Dark clouds festered over San Francisco’s 49ers’ shortened practice on Monday, August 15, when it came to injuries, but a light managed to break through the clouds in the form of wide receiver Deebo Samuel and quarterback Trey Lance giving fans a sharp adrenaline rush.
The duo’s chemistry seemed to be ignited as they worked on Lance’s passing game – a passing game that was on full display during the 49ers 28-21 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers on Friday, August 12.
According to NBC Sports, the quarterback went 11-for-14 with no interceptions. Right off the bat, Lance targeted Samuel “on the first snap of 11-on-11 work with a deep out pass for a 20-yard gain.”
Of course, it’s only preseason, so all the glee comes with a hefty amount of caution on fans’ part.
‘Accuracy was Back’
For course, the duo has been delighting at training camp since Samuel let the ink dry on his contract extension, NBC said. This time, however, it was in front of empty seats as the team was scheduled to leave for Minnesota so it was the media’s job to feed the Samuel-Lance nuggets to the fans via social media.
It should be fun to watch Trey Lance operate against Minnesota this week. He went 11-of-14 at today’s practice; accuracy was back after Sunday’s poor session and there was even a very nice deep out completion to Deebo Samuel
“It should be fun to watch Trey Lance operate against Minnesota this week,” The Athletic’s David Lombardi wrote. “He went 11-of-14 at today’s practice; accuracy was back after Sunday’s poor session and there was even a very nice deep out completion to Deebo Samuel.”
Highlights from today’s 49ers practice:
* Trey Lance was 11-14 and accurate at the sideline
* Deebo is starting to heat up
* Tarvarius Moore in for injured Jimmie Ward at FS
“Highlights from today’s 49ers practice: Trey Lance was 11-14 and accurate at the sideline, Deebo is starting to heat up, Travarius Moore in for injured Jimmie Ward at FS,” The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweeted.
Injuries All Over
Despite the rhythm between Samuel and Lance picking up its tempo, injuries marred the bright spots of practice, including the significant loss of safety Jimmie Ward who went down with a hamstring injury. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to the media on Monday, calling the injury “pretty bad.”
“It’s a pretty bad hamstring injury … so we’ll see over the next couple of weeks how it plays out,” Shanahan told the press.
According to Shanahan, Ward might miss the September 11 opener.
The 49ers’ secondary has already taken quite the blow with cornerbacks Emmanuel Mosley, and Charvarius Ward dealing with injuries. According to The Athletic, safety Tarvarius Moore had playing time on Monday.
Shanahan was not thrilled with the plethora of injuries that his team acquired and said it wasn’t really expected “at this point in camp,” The Athletic noted.
“It’s been bothersome to me,” he said. “I think they’ve all come after a day off. And it’s been a real challenge with this camp more than any we’ve been in with how it’s spaced out with the games and our day-off rules. … So I think our biggest challenge is just the off days and how to come back from them.”
Other Notable (Jimmy) News
News outside of Deebo and Trey also rocked the 49ers circuit before the team left for the Land of 10,000 Lakes included a hefty tidbit on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo regarding his past professionalism.
According to a report from Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, Garoppolo went radio silent after signing his $137.5 million deal in 2018.
“Once he left that press conference nobody heard from him for weeks and weeks,” the unnamed assistant told Silver. “He didn’t return calls, he didn’t return texts — he basically just vanished. And we were looking at each other going, ‘What just happened.’”
This seemed to feed drama circulating on social media, with some worried that the news might affect how potential trade suitors might view the quarterback now.
“Coaches want franchise quarterbacks to be all about the franchise, all the time. It will definitely give someone pause, especially when it comes to making a significant investment of cash and/or trade compensation for Garoppolo,” Mike Florio of NBC Sports reported.
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Deebo Samuel, Trey Lance Let Sparks Fly at 49ers Practice