49ers get sneaky important player back at practice as focus turns to regular-season preparations

With preseason in the rearview mirror, the San Francisco 49ers are turning their attention to the start of the regular season and a Week 1 meeting with the New York Jets in primetime.

The 49ers returned to practice on Monday following their preseason finale with the Las Vegas Raiders, with two prominent players making their comebacks from injury-enforced absences.

Rookie first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall made his anticipated return , albeit while wearing a blue non-contract jersey to protect a lingering shoulder issue.

Pearsall will become more important if the 49ers' long contract impasse with Brandon Aiyuk ends in him being traded, but of more significance right now is the return of cornerback Isaac Yiadom.

Yiadom had been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in a walkthrough before the 49ers' first preseason game with the Tennessee Titans.

The former Denver Broncos corner had an excellent season for the New Orleans Saints last year, but Yiadom did not have much of a market in free agency, with the 49ers able to sign him to a one-year deal to compete to play a crucial role in the San Francisco secondary

He and rookie second-round pick Renardo Green were in a battle for the third corner spot behind starters Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir. Yet the fact that Green played the third-most defensive snaps on the team during the preseason clearly points to Yiadom being the man the 49ers favor for that role.

Yiadom is therefore set to play a pivotal part for the 49er defense in 2024. He will likely be asked to come in and play outside corner on nickel downs, on which Lenoir will seemingly continue to kick inside to the slot as he did down the stretch last season.

Extremely stingy in coverage last season for the Saints, Yiadom will give the 49ers a more reliable veteran presence on those downs. Ambry Thomas, who operated in that role last season, proved far too inconsistent in last year's postseason and is a candidate to be released as the Niners trim the roster to 53 players.

With the start of the regular season now just two weeks away, the 49ers couldn't afford to have Yiadom miss much more practice time. Now that he is back in the fold, the 49ers' likely top three at the cornerback position will have plenty of time to prepare for the challenge of facing the Jets and Aaron Rodgers.

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