The San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans got together for a joint practice that had a little bit of everything: fights, ejections, and some dominant offensive work from San Francisco’s skill players.

Two Titans players, LT Austin Deculus and LT Dan Moore, were thrown out after altercations with 49ers defenders, and Deommodore Lenoir was going after Titans rookie WR Carnell Tate. Upton Stout and Fred Warner brought the intensity against Tennessee’s offense, and things got real chippy throughout the session, especially early on.

But beyond the fireworks, there was some legitimate football work here that deserves attention.

Deebo Samuel and the 49ers offense shine without McCaffrey and Evans

On the offensive side, Christian McCaffrey (soreness) and wide receiver Mike Evans (quad) did not practice in team periods, with McCaffrey not taking part in any practice. (Evans did individual work as he comes back from a quad strain). However, Deebo Samuel, De’Zhaun Stribling, and Brock Purdy all practiced, and by all accounts, they dominated the Titans defense especially in the redzone.

Obviously, at the end of the day, this is just a practice. But you want to see guys step up on the offensive side of the football when key players like Evans and McCaffrey are out. The 49ers scored 5 total touchdowns in 15 plays during a red zone period against Tennessee with Samuel having 3 of them. This is a great sign because it shows Deebo isn’t missing much of a beat when it comes to re-integrating himself into the 49ers offense and the Kyle Shanahan system. His chemistry with Purdy looks to be picking up where it left off in 2024, and that’s a big deal for San Francisco’s banged-up passing attack that needs all its weapons clicking.

Stribling, meanwhile, has been a star at camp and continued his hot play against a Titans defense seeing him for the first time. Everything we’ve seen from him should indicate that he is about to play a major role in the offense during his rookie season.

Defensive highs and lows for San Francisco

The defensive side was a little more up and down. Ji’Ayir Brown and Upton Stout both had pick-sixes for the 49ers, which is obviously a great sign. But Tennessee gashed San Francisco a bit in the run game and had some success in the red zone as well, leaving a bit of a sour taste for that side of the team today.

At the end of the day, all of this is good work. The 49ers are finally getting to go against someone else other than themselves and it can be used as a strong measuring board to see where they currently stand. 

Saleh and Shanahan’s coaching bond adds value

One thing I really liked hearing about was the relationship between coaches Robert Saleh and Shanahan. Saleh said in his post-practice press conference today that he and Kyle were going to separately watch the tape and then get together afterward to talk about everything they saw from each other’s teams. That kind of collaboration can be incredibly valuable, especially between two close friends. Shanahan and Saleh being able to share positives and give honest critiques to each other’s teams heading into the preseason opener is a real advantage, and it should pay off in the long run.

Both of these teams were clearly ready to get after someone different for a change, if the fights are any indication. I think the preseason game Thursday will be a great opportunity for the 49ers to get solid reps and see if guys on the back end of this roster can compete and fight for those spots to make the initial 53-man roster. Especially for a team that’s dealing with as much injury struggles as San Francisco is currently, all the back end guys on this roster should be champing at the bit to show what they can do in a game-like setting.

It was fun to get reports of San Francisco going against someone else, and Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium should provide an even better look at where this 49ers roster stands at this point heading into the regular season.