{"id":305937,"date":"2025-08-21T13:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/305937\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T13:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:03:12","slug":"49ers-guerendo-bethune-more-prepared-to-back-up-mccaffrey-warner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/305937\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ Guerendo, Bethune more prepared to back up McCaffrey, Warner"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 Perhaps no drive in training camp reflected the 49ers<\/a>\u2018 offensive ideals more than a 12th-period, move-the-ball drill late in Wednesday\u2019s session.<\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey<\/a> was in the backfield for 8-of-10 plays, capped by a one-handed touchdown catch on a Brock Purdy pass against Fred Warner\u2019s tight coverage at the goal line.<\/p>\n

The 49ers relied heavily on McCaffrey\u2019s talents in 2022 and 2023. Then injuries shelved him for all but 3 1\/2 games of last season\u2019s demise. The 49ers\u2019 contingency plan this season is Isaac Guerendo, after trading Jordan Mason to Minnesota in the offseason. A more experienced Guerendo awaits.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing into Year 1, it\u2019s a complex offense, so picking it up can be difficult. Your mind is racing 100 mph,\u201d said Guerendo, a 2024 fourth-round pick. \u201cThis year, it\u2019s slowing down and you can focus on the quality of reps you\u2019re getting.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Aug. 2 shoulder injury kept Guerendo out for two weeks, so now seeing him practice on back-to-back days was encouraging, even more so considering the sketchy depth at running back. Jeff Wilson Jr. and Ke\u2019Shawn Vaughn are their only other healthy running backs, as rookie Jordan James remains out after finger surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cTiming-wise, it\u2019s nice, but as you know in this game, stuff changes quick,\u201d Guerendo said. \u201cYou always have to be ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a procedural move, undrafted rookie Corey Kiner was waived prior to practice with an injury designation, having sustained a severe high-ankle sprain in Saturday\u2019s preseason win at Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Kiner was impressive through three weeks, and the 49ers are surely hoping he clears waives for a potential return. That didn\u2019t happen in 2020 with cornerback D.J. Reed, who was claimed by the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n

If no team bites on Kiner, he could revert to the 49ers\u2019 Injured Reserve list or negotiate an injury settlement. The latter would allow him to sign anywhere, including with the 49ers. And for that to happen, it\u2019s believed the 49ers would have to wait three weeks until their prognosis of when his ankle would be healthy, so possibly in November.<\/p>\n

Guerendo relieved McCaffrey for two plays on the aforementioned drive Wednesday, and Guerendo had an earlier red zone run that appeared to find the end zone. He played in all but one game last season, and he averaged 5 yards per carry (84 for 420 yards) before being carted off in the regular-season finale in Arizona with a knee injury.<\/p>\n

BETHUNE BANS SWEDISH FISH<\/p>\n

Linebacker Tatum Bethune credits his second-year jump to following Fred Warner\u2019s advice on and off the field. \u201cFred tells me he\u2019s not telling me anything else until I get my nutrition and hydration together. If I can\u2019t do simple things right, what makes me think I can do what he does?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bethune has delivered big-time hits through two seasons playing the middle linebacker while Warner was safely stashed. Noting he\u2019s \u201cvery grateful\u201d for Warner, Bethune was asked what dietary changes he made, and he replied: \u201cI\u2019m a real sweet tooth guy. I like candy. \u2026 I love Swedish Fish. But I had to give it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh raved about Bethune\u2019s progress, and although a 4.7-second time in the 40-yard dash is not great, Saleh noted: \u201cHe plays much faster. Kind of like Dre Greenlaw. Greenlaw ran a molasses 40. But his GPS adjusted.\u201d<\/p>\n

COWING ABSENT AGAIN<\/p>\n

Wide receiver Jacob Cowing was missing from practice after participating for only a week since sustaining a hamstring injury on camp\u2019s opening day. Still out from that unit are Jauan Jennings (calf) and Jordan Watkins (ankle); Malik Turner also was not seen at practice, a week after his signing.<\/p>\n

The 49ers did add another familiar wide receiver, signing Malik Knowles, who was in their training camp last year.<\/p>\n

GUARD SIGNED<\/p>\n

With Ben Bartch (elbow) rehabilitating on a side field and Dominick Puni (knee) out for a couple of weeks, the 49ers need help at guard, so they signed journeyman Michael Dunn, who played in 53 games with nine starts over the past five seasons. Dunn played\u00a0 on the Cleveland Browns, after beginning his career with the Los Angeles Rams (2017-18), Jacksonville Jaguars (2018-19), and, Miami Dolphins (2019). Defensive lineman Demone Harris was released in a corresponding move.<\/p>\n

The 49ers gave third-string center Drake Nugent reps Tuesday at right guard, and he got bowled into quarterback Carter Bradley on a bull rush by defensive tackle Jordan Elliott.<\/p>\n

PLAYS OF THE DAY<\/p>\n

Purdy connected down the right sideline with George Kittle, who ran about 50 yards after the catch for a would-be goal-line collision with safety Ji\u2019Ayir Brown. \u2026 Linebacker Dee Winters intercepted a Purdy pass that was deflected during a red zone drill.\u00a0 \u2026 Jalen Graham intercepted Nate Sudfeld, who got his first full-team reps after signing Tuesday. \u2026 Jakob Robinson intercepted Bradley.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: August 20, 2025 at 11:03 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2014 Perhaps no drive in training camp reflected the 49ers\u2018 offensive ideals more than a 12th-period,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[2947,7,1921,929,6,4656,252,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-305937","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-49ers-hq","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-inside-sports","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-nfl-preseason","14":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115066899067609548","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}