Kawakami: WR1? Louder Saleh? 49ers camp questions and guesses

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It’s $23-million-a-year hindsight, but still worth asking, as the first of five pressing questions on the eve of 49ers’ training camp …

Yeah, Adams would look great on this fairly thin roster, on top of the active wide-receiver depth chart, on the practice field, and as an immediate answer for the team’s urgent concerns while Brandon Aiyuk recovers, Demarcus Robinson remains in pre-suspension limbo, and Jauan Jennings’ contractual situation continues to be unresolved.

Actually, if the 49ers had signed Adams last spring instead of letting him get to the Rams (and after they discarded Deebo Samuel), there might not be a Jennings situation; he probably wouldn’t have had enough leverage to ask for a new contract or a trade if he doesn’t get a new deal.

But instead, despite a pretty good stylistic fit, the 49ers bypassed the six-time Pro Bowler. As Adams memorably recounted to The Athletic’s Mike Silver recently, the 49ers’ negotiators indicated that “we’re paying wholesale, we ain’t paying retail.” Adams’ response? “And I was like, OK, well, I’m not a wholesale-type dude.”

Adams ended up with a two-year, $46-million deal with $26 million guaranteed from the Rams, basically replacing Cooper Kupp, who signed with another NFC rival, the Seahawks, for three years and $45 million.

Meanwhile, Jennings might report to camp but “hold in,” refusing to practice until there’s a deal, the way Aiyuk played it last year. And last year’s No. 1 pick, Ricky Pearsall, who missed most of camp last year due to nagging injuries (and then of course suffered the frightening gunshot wound on the eve of the regular season), was just placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start camp due to a hamstring injury. This might be a brief period, but just the act of putting him on PUP means the 49ers expect Pearsall to miss at least some practice time.

So the 49ers’ top three WRs for Wednesday’s first practice could be … Robinson (who likely won’t be eligible for Week 1), Jacob Cowing, and rookie Jordan Watkins. Whew. The 49ers have a lot of incentive to get Jennings signed and working every practice with Brock Purdy & Co. — which is exactly why he’s exerting this pressure now. Jennings and the 49ers restructured his deal only a year ago, so the details are a bit complicated. But after his 975-yard performance last season and with no other WR1 option available, Jennings is worth much more than the $7.5 million he’s scheduled to earn in 2025. And, at 28, he isn’t likely to get another big shot at this.

I’d guess that merging Kupp’s $15 million a year with Adams’ $26 million in guarantees might be just about right for this situation — maybe with a two-year extension tacked onto this year. The 49ers, after all their salary-clearing activity last spring, certainly have the cap room to do something like this. If they were really looking ahead, they could’ve probably signed Adams, given Jennings a moderate bump up, and had both of them.

Oh, well, that’s what happens when you shop wholesale and your rivals are happy to pay retail. Let’s see how this plays out when Purdy’s dropping back in Week 1 at Seattle and trying to find an open receiver on third-and-8.

The 49ers actually need multiple members of their rookie class to follow Puni’s path last summer: step onto the practice field on Day 1, grab a significant role when it’s available, and just never give Kyle Shanahan a reason to change things from there. They don’t need to be spectacular. They just need to be out there, every day, looking reliable.

Last year, Puni surprised the coaches by easily winning the right guard spot and remained at that position because he stayed healthy and never was rattled or overmatched. This year, the 49ers are counting on two, three, or even four or five rookies to play large roles immediately: Mykel Williams at defensive end, Alfred Collins and CJ West in the defensive tackle rotation, Nick Martin at linebacker, and Upton Stout at nickel cornerback.

Can most of these guys stay healthy through camp? Collins missed all of the offseason program with a calf injury but apparently is OK now. Coaches can’t expect any player to have perfect health through camp, but once a rookie starts missing multiple practices in a row, he can lose ground very quickly.

The 49ers need a bunch of these guys to play a ton of regular-season snaps. This team won’t get to the playoffs unless they do. And if three or four of them can stay on the field through the entire training camp, that’ll be the first and best clue that this all is possible.

I don’t know that I’ve seen a better practice kicker than Moody over the previous two camps. I do know that I’ve seen many, many better game kickers than Moody.

But of course Moody wasn’t in any kind of competition for the job in 2023 or 2024. He was a third-round pick because Shanahan and John Lynch didn’t want a competition. They didn’t even want to have to think about the kicker again for 10 years or so. And Moody kicked beautifully in practice, but also … so what?

I think Shanahan and new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer will go out of their way to make things a little more tense when the kicking sessions begin. As Shanahan suggested had to happen, this is a real competition — Moody knows Joseph could take his job and the coaches want him to feel the pressure in camp and the preseason games. Boyer has already switched the long-snapper and holder. The 49ers have switched the direction of their practice fields, which was long planned but still will change things for Moody.

This will feel different in camp. I’m curious to get a sense of how different it’ll be and how Moody will deal with it.

Saleh’s been through some things since he left the 49ers to take the New York Jets’ top job in January 2021. So has the 49ers’ defense. So has Shanahan, who spent much of the last two seasons watching some slippage on that side of the ball and doing what he could to prevent more of it.

And now Saleh’s back, after he was wooed by Shanahan, Lynch, and Jed York and given one of the highest coordinator salaries in the league. No doubt, it’s a big upgrade from Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen, who both went one-and-done at the defensive coordinator spot. Unquestionably, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and everybody else won’t be under as much stress with Saleh calling the defense.

But from a selfish columnist standpoint, I wonder if we’ll get more of Saleh’s personality at news conferences. Starting with Saleh and going through DeMeco Ryans’ tenure and beyond, DCs under Shanahan have been mostly milquetoast — apparently much more worried about possibly irritating Shanahan than providing much detail or back story to reporters. Saleh naturally wasn’t as cautious as the Jets HC. I think the wooing and the big contract should make it easier for Saleh to speak a little more freely this time with the 49ers.

And I think this whole situation might lead to more interesting stuff all around. Saleh and Shanahan had a great, slightly competitive relationship the first stint, and this should only be richer and more productive now that Saleh has lived through the head-coaching life and Shanahan has lived through two lesser DCs.

Future Hall of Famers have little to prove in training camp, of course, but it’ll still be worth noting if McCaffrey, in particular, is being treated gingerly. He is famously a full-speed practice guy, even in the offseason, but last year’s injury ripple turned into a landslide once McCaffrey missed most of camp and then stunningly was put on the injured list before the season opener.

And while Williams certainly will be given plenty of off days, the 49ers are always at their best when he can practice regularly — it sharpens the offense and, of course, defensive linemen should cherish every snap they get trying to figure out what to do against one of the best left tackles ever.

The 49ers were a dull team late last season, when they didn’t have McCaffrey or Williams out there. They won’t be playing forever. If the 49ers can get them both on the field regularly in this camp — alongside Warner, Bosa, George Kittle, Purdy, and others — it’ll be one reminder that they’ve still got star power. Last year was a debacle and the offseason cutbacks diminished the depth of the roster. But the more times the 49ers can get their best players on the field, even in the summer, the easier it will be to picture another run into the playoffs this season.