Fooch’s update: I’ve embedded the 49ers live stream of practice. If you can’t see it, click here. The San Francisco 49ers have one practice under their belts, and return to the field Friday morning. The team is holding all their training camp practices at 10:15 a.m. PT. It will not be a fully padded practice, which I believe will be on Saturday. Practice will be followed a Kyle Shanahan press conference and then player availability. The 49ers will stream the press conferences on their website, and you can also watch it on Periscope and the team’s app. The 49ers beat writers will also have updates from the media sessions. I’ve embedded our beat writer Twitter list so you can follow along. Jennifer Chan will be on hand to offer updates during and after practice. You can follower her and Tracy Sandler for updates.<doc-sep>The San Francisco 49ers are back for training camp, and they kick off their first practice Thursday at 10:15 a.m. PT. We’ll start to get a better handle on position competitions, and where this team might be headed will start to come into focus. Eventually we’ll have hard facts to support some of our opinions, but before we have all the facts we need, I want to present a question. I came across this fantastic question on Twitter earlier today. What’s the hottest take you got about your team right now? Say it with your chest before camp starts — Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) July 25, 2018 People enjoy talking a little bit of smack, and at this moment, there’s nothing but optimism in front of us. Before reality settles in, how about people beat their chest a bit with your craziest hot take for the 49ers season. And this isn’t something like, “DeForest Buckner will have double digit sacks,” or, “Jimmy Garoppolo will throw for 4,000 yards.” I want you to dig deep and offer up something you are happy to be overconfident about. Maybe you think DeForest Buckner will actually lead the league in sacks. Or maybe you’re convinced Jimmy Garoppolo is going to lead the lead in passing yards. I’ll go with, the 49ers will have three members of their secondary selected for the Pro Bowl. A healthy Richard Sherman will be on everybody’s radar. I think we see Ahkello Witherspoon take a big step forward at the other cornerback position. And then I think Adrian Colbert emerges as a presence in the free safety role. They will need an improved pass rush to help make it happen, but I think we could see some big things from this secondary. The 49ers winning a Super Bowl is an easy hot take, so let’s steer clear of that. Let’s stick with player- or position unit-specific hot takes for the time being. Gimme your best!<doc-sep>CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the photos on a mobile device SANTA CLARA — Day 1 of the 49ers training camp brought a couple mild surprises, votes of confidence in a deeper roster and tempered expectations in a revitalized franchise. Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch spent 30 minutes Wednesday fielding questions from the media, then for the next hour the 49ers offered up Jimmy Garoppolo, Richard Sherman, Joe Staley and DeForest Buckner. Here are the top three highlights: 1. The Sherman Plan: 1. The Sherman Plan: Sherman is cleared to come back from Achilles repair, and the 49ers plan to practice him back-to-back days and then let him recover the next day. Sherman said he is 100 percent, adding: “I never had any doubt. … It’s one of those things you allow yourself to really see what you’re made of when you go through things like this, and I appreciated the journey.” Sherman reportedly had a $2 million bonus kick in by being medically cleared for camp. He credited not only the 49ers training staff for his rehabilitation but also former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who also overcame an Achilles tear and gave Sherman pointers on how to get a jump on the healing process. “We trust what he thinks and how he works,” Shanahan said. “A lot of it is up to Richard. If he’s being too aggressive, it’s our job to pull him back.” Sherman eased into workouts in June as the offseason program drew to a close, when the Seattle Seahawks castoff was restricted to individual position drills. “He’s one of the most intelligent football players I’ve ever been around, the way he understands concepts and offense,” general manager John Lynch said. “He hasn’t been on the field much but he’s already had a huge impact on the guys around him.” Added Jimmy Garoppolo: “He’s a very smart, savvy football player. He was here all summer so we got time to talk to each other. Just a great mind to get into.” 2. Offseason headliners: Jimmy Garoppolo and Reuben Foster made the most waves this offseason, and both received votes of confidence from Shanahan in how they comported themselves. As for how Garoppolo is handling his fame — see: last week’s TMZ report of him dating an adult-film actress — Shanahan blushed and downplayed the matter. “I’ve never in my life commented on a player’s date in July, so I won’t start today. Because I don’t think it really matters to us,” Shanahan said. “But it is a good example that sometimes you have to learn how under the microscope we all are. It’s not just the quarterback; it’s all players. The quarterback definitely gets more than anyone else. But it’s a good learning experience for him.” Said Garoppolo: “Life is different now. My life off the field, I’ve never been very public with things. Even social media, I’m not out there a ton. But my life’s looked at differently. I’m under a microscope and, like Kyle said, it’s a good learning experience. You just have to take it in stride. It is what it is.” Sherman slid in a joke about Garoppolo’s social life when asked what they’ve talked about as teammates. Said Sherman: “We talk about a lot: the strength and weaknesses of certain defenses, passes that he likes, people he likes to take on dates. (Laughs). No, we just talk ball and got to know each other better.” In Foster’s case, his career was in peril until a San Jose judge in April dismissed domestic-violence charges against him, following testimony from his accuser that she fabricated her claim. “He’s done a great job just handling it,” Shanahan said. “What they originally charged him with is as bad as a thing you can imagine. That would mess a lot of people up. I was very impressed how Reuben handled it, and after it got dropped, how he handled himself since.” Foster has not spoken to the media since his offseason arrests, which resulted in a two-games suspension. 