49ers' competition at right guard almost closed

SANTA CLARA - After sifting through right guards all offseason, the 49ers finally seem to have the right person.

Mike Person.

“It's his job to lose right now,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday evening during his press conference in the team's auditorