CAMP BATTLEGROUND
Niner Report|August 2021
Summer competition to get team back on track
Craig Massei
CAMP BATTLEGROUND

As they begin their 2021 reset after a pandemic-marred season gone bad, the 49ers enter training camp this summer with many starting positions and vital roles already well-stocked with established veterans on what many pundits still consider one of the NFL’s most talented rosters. San Francisco returns 17 regular starters from 2020, though several of them weren’t in the lineup at the end of last season due to the steady flow of injuries that pummeled the team throughout the year. The 49ers have brought in fresh talent to challenge some of those holdover starters, and it is open season at other positions where 2020 starters have departed or been replaced. That promises to result in fierce competition for jobs in specific areas and intriguing battles for a few other defined roles as the 49ers move forward into a new season. Here, The Niner Report takes a look at the key positional battles that will take place during the team’s summer camp and predicts who will emerge on top for San Francisco’s Sept. 12 season opener against the Detroit Lions.

QUARTERBACK

Regular 2020 starter: Jimmy Garoppolo (3 3 in six starts), Nick Mullens (2-6 in eight starts)

The incumbent: Garoppolo

The departed: Mullens, C.J. Beathard

The comeback: Garoppolo On the hot seat: Garoppolo

The heralded rookie heir apparent: Trey Lance

The reclamation project: Josh Rosen

The veteran newcomer: Nate Sudfeld

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