3. Malcolm Smith among injured: Within the last week, linebacker Malcolm Smith sustained an unspecified leg injury and will start camp on the non-football injury list, Lynch announced. Smith missed all of last season after tearing a pectoral muscle a week into training camp. “Something popped up,” Lynch said. “We’re not concerned about it. We’ve looked into it. Prudent thing is to give him a couple days at the start to make sure he feels good.” Three players will start on the physically-unable-to-perform list: guard Jonathan Cooper (knee), wide receiver Trent Taylor (back) and outside llinebacker Dakoda Watson (calf). None of the injuries appear major and it sounds as if all three could be activated within the first week. By starting camp on PUP, they can’t practice until medically cleared and could miss the first six weeks of the season if they are still on PUP come Week 1: Also on the NFI list are two draft picks: safety Marcell Harris (Achilles) and defensive tackle Kentavius Street (knee), the latter of whom will be out all his rookie year. * * * Extra points: — Guard J.P. Flynn, a favorite among many veterans while he spent last season on injured reserve, re-signed on a two-year deal. Defensive linemen WillSutton and Cedric Thornton also were signed. Waived were safety Don Jones, offensive lineman Jamar McGloster and defensive lineman Blaine Woodson. — Lynch doesn’t sound like he’s actively shopping for a veteran wide receiver in free agency (see: Dez Bryant) or via trade (see: Julio Jones), stating: “We’re always looking and trying to improve our team. But we’ve been steadfast in that we like our receiving corps. We like having Pierre back and working with Marquise, Trent, Kendrick, Dante.” — All players were due to report Wednesday for training camp, ahead of a 1:30 p.m. conditioning drill and 6:30 p.m. team meeting. The first 20 days of which will be held in Santa Clara before it wraps with two days of joint practices in Houston ahead of an Aug. 18 exhibition against the Texans.<doc-sep>The first session of San Francisco 49ers training camp is in the books. The session lasted about 90 minutes according to reports, and the defense looked to be ahead of the offense at this point. Granted, the 49ers won't be in pads until Saturday, so there won't be a whole lot that can be gathered from the first two practices of camp. But there were some notable observations made by reporters in attendance, including the movement of Richard Sherman in his first practice and how the offense looked under Jimmy Garoppolo. Sherman, as was announced yesterday, was working with no limitations and was running with the first team defense. The offense may have had a few hiccups, but Jimmy Garoppolo reportedly found Marquise Goodwin for some good plays. There were also a few rookies that were singled out for big plays, including wide receiver Richie James, linebacker Fred Warner, and cornerback Tarvarius Moore. Warner in particular is a player to watch as he was one of the most buzzworthy rookies coming out of the offseason. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights and key observations posted by those in attendance. Tweets and video here are from David Lombardi of The Athletic; Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group; Jennifer Chan of NinersNation.com; Rob Lowder of USA TODAY Niners Wire; Dylan DeSimone of Fourth and Nine; and Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.<doc-sep>
The 49ers reported for training camp on Wednesday and will hold their first practice Thursday morning at their Santa Clara facility. Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch spoke to the media, as did Jimmy Garoppolo, DeForest Buckner, Richard Sherman and Joe Staley. Here are three takeaways from Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium: Jimmy Garoppolo’s offseason transgressions and handling the spotlight There was no hiding the 49ers’ franchise quarterback. Sometimes when players find themselves in headlines for the wrong reasons, teams are hesitant to stick them out in front of the media. So it was somewhat surprising to see Garoppolo trotted out to the press conference stage Wednesday after generating headlines earlier this month for going on a date with adult film star Kiara Mia. Naturally, Garoppolo was asked about the new microscope that comes with becoming one of the NFL’s most recognizable faces and the attention he drew from his night in Beverly Hills. “Life is different now,” said Garoppolo, who signed a five-year, $137.5 million contract in February. “My life off the field, I’ve never really been big on being very public with things. Even social media, I’m not out there a ton. My life’s looked at differently. I’m under a microscope. Like (Shanahan) said, it is a good learning experience. (I) just have to take it in stride.” There might not be a more important position in Bay Area sports than playing quarterback for the 49ers. And Garoppolo is still early in the process of learning about the spotlight that comes with his heightened fame. He’s the one most responsible for the team’s wave of momentum heading into the new year after winning all five of his starts to close 2017. Shanahan indicated he spoke with Garoppolo about being in the fishbowl as a franchise quarterback, but didn’t sound worried about Garoppolo’s ability to handle it. “I never heard of those articles,” Shanahan quipped. “(But) I think Jimmy does have an idea. I think everybody has an idea about how you should handle that spotlight. … But I never in my life commented on a player’s date in July, so I’m not going to start today. Because I don’t think it really matters to us. “But I do think that is a very good example, even though you know, sometimes you got to learn how under the microscope we all are. It’s not just the quarterback, it’s all players. The quarterback definitely gets more than anyone else. But I think that’s a good learning experience for him. He’s got to know what comes with that stuff.” It doesn’t sound like anyone in the building is concerned about Garoppolo’s dating life or its impact on his playing career. If anything, it’s likely just a running joke behind the scenes.