49ers notebook: What we saw and heard at Week 2 of OTAs; Richburg retires; receivers hurt

There wasn’t a whole lot of full-team action during the first practice of 49ers OTAs open to reporters last week, with just 10 plays scripted by head coach Kyle Shanahan. That changed Wednesday as the 11-on-11 drills ramped up in Santa Clara, allowing reporters a slightly larger scope of the looming quarterback battle between Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.

Garoppolo, still operating with a grasp on the starting job, was sharp as he was in the previous session. His day opened with a deep pass to receiver Trent Sherfield near the right sideline and another to running back Trey Sermon off play action. Garoppolo completed his first five throws during the full-team sessions, with completions over the middle to wideouts Mohamed Sanu and Jauan Jennings.

Lance, meanwhile, was noticeably more comfortable than his the first practice last week. His day opened with a strong pass to star tight end George Kittle, working with the second team, while he also hit Sherfield and Sanu on passes downfield. Lance had an incompletion to running back JaMycal Hasty near the right sideline on a play broken up by Ohio State rookie free agent linebacker Justin Hilliard, and another pass batted down at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Zach Kerr.

Lance’s physical skills stand out among the 49ers quarterback group — as it should for the No. 3 pick. During individual throwing sessions, his passes had tight spirals and arrived with more velocity than Garoppolo, Nate Sudfeld and Josh Rosen’s. Lance threw the best deep pass of the four during a quick throwing drill against no defenders. Sudfeld and Rosen were also each given a handful of reps during full-team drills after Garoppolo and Lance were the only quarterbacks to get snaps last week.

But OTAs remain without pads and minimal contact, making it difficult to judge exactly where Lance is when it comes to learning the offense. Wednesday did offer a better glimpse of Lance’s upside compared to Garoppolo’s and the idea he could be starting sooner rather than later, depending on how quickly he learns the offense and limits the occasional off-target throw.

A notable development from Wednesday’s session was the lack of receivers available because of injuries or otherwise. Starters Deebo Samuel (personal reasons), Brandon Aiyuk (groin), Richie James Jr. (hamstring), Jalen Hurd (ACL recovery) and Travis Benjamin (calf) were absent or sidelined, leaving Sanu and Sherfield to get the bulk of targets from Garoppolo and Lance.

The injuries are not expected to keep any of those receivers from being available in training camp when players report late July (though we’ll have to wait and see on Hurd, who tore his ACL last August). But they do come at an interesting time given the expectation around the NFL that Falcons’ star Julio Jones is expected to be traded soon.

The 49ers did not draft a receiver this offseason for the first time since 2002 and are counting on Aiyuk and Samuel to become stalwarts complementing Kittle. But those three players combined to miss 21 games last season because of injuries or COVID-19 protocol. Adding Jones would not only give Shanahan an elite weapon to fold into his offense, but more insurance should Kittle, Samuel or Aiyuk miss more time with injuries. After all, Shanahan just signed off on the trade for Lance while citing Garoppolo’s availability issues.

Yes, Jones missed seven games last season because of a hamstring issue and the 49ers should value their remaining early draft picks after moving three first-round picks and a third-round pick to trade up for Lance. It seems likely that Jones would go for a package built around a second-round pick, which isn’t assured to give San Francisco a contributing player anyway (looking at you, Dante Pettis and Reuben Foster, a late first-round pick in which the team used a second-round pick to trade up for).

That’s not to say the 49ers should make a move for Jones because of injuries during OTAs. It would simply be good business to get another receiver to add to an inexperienced group on a team operating in the middle of its championship window. And it would also keep Jones from joining another contender in the NFC like the Seahawks or Packers.

In other OTA news, the sterling attendance from Week 1 didn’t last into Week 2. Left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, two players who were rewarded with lucrative new contracts this offseason, were not part of Wednesday’s voluntary session.

Justin Skule replaced Williams with the starters while tight end Ross Dwelley got time at fullback, as he did while Juszczyk was out with a knee injury during the first half of 2019.

Other lineup observations: rookie second-round pick Aaron Banks remained with the second team at right guard while Daniel Brunskill continued to play there with the starters. Fifth-round pick Jaylon Moore played left tackle with the second string despite Shanahan saying Moore was expected to shift to guard after the draft.

Third-round pick Sermon was the first running back used in team drills with the starters. That’s because Raheem Mostert was out with a knee injury (he’s dealt with knee issues in the past and often practices with a heavy brace) and Jeff Wilson Jr. is expected to be out until at least midseason because of a knee injury suffered after a weight lifting session last week.

Sermon has done well catching passes out of the backfield as a regular check-down option for both Garoppolo and Lance, and that could portend to a big role in the offense, particularly whenever Mostert is banged up. Mostert missed half of last season with recurring high ankle sprains and Sermon is the team’s highest drafted running back since Shanahan took over in 2017.

Other injuries of note: Nick Bosa (ACL recovery), Dee Ford (back), linebacker Nathan Gerry (Achilles), safeties Jaquiski Tartt (toe) and Marcell Harris (groin). All are expected to be ready for training camp, barring any setbacks.

Richburg retirement made official

In what’s been expected for months, the 49ers made center Weston Richburg’s retirement official on Wednesday. His playing career ends at age 29 after missing last season following a patella tear to his knee in Dec. 2019 and shoulder surgery — which came after playing through 2018 with a painful leg injury that required surgery to reattach a tendon connecting his quadriceps and knee.

“He led by example through his detailed approach and the toughness in which he played the game,” general manager John Lynch wrote in a statement. “He was a tremendous player for our organization and will be missed both on the field and in the locker room. We wish Weston, his wife, Marlee, and their entire family all the best as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.”

Richburg signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract to join the 49ers as a free agent in 2018, becoming one of the highest-paid centers in the league. He simply could not overcome the injuries which led to the team signing former All-Decade center Alex Mack to take over as the starter in the spring.

“Injuries are an unfortunate part of this game and I’ve reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue playing and competing at a high level,” Richburg wrote in a statement. “I was able to play some good football all over the country and was fortunate enough to finish my career with the greatest franchise in sports. From top to bottom, the 49ers organization is comprised of some of the best men, women and athletes I’ve ever been around.”

The 49ers restructured Richburg’s contract in the spring and can spread out the remaining $7 million owed over the next two seasons since he formally retired after June 1.

▪ San Francisco worked out former tight end Delanie Walker on Wednesday, but wound up signing a different former tight end of the Tennessee Titans. The team agreed to terms with MyCole Pruitt, a league source confirmed to The Bee. The NFL Network was first to report the addition.

Pruitt, 29, has 32 catches in 63 games over six seasons with the Vikings, Bears, Texans and Titans. He started 10 games in 2019 while Walker was out with an ankle injury. He’ll likely take over practice reps vacated by the recent release of Daniel Helm, who cleared Waivers on Wednesday.

▪ Shanahan has been named the Grand Marshal of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR race on Sunday in Sonoma. Shanahan will give the command, “drivers, start your engines.”

“I am excited and honored to be the Grand Marshal for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 this weekend,” said Shanahan in a written news release. “This will be my first NASCAR event, and I’m thrilled that I get to share this amazing experience with my family. I can’t wait to fire up a field of NASCAR stock cars.