49ers training camp: 5 players who aren’t helping their roster chances at all

The 49ers have completed one week of training camp, yet these five players would probably like to have a do-over in light of their struggles.

The first week of San Francisco 49ers training camp revealed a number of positive standouts, mainly on the defensive side of the ball in light of the commonplace fact defenses typically start off hotter than offenses for the majority of teams.

There have been some players who have struggled, too, but the overarching theme of camp is to help determine the best 53-man roster possible out of the 90 players, or so, currently on the Niners’ offseason roster.

That means competition, a lot of it between now and roster cuts towards the end of the preseason.

So, while there have been a lot of winners already with one week of training camp in the books, there have been some clear-cut losers, too, and these five have certainly put their respective roster spots in jeopardy.

49ers training camp loser No. 5: Cornerback Ambry Thomas

San Francisco’s secondary has been other-worldly so far in camp, especially cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley, who seem to make impact plays every day.

Those two have already pushed second-year corner Ambry Thomas down the depth chart, but Thomas has done himself too many favors to secure what’ll likely be, at the maximum, a backup role this season.

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn hasn’t been bullish of Thomas in camp at all, and Thomas has regularly shown up on the wrong side of Cohn’s daily practice recaps. And while the 2021 third-round draft pick recorded an interception off quarterback Nate Sudfeld on day three of camp, the majority of Thomas’ work hasn’t been too inspiring.

If anything, fellow 2021 rookie corner Deommodore Lenoir has played with a far greater sense of urgency, as Cohn pointed out:

"[Lenoir] broke up two passes and gave up only one catch. Through three days of camp, Lenoir has been the 49ers’ best backup corner — much better than Thomas."

Entering camp, and in light of the 49ers signing Ward and re-signing Jason Verrett (still out with injury), Lenoir was the one who seemed mostly on the bubble, not Thomas. Yet the first week of camp has seemingly reversed the roles in the opposite direction.