49ers’ Armstead back in practice, McCaffrey still out ahead of bye

SANTA CLARA — Arik Armstead’s return to practice Thursday reflected the 49ers’ state of urgency. Playoff football is coming, after all.

And the top-seeded 49ers’ competitive juices are flowing, even though they have a bye for this weekend’s wild-card round. For example:

“Everyone’s very dialed into the sense of urgency. You feel that in the building,” tight end George Kittle said. “Everyone has this unique focus.”

That means creating internal competition until their divisional-round debut, on either Saturday, Jan. 20 or Sunday, Jan. 21 at Levi’s Stadium against the lowest-remaining seed.

In 2019, when the 49ers also owned the No. 1 seed, they went through what Kittle called “a jog-through” practice before their wild-card bye, just to catch their breath and recover from the regular-season finale at Seattle. This time around, the 49ers had a full-speed session Thursday, summoning Armstead and a few other players back from injury for it.

Kittle came away declaring the 49ers offense “competed better” than their defense, to which linebacker Fred Warner countered: “We won today. So let’s not get that misunderstood. They had a good couple of plays, especially with (Brock) Purdy back out there ripping it, looks great, exactly what you’d like to see out of the offense. It was a hard-fought battle.”

Defensive end Nick Bosa was more neutral, calling it “pretty even.” But Warner acknowledged his job is to “always stir the pot,” and that is especially important when the 49ers will go nearly three weeks before meaningful action (last Sunday’s regular-season finale was moot regarding their playoff stature so almost all starters either sat out or got pulled by halftime of that 21-20 loss to the Rams).

Added Warner: “Before practice starts, you start planting seeds with each guy. ‘Hey, Brandon (Aiyuk), we’re gonna see … George, I don’t know … Brock, you’ve been a way for a while, I don’t know.’ Planting seeds is how you create that competitive atmosphere.”

Not practicing, as expected, were running back Christian McCaffrey (calf), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achillles), defensive end Clelin Ferrell (knee), safety Tashaun Gipson (quadriceps), and guard Jon Feliciano (back). All should be available for the playoff opener except Ferrell, whose knee injury opens the door for Chase Young to make his 49ers’ starting debut.

Armstead, meanwhile, is pushing through foot and knee injuries that sidelined him the past five games as the 49ers (12-4) clinched their second straight NFC West title. Also practicing after recent health issues were Kittle (back spasms), wide receiver Jauan Jennings (cleared from concussion), cornerback Ambry Thomas (hand), and safeties Ji’Ayir Brown (knee) and George Odum (biceps).

As much as Warner enjoyed seeing all those back in uniform, he doesn’t have a rooting interest in this weekend’s wild card games, saying: “I hope everybody loses. Then, who knows, maybe we won’t have to play. Just kidding.”

SHANAHAN CLIMBS RANKS

Kittle called it “crazy” that only three current NFL coaches have been with their teams longer than the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, who moved up a spot each of the past two days in terms of that list, in which he only trails Mike Tomlin (Steelers, 2007), John Harbaugh (Ravens, 2008) and Andy Reid (Chiefs, 2013). Recently ending their extended tenures were Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks (14 seasons) and Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots (24 seasons).

“When you have that stability, each year, I don’t want to say it gets more comfortable, but it gets easier to be a part of the offense, easier to be part of the system,” Kittle said. “You get used to the ebb and flow of things. You know your routine. That’s been incredibly helpful for me. And we know Kyle’s expectations are. So as captains and as leaders of the team, we reinforce things Kyle has talked about to the team.”

Shanahan was hired in 2017 and, prior to this season, he and general manager John Lynch received contract extensions through at least 2027. Also hired in 2017 were the Rams’ Sean McVay and the Bills’ Sean McDermott.

AIYUK’S PRO BOWL RETORT

Brandon Aiyuk’s second straight 1,000-yard season and career-best 1,342 yards didn’t land him a spot last week among the NFC’s four Pro Bowl wide receivers. “It was tough at first, but we’ll see pretty much every one of those guys at one point. They have to come through San Francisco, so it’s all good,” Aiyuk said, referring to the playoff-bound quartet of CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys), A.J. Brown (Eagles), Mike Evans (Buccaneers) and Puka Nacua (Rams).

Aiyuk noted that players want such accolades to show for all their hard work, adding that his this season is “nowhere close to being done.” His production undoubtedly will translate into a massive contract extension, as he finishes up his rookie contract and is otherwise ticketed to make $14 million next year on a fifth-year option. Asked if the 49ers’ brass has approached him about a new deal, Aiyuk responded: “My agent keeps calling me but I haven’t talked to him yet.”

McCAFFREY HONOR

McCaffrey remains out of practice a second straight week because of his Dec. 31 calf strain. Meanwhile, he finished the regular season the same way he began it: NFC Offensive Player of the Month. McCaffrey averaged an NFL-best 139 yards from scrimmage between Weeks 13 to 18, totaling 520 rushing yards in that span to win the NFL rushing title (1,459 yards) even while sitting out Week 18 with a calf strain. He earned his third career Pro Bowl invitation last week, and he’ll learn Friday whether he again made Associated Press’ All-Pro (first team in 2019, second team in 2018).

BOSA WINS MEDIA AWARD

Bosa won his first Garry Niver Award for professionalism and cooperation with the media, as voted upon by members of the Pro Football Writers of America’s San Francisco chapter. George Kittle, Fred Warner, and Charvarius Ward drew the next-most votes.
Bosa is the first defensive player to win the award since cornerback Richard Sherman (2019) and he is the first defensive lineman to do so since Bryant Young in 2006.

WILKS IN DEMAND

The Atlanta Falcons joined the Los Angeles Chargers in requesting an interview with 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for their respective head-coach opening, NFL Network reported. Wilks spent the start of Thursday’s practice talking for several minutes with Shanahan and Lynch. Two months ago, Wilks moved from the booth to the sideline while drawing criticism amid a three-game skid.

“It was stressful at the beginning of the year. Seems like everybody was coming after him,” Bosa said. “I kind of felt for him, because it’s not one guy’s fault in football, ever. I’m happy that it’s kind of calmed down and we’ve figured out our recipe and we just have to get fresh and be flying around.”

Bosa added that Wilks eventually bought in to the 49ers’ familiar style of playing zone coverage with a four-man pass rush. The 49ers allowed the third-fewest points and eighth-fewest yards in Wilks’ initial season as coordinator.

Wilks replaced DeMeco Ryans, who served two years in that role before leaving to coach the Houston Texans to the AFC South title this season; Ryans had replaced Robert Saleh, who just completed his third season as the New York Jets’ coach. Wilks’ previous head-coaching stints were a 3-13 record with the 2018 Arizona Cardinals and a 6-6 mark as the Carolina Panthers’ interim coach to end last season.