SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers will report for training camp today, with the first practice slated for Friday.
As we head toward the start of camp, we're previewing each position and the competitions that could ensue. Today, we finish the series with a look at the special teams, where it would take a major surprise for there to be any sort of suspense in who will win positions.
On the roster: Robbie Gould (kicker), Kyle Nelson (long-snapper), Bradley Pinion (punter), Nick Rose (kicker)
Locked in: Gould, Nelson, Pinion.
Battles to watch: Based on the numbers alone, there's only one battle that could even potentially manifest during this camp. With Pinion and Nelson the only punter and long-snapper, respectively, on the roster at this point, there's not much to see at either spot unless an injury occurs or someone struggles mightily during camp.
That leaves kicker, where the Niners are going through some change after Phil Dawson departed for the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason. To that end, San Francisco signed the veteran Gould away from the New York Giants. Gould has been one of the league's most accurate kickers throughout his career and though he's 34, he appeared to have plenty of juice left in his right leg last year when he converted all 12 of his field goal attempts, including a pair in the postseason.
Rose, meanwhile, enters as a long shot who can offer Gould some valuable rest during camp and potentially offer enough in the preseason to get a shot elsewhere. Rose spent last year's training camp with the Atlanta Falcons, so Niners coach Kyle Shanahan does have some familiarity with him, though Rose did not make Atlanta's roster.
Stranger things have happened than an unknown kicker surprisingly winning a roster spot, but it would take one heck of a camp from Rose and some serious struggles by Gould for it to happen here.
