There’s one starting spot open on the San Francisco 49ers‘ offensive line, and the battle for that job officially got underway Thursday.
Offensive lineman Ben Bartch looked to be the frontrunner for that job the moment Aaron Banks signed a free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers. Bartch was the backup LG last season and acquitted himself well in 65 snaps at that position. A quad injury during an offseason workout quickly derailed his training camp and landed him on the Non-Football Injury list for the first six practices.
With Bartch out, Nick Zakelj got all the first-team reps at left guard. That changed Thursday with Bartch returning from the NFI and immediately stepping in with the first team. While Bartch got the first-team snaps on Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan intimated after practice that there’s still a battle going on.
“Yeah, definitely, one that we’re excited to see,” Shanahan said. “Bartch got his opportunity last year, played real good versus Buffalo and he was one of the guys I was excited to evaluate those last three games of the year but he got hurt on the third play of the game the next week so we really didn’t get a chance to do that. Then he hurt his quad squatting when they were away, so really excited to get him back out there today. It’s given Zakelj a lot more reps, which has been good for him, but I’m excited to watch those two go at it.”
This will be something worth keeping a close eye on throughout camp and the preseason. There are other unsettled positions on offense, but left guard is the only offensive position with a starting spot truly up for grabs. We’re still under the assumption the job is Bartch’s to lose. Zakelj’s extra work with the top offensive group could make things more interesting over the next few weeks.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers depth chart: OL Ben Bartch steps into starting LG battle
