San Francisco 49ers: 5 players with a lot to prove in training camp
By Robert Smith
Niner Noise takes a look at five players on the San Francisco 49ers who have a lot riding on how well they perform in training camp come July.
After a disastrous 2-14 campaign in 2016, San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York cleaned house.
Gone were head coach Chip Kelly and much-maligned general manager Trent Baalke.
In came new head coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch to head the rebuild of one of the NFL’s most storied franchises. With both receiving six-year contracts, they have the latitude to lay a foundation and steadily build a mostly depleted roster.
Even with a lack of experience, by all accounts, Lynch came through the 2016 NFL Draft like a savvy veteran GM after pulling a trade to land more picks and two of the top-touted players in Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster in the first round.
But the work has just begun in replenishing what many considered one of the least-talented teams in the NFL last year.
And although the team has a few young players with which to build around (DeForest Buckner, Rashard Robinson and Jimmie Ward, to name a few), the competition for roster spots promises to be an all-out war to establish the final 53-man roster come September.
Niner Noise takes a look at five players who will have a lot to prove in training camp if they want to see significant time on the field in 2017.