What Kyle Shanahan and others said after 49ers’ 19-13 loss vs. Titans
“Yeah, [Saleh and I are] not the biggest note takers, but we’re more FaceTimers. So, we sat there and FaceTimed a little bit the last two nights, just talking about what we saw from each other. It’s a little bit easier when you’re in different conferences. You don’t have to lie as much. You can be a little bit more honest, but I know he definitely isn’t always. He’s still trying to find things out and so am I, but it was good for us to practice against each other, have someone that you know. Especially seeing [Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator] Gus [Bradley] and stuff and [Tennessee Titans defensive run game coordinator/defensive line coach Aaron] Whitecotton, who was here for a little bit, [Tennessee Titans defensive pass game coordinator/cornerbacks coach] Tony Oden. It was good to catch up with all those guys this week.”
49ers rookie WR De’Zhaun Stribling stars in preseason opener, outshining Titans’ Carnell Tate (paywall)
“Stribling caught the first pass of the game and remained a go-to guy on third downs over the course of three offensive drives. Hold your third-and-De’Zhaun outbursts for the end. Three of his catches came on third downs, including two conversions via a 32-yard back-shoulder bomb that Stribling grabbed up high and an 11-yard reception that Stribling turned into a first down with several yards after catch. Maybe he stepped out of bounds before converting the latter, but whatever, it’s preseason. He was downed a yard shy of the sticks on the other third-down catch.”
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49ers QB Kurtis Rourke’s first game action in 601 days ends with injury (paywall)
“Before his premature exit, Rourke completed 12 of 14 passes for 101 yards, and he rushed for 14 yards on three carries. The 2025 seventh-round pick left shortly after he was whacked by two defenders on a three-yard scramble midway through the second quarter.
“They said ‘ribs’ and he was struggling to breathe, so they took him to the hospital just to check on everything, make sure it’s all right,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The X-rays here didn’t show it was broken or anything, but we’ll see what we find out tomorrow.”
49ers preseason takeaways: De’Zhaun Stribling hype train rolling, Kurtis Rourke injured (paywall)
“Halton has had a nasty streak during training camp, and that showed up in back-to-back plays Thursday night. He would have had a sack, working through Titans starting linemen Peter Skoronski and Dan Moore Jr., if not for a defensive holding penalty in the secondary. On the next snap, Halton threw an offensive lineman to the side and wrapped up running back Tyjae Spears for a loss of a yard.
“Once I get hot, it’s over with,” Halton said. “I win one, and then next thing you know, I’m in my head like, ‘OK, I got this.’ So I build that confidence, and it’s over.”
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What we learned as De’Zhaun Stribling stars in 49ers’ preseason-opening loss
“Halton, a fourth-round pick from Oklahoma, is constantly around the ball and causing disruption in practices. He took advantage of his action on Thursday with three tackles in the first half, including a stop of running back Tyjae Spears for a 1-yard loss. Halton had a 14-yard sack of Cam Ward nullified by a defensive holding penalty on Jakob Robinson.
Dugger started at the 49ers’ “fever backer” position and played the entire first half. He did not wait long to show some of his immense physical talent. On the second defensive snap, he ran down Ward to hold him for just a 2-yard gain on a scramble.
Four plays later, he got stuck on right tackle JC Latham’s block on a third-and-10 play and could not prevent a short pass to that side going for 16 yards.”
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