SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator Brant Boyer hopes this year’s punter competition lasts longer than last year’s kicker competition.
That battle, between Jake Moody and Greg Joseph, ended when Joseph was cut Aug. 4. It wasn’t because Moody was clearly better. Joseph, in fact, was slightly more accurate in their training camp competition.
Instead, it was because the 49ers became so depleted by injuries — 18 players missed practice at the time — that they couldn’t afford to keep two kickers on the 90-man roster. One week into the regular season, Moody was cut, too.
A year later, the 49ers are approaching those injury numbers. Fourteen players sat out Monday’s practice, including three of the team’s top four draft picks, De’Zhaun Stribling, Kaelon Black and Gracen Halton, as well as their top free-agent pickup, Mike Evans. That total did not include receiver Ricky Pearsall, who is already on injured reserve. In addition, two defensive linemen, Nick Bosa and Alfred Collins, have yet to practice in full.
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Boyer said he wants to see how punters Corliss Waitman and Jack Bouwmeester handle high-pressure situations in the preseason, as punters and holding for Eddy Piñeiro on kicks.
“It’s easy to do out here on the field, but how are you going to react when there are 75,000 people watching you, and it’s a national TV game?” Boyer said.
Neither candidate is established.
Waitman, 31, has bounced around the league since 2020, although he served as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ full-time punter the past two seasons. His 41.7-yard net average last year ranked 15th in the league, and his 26 punts inside the 20-yard line ranked 10th.
Bouwmeester, meanwhile, is a 27-year-old rookie from Australia who punted at the University of Texas last year. He’s a right-footed punter, and Waitman is a lefty.
“I think that Jack is doing a nice job of competing,” Boyer said. “And I think that the longer we can see him, the better. Now, can the roster handle both of them for that long, depending on injuries and stuff like that? We’re trying. Obviously, we want to keep them for as long as we can.”
Odds and ends
• When the team portion of practice began, the top wide receivers were Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Watkins. That’s because just-arrived Deebo Samuel is still being ramped up to full speed, and Evans is dealing with a quadriceps strain.
The injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term concern. Evans watched practice in street clothes and did some light receiver drills during the special teams portion of practice.
Two other receivers, Stribling (hamstring tightness) and Christian Kirk (calf strain), were seen sprinting on a side field in practice. Stribling was going full speed. Kirk seemed to be at three-quarters speed.
• The red-hot competition for backup tailback? It’s officially on pause with Jordan James (broken rib) and Black (adductor) nursing injuries. Black was injured midway through Saturday’s practice.
The top runner behind Christian McCaffrey on Monday was Patrick Taylor Jr. The team also signed ex-Chicago Bears tailback Khalil Herbert.
• Rookie edge rusher Romello Height, who left Saturday’s practice with an elbow injury, was back in the mix Monday. However, defensive ends Keion White (adductor) and Cam Sample (knee) remain out, and Bosa has not yet been cleared for team drills as he works back from last year’s torn ACL.
The team signed an edge rusher, Titus Leo, and moved rookie fifth-round pick Jaden Dugger from the linebackers group to the defensive line group during individual drills. Dugger’s size — 6 feet 5, 242 pounds — gives him versatility the other linebackers don’t have.
At defensive tackle, CJ West returned to practice, but Halton (knee bruise) remains out. At cornerback, Jack Jones (unknown) was held out of team drills, which gave Darrell Luter Jr. and rookie Ephesians Prysock a chance to work with the second-team defense.
• The 49ers went through their longest practice of the summer so far, including a red zone segment and a move-the-ball drill. Brock Purdy was efficient on short throws throughout practice, going 15-of-21 in all team drills. However, he didn’t score in the red zone drill after his best opportunity, a throw to Jake Tonges in the end zone, glanced off the tight end’s hands. Purdy also narrowly avoided an interception when his short attempt to Taylor — there appeared to be miscommunication on the route — was dropped by linebacker Tatum Bethune.
Mac Jones was 8-of-10 in team situations. He connected with Watkins on a sliding touchdown catch in the near corner of the end zone during the red zone period.
• Boyer said he intended to use Samuel as a kick returner at times this season. Samuel has averaged more than 30 yards on 32 returns over the past two seasons.
“When they told me he was coming, I was like, ‘Hell, yeah! Let’s go!’” Boyer said. “Because he’s a difference-maker. And he’s obviously proven, and he’s done it at a very, very high level.”
• Among those watching practice were New York Knicks coach Mike Brown (the father of defensive quality control coach Cameron Brown) and former 49ers quarterback and current ESPN analyst Alex Smith.
