SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy was excused Friday from the 49ers’ third practice of training camp because of personal reasons that are not expected to prompt a multi-day absence.
Mac Jones and Tanner Mordecai served as the only quarterbacks for the 90-minute practice that preceded Saturday’s day off.
Purdy practiced each of the previous two days, and he had a strong showing Thursday with just one incompletion after having back-to-back passes intercepted early in Wednesday’s first practice of camp.
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Purdy’s absence Friday is not injury-related, according to a team spokesman. In May, he signed a team-record contract extension (five years, $265 million) as he heads into his fourth season.
Jones opened as the first-string quarterback and is looking increasingly comfortable as he adapts to coach Kyle Shanahan, after playing his first three seasons in New England and last year as Jacksonville’s backup.
Jones’ only obvious miscue Friday was a pass Ji’Ayir Brown intercepted after seeing Jones set his sights on Jordan Watkins.
Mordecai also got intercepted a few snaps later by linebacker Jalen Graham on a short throw toward tight end Jake Tonges. Just prior to that, Mordecai completed back-to-back boundary throws to Jordan Watkins and tight end Brayden Willis, the latter of whom had a team-high four receptions this practice.
Rookie Kurtis Rourke is on the Non-Football-Injury list as he rehabilitates from an anterior cruciate ligament repair he underwent in January.
KICKER COMPETITION UPDATE
Camp’s most watched competition — at least for a few snaps — involves whether kicker Jake Moody can retain his job against challenger Greg Joseph. After the pair combined for only a couple of misses in spring workouts, and after they each went 4-for-4 on Wednesday, Friday was not perfect, for either.
Moody made his first three field-goal attempts before missing wide right just beyond 50 yards. Joseph made 2-of-4 field-goal attempts, and he missed left from that same 50-yard-plus spot.
After struggling last year in his midseason return from an ankle injury, Moody said he’s carrying a chip on his shoulder this camp.
“I want to prove to myself that I deserve to be here, that I belong,” Moody said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with last year or other people. I just changed my mindset to focusing on the now and doing what I can to help myself make kicks.”
Moody acknowledged he also made “a big change” to his technique, going from a three- to a two-step approach to accelerate his operation and eliminate what he said was an inconsistent “jab step.”
Thomas Morstead, a veteran punter and the holder on kicks, came to Moody’s defense after practice regarding last season’s swoon, saying that Moody probably returned too early from his ankle injury after a three-game hiatus. “He’s a young guy with a chip on his shoulder who’s a little pissed off,” Morstead said. “He is a professional. He is not a young kid trying to figure out a routine. I’m excited for him. It doesn’t guarantee results but he has a good head on his shoulder and it’s been fun working with him.”
Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer is looking for a “really good competition” to develop as both kickers will work on the same day under the same conditions. As for Moody, Boyer said: “I see a guy who lost his confidence a little, but also a guy who was injured half the year. He’s a super talented kid and has to get his stinger back, so to speak. Greg is putting on all the pressure he can. That’ll be a good competition to watch, for sure.”
GREEN EXCELS, EXITS EARLY
Second-year cornerback Renardo Green made three pass breakups, but he had to leave with an apparent left-leg issue. Green limped to the sideline and talked to a trainer after breaking up Mac Jones’ 50-yard bomb toward Jauan Jennings.
An apparent left-knee injury forced Green to the sideline and out of June’s final practice before summer break. A second-round draft pick, he started seven games as a rookie and his only interception helped clinch a win at Seattle.
SAFETY COMPETITION
Brown was summoned by Shanahan to break down the post-practice huddle, seemingly as a reward for the interception which came on a day Brown was relegated to second-team defense. Richie Grant had replaced him on the first string as a safety tandem with Jason Pinnock.
“It is a wide-open competition at safety, at both spots,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Thursday.
Pinnock, a starter the previous two years with the New York Giants, seems most secure as a starter. Rookie Marques Sigle, Jaylen Mahoney, Derek Canteen and Siran Neal are also in the mix. Malik Mustapha likely will open the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
FIRST SCRAP
Deommodore Lenoir got into it with Jauan Jennings after a running play in which Christian McCaffrey bounced outside and down the right sideline. Richie Grant pulled Lenoir away from the brief tussle, and both Lenoir and Jennings returned to action not long thereafter.