The San Francisco 49ers’ stars have assembled just in time for Monday Night Football like it’s “Avengers: Endgame.” Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams ended their contract disputes, while Christian McCaffrey returned to practice after spending weeks on the sidelines.
While San Francisco is thrilled to have its three offensive superstars back on the field, the team remains uncertain about how close the trio will be to full strength in Monday’s game against the New York Jets.
According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, Aiyuk is set to see a reduction in snaps compared to what he normally plays. As for Williams, Shanahan said the following:
“I’d like him to [play the whole game], but you’ve got to watch it,” Shanahan said. “We’ve got to talk to him. I haven’t done this too much with a tackle. O-linemen are different with rotating … but also it seems weird to just watch Trent sitting on the sideline next to us. That’s something we’ll be on top of throughout the game and he’ll be honest with us and how he feels.”
It’s harder to place restrictions on an offensive lineman than it is for a wide receiver, as linemen typically play every snap. Nonetheless, Shanahan was noncommittal about Williams playing the entire game.
Offensive line coach Chris Foerster also took a wait-and-see approach regarding Williams, saying that Friday’s practice “got him a little bit.”
“Trent is Trent,” Foerster said. “He continues to be Trent. He gets out there and I think as always, I think we’ve talked about before in getting guys ready to play, there’s that push and pull of being full speed against somebody shoving on you. Yesterday got him a little bit, but today he seemed much better and tomorrow he’ll continue to push himself. We’ll see how it goes.”
Meanwhile, McCaffrey did not practice for most of training camp with what is listed as a “calf/Achilles” injury. This week, McCaffrey was limited in all three of San Francisco’s practices. He is officially listed as questionable going into Monday.
So, yes, San Francisco’s superstar trio is present and ready to take the field. But considering how much time they’ve spent off the practice field, none of them are guaranteed to be the peak versions of themselves in Week 1.
This is night and day compared to the Jets. Thanks to the unique training camp plan crafted by head coach Robert Saleh, they’re locked and loaded for the season opener.
Multiple Jets players said this year’s training camp was one of the hardest they have experienced in the NFL, if not the hardest.
“It ain’t been this hard since mat drills my freshman year of college, waking up at 5:30 a.m.,” said linebacker Quincy Williams.
“It’s probably the heaviest training camp I might have had in my career, so far,” said tight end Tyler Conklin.
“I would say the camp is much harder this year, and maybe the hardest in the last seven or eight years of my career,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “I knew that I had a little insight coming into camp that it’s what Robert [Saleh] wanted to do. So I think it’s been good for us.”
Rodgers specified that New York’s starters had gotten around 300 more reps than they did in last year’s camp.
The Jets have had the pedal to the metal since late July. Some of San Francisco’s top stars have only been revving up for about a week.
This could be a huge advantage in the Jets’ favor on Monday night. Whereas some of the 49ers’ most important players are still getting their feet back underneath them, the Jets are already in the groove thanks to Saleh’s aggressive approach to training camp. New York might be more prepared to hit the ground running in the first game than San Francisco.
Adding to the importance of this advantage is San Francisco’s tendency to start seasons slowly. Since 2021, the 49ers are just 12-12 through the first eight weeks of the season, including 5-6 at home. They’re an NFL-best 23-4 from Weeks 9 through 18.
So, this is a team that already had a problem with sluggish starts, especially at home. Now, they’re dealing with three rusty superstars against a team that has been handling a heavy workload for well over a month.
A chance for Robert Saleh to answer his biggest question
This is a prove-it year for Robert Saleh. He has shown that he can develop defensive talent and establish a positive culture in the locker room. But can he improve the team’s chances of winning on gamedays? That is the question he must answer to prove he can be a championship-winning head coach.
As a CEO-type coach who does not call plays on either side of the ball, Saleh cannot affect games in the way that coaches like Shanahan or Sean McVay can. However, he can still make a difference on gamedays by ensuring his team is more prepared than the opponent on a weekly basis.
The Jets have a fantastic opportunity to look like the more prepared team in Santa Clara on Monday night. If this particular advantage over the 49ers leads to a victory on Monday, Saleh will be off to a great start in proving that he can be a coach who makes a difference on gamedays.
Perhaps the difference in offseason workload between New York and San Francisco will tilt the game in New York’s favor on Monday. Perhaps San Francisco will look perfectly fine and pull out the victory. Either way, Robert Saleh deserves credit for creating this advantage for his team entering the season opener.
