49ers rookie receiver Jacob Cowing shines in practice
When it comes to the wide receiver room for the San Francisco 49ers this summer, more of the focus has been on the players not practicing than those who are.
Star wideout Brandon Aiyuk is still refusing to practice as part of a contract "hold in" five weeks after arriving at training camp and first-round rookie Ricky Pearsall has struggled to get on the field because of various injuries.
Those absences have created an opening that fourth-round rookie Jacob Cowing is eager to fill.
After missing time early in training camp with an injured hamstring, Cowing shined at practice last week and then carried that over into game action. Cowing caught four passes for 51 yards, had a 19-yard run on an end-around and returned two punts for 19 yards Sunday night against New Orleans in an all-around performance that showed he just might be a contributor this season.
"It felt good to finally go out there and get my feet wet a little bit," Cowing said. "Being able to go out there and play against another team that's not our team. That was fun to play with other guys too. All in all, I think it was a good day for everybody."
Cowing showed good elusiveness and speed with the ball in his hands but his most impactful play came as a receiver down the field. Late in the first half, he beat a cornerback on a pump-and-go route and pulled in a 38-yard pass from Joshua Dobbs with an over-the-shoulder grab down the sideline.
That play caught the attention of his teammates.
"It was really good to see him get back on the field," Dobbs said. "He's able to line up at any position and know what to do, not to mention his speed and what he is able to do with the ball in his hands. To see that live in the stadium, I thought was really good. I thought it was great for his confidence."
Cowing was a productive receiver in college with 316 catches for 4,477 yards in five seasons at UTEP and Arizona. That led to him being picked in the fourth round by San Francisco in April.
Cowing knew he needed to prove himself at the pro level and couldn't do that early in camp while dealing with the hamstring injury. That's why the last week of practice was so important in building his belief and gaining trust of teammates and coaches.
"I think that I just got a lot more confident within my abilities, within the playbook," he said. "Being able to study the playbook the way that I did, for certain things to kind of stick to me into this game. Allowing me to go there, play fast and play my game a little bit. Playing, little bit relaxed, but, all in all just going out there playing confident, and just playing my style of football."
While Cowing's big-play ability on offense jumped out on Sunday, it was his reliability as a punt returner that may be most important in securing a regular role when the season starts Sept. 9.
San Francisco is searching for a new returner after Ray-Ray McCloud left in free agency this offseason. They brought back veteran Trent Taylor for his reliability catching the ball cleanly but would probably prefer having someone with the game-breaking speed of Cowing.
"We drafted him hoping that he could have the potential to do it," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "(This) was really the first time that we were able to get him out there and he had a week of being healthy, so he's definitely got a chance to, but (it) was a step in the right direction."
Cowing's emergence is more important because of the uncertainty surrounding Aiyuk and Pearsall. Aiyuk skipped the entire offseason program and hasn't practiced all summer as he seeks an extension or a trade as he tries to become the latest receiver to cash in with a lucrative contract.
Aiyuk had been a key part of San Francisco's offense last season as he formed a great connection with quarterback Brock Purdy. Aiyuk had 75 catches and a career-high 1,375 yards last season with seven touchdowns as he earned second-team All-Pro honors.
The Niners were supposed to have added insurance for Aiyuk when they drafted Pearsall 31st overall in April. But he was slowed by a shoulder injury during the offseason program, started training camp on the sideline because of a hamstring injury and then re-injured his shoulder more than two weeks ago and hasn't practiced since.