Brock Purdy cleared, Nick Bosa not reporting to 49ers training camp

As 49ers players reported to Santa Clara for training camp on Tuesday, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan met with the local media. During the session, San Francisco’s general manager and head coach were asked about several critical topics. 

Here are my key takeaways.

Brock Purdy is cleared to go and the starting quarterback.

When Purdy would return has been a topic of conversation all offseason following surgery to repair the torn UCL in his throwing elbow.

“Brock has been cleared and is ready to go,” said John Lynch. “He’s going to be without restrictions. Now having said that, we are adhering to and sticking with a plan which has been in place for some time.”

Purdy’s return is nearly a month ahead of the original sixth month timeline given by the team. For now, the plan is for Purdy to work in two out of every three practices.

Although he will not practice three days in a row, Kyle Shanahan said Purdy will be working with the starting unit when he is out there. The goal is to have the quarterback back full time in about two weeks.

Nick Bosa not at training camp.

When the 49ers open camp Wednesday, they will be without  All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa..

“I have not seen Nick,” said Lynch. “I would expect he’s not here to start off. We’re working. We’re having really good communication, We’re working diligently to try to come to an agreement. I think the challenge is you’re talking about a real special player. You’re talking about one of the better players in the league. You could argue that could simplify things, but I think at times it’s just finding that sweet spot.”

Bosa is entering the final year of his contract and will not attend practice until he has a new deal in place. Unlike Deebo Samuel last year, Bosa is locked into the fifth-year option and not subject to fines for missing practice.

The 49ers have a history of getting large extensions done for their top players around the start of camp. With Bosa expected to become the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, and future salary cap constraints, this one may last a bit longer.

Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen will split reps.

With Purdy being ready for training camp, finding reps for Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen will be challenging, especially on days when Purdy is on the field.

For the 49ers, the first and second groups generally have the same number of reps while the third group takes about half. Kyle Shanahan mentioned the need to find reps for Brandon Allen who is currently fourth on the depth chart.

“Brandon came on and did a really good job during OTAs. So, that’s going to make it a little bit harder, how to fit in a fourth guy, but he earned that,” said Shanahan. “The ones and the twos get the same reps; the threes are the ones who don’t get as much. I keep reminding Brock, who might be stressed out he’s missing a day, that he only got the three reps during training camp last year so he’s going to get a lot more reps regardless of what happens this year.”

Health

Mitch Wishnowsky will open training camp on the NFI list. The punter injured his back away from the team facility. It’s not expected to be long term, but he the team is taking it cautiously. Other than Wishnowsky, the 49ers come into training camp healthy.