49ers miss Trent Williams, other tackles vie to improve vs. Bosa

SANTA CLARA — Nick Bosa went in hot pursuit of Brock Purdy. The goal line was a few yards away, Purdy kept his feet racing, and he threw the ball away once there was no more room to roam.

Bosa’s relentless chase paid off, and it began with him darting past this training camp’s first-string left tackle, Jaylon Moore. Earlier in Saturday’s practice, Bosa lined up at left defensive end, cut past right tackle Colton McKivitz, and hurried a Purdy pass that safety Ji’Ayir Brown intercepted.

Yes, that pressure on Purdy underscores an obvious aspect of camp: the 49ers aren’t the same without left tackle Trent Williams, who’s entrenched in a contract holdout.

“Yes, you miss him, but at the end of the day that’s between him and upstairs,” McKivitz said.

There’s no time to dwell on it. Saturday’s camp-long, two-hour session provided McKivitz and Moore ample chances to improve. The 49ers’ offense might have to depend on those bookends.

Meanwhile, Bosa feasted on them, and that is a welcome reminder he’s in camp. Last year he held out awaiting his own deal, which came just days before the season opener. “Having Nick back this camp, it’s been a big help for me, and Jaylon as well. It’s just been great having him there,” McKivitz said. “Hopefully Silverback (Williams’ nickname) will be back, but that’s his deal. We’re just getting better where we’re at right now.”

McKivitz is entering his second season as the starting right tackle. He speaks confidently, he’s more positive, and, heck, he’s an off-field celebrity having co-starred in a John Deere commercial this offseason, to which he mischievously notes he had more lines than Purdy.

“I never thought maybe I’d be here Year 5,” McKivitz said. “To be here and in that leadership role to be vocal, it’s something I’m ready for, to take control of that. With Trent not being here right now, it’s something hopefully me and Jake (Brendel) take control of and tell younger guys how we want room to look like and how the line to play.”

After giving up three sacks to T.J. Watt in last season’s Week 1 baptism in Pittsburgh, McKivitz worried about his job security, only to be reassured by coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ front office that the job is his. He was rewarded in March with a one-year, $7 million extension through 2025.

“There’s a lot of talk about left tackle, the run, and how great Trent is,” McKivitz said. “Obviously he’ll be the best. But there’s going to be some good football coming from the right this year.”

While offensive line coach Chris Foerster commended McKivitz for taking pride in “getting better at everything,” Moore was heralded for his pass-blocking ability while the run game presents a stiffer challenge. “Not that he doesn’t like to run block or can’t, it’s just as how he’s made up, his body type,” Foerster said of Moore (6-foot-4, 311 pounds). “He’s not as explosive, quick or gets under people as well. But he’s always done a good job, always been proud of him.”

Williams’ training camp holdout has spanned nine practices – and $50,000 in daily fines while he awaits a contract adjustment that’s commensurate to his three-time All-Pro reign. There’s been no signs of an imminent deal, and coach Kyle Shanahan offered no update Friday. Williams kept in touch with Foerster while staying away from the voluntary offseason program in the spring. Once training camp started, Williams did not report amid a contract protest, and that line of communication went mute.

Williams may be away but his game film remains a tool that Foerster said he can teach with – “pros and cons” — for backup tackles, including Moore, Brandon Parker and Chris Hubbard.

“It’s like every other player. Trent just has some more elite plays than other guys,” Foerster added. “And as the years have gone on, maybe those have been a little less, but still a very consistent performer and a great player. Obviously one best in this generation.”

MASON ‘AN ANGRY DUDE’

Jordan Mason got just as many touches Saturday as Christian McCaffrey (11 apiece) in yet another sign the 49ers want to see what his third year could bring. Mason defined his running style as, “just an angry dude running, full of steam, trying to get first downs and then touchdowns.”

That anger surfaced Saturday with a retaliatory shove of linebacker Ezekiel Turner, who initially sent Mason to the turf on a reception. “I love when people hit me. It turns me into another person,” Mason added. “If you hit me and, like you all saw today, it turns me up a bit.”

That Mason caught that pass in the first place reflected the work he put in this offseason, when he bought a JUGS machine and had his father serve up passes to catch back home in Gallatin, Tenn. “If I want to be something close to Christian, I have to start catching something. That was me investing in myself,” Mason said.