded while he was dealing with a hamstring strain. Both appear spring-loaded when attacking the line of scrimmage, and both have the wheels to cut off plays at the sideline.
Winters remembers being struck by their physical resemblance when he was drafted two years ago. In fact, it’s what gave him assurance that he could make it in the NFL.
“I saw him and I thought, ‘On TV, he looks a whole lot bigger,’” Winters said. “He’s a big dude, don’t get me wrong. But when he was standing next to me, it was like, ‘OK, we are about the same size.’ I felt like that gave me some confidence that I could do the same thing.”
As 49ers’ defense relies on rookies, why is third-rounder Nick Martin riding pine in plainclothes? (paywall)
“It’s definitely tough,” Martin said. “I’m just just learning from it and taking every opportunity to get to learn and meet with the coaches, and always just staying prepared like I’m the guy starting.”
The 49ers defense this season fielded eight new starters, including three rookies. Martin hoped to be one of them, lining up next to the highest-paid linebacker in the league. He instead has to settle for sitting next to Warner in position meetings as if it’s an assigned seat.
“Usually it does take a year or two to be comfortable with all the technique and fundamentals” in this system, said linebackers coach Johnny Holland in the middle of training camp.
“Nick’s going to be all right.”
Kyle Shanahan reveals Brock Purdy ‘should’ return vs. Jaguars barring setback
“I think it’s feeling better each day,” Shanahan said of Purdy. “And if that continues, he should be good on Sunday. But hopefully that continues. It’s always delicate with the toe.”
During the period of practice Thursday that is open to the media, Purdy took the first snaps ahead of Jones.“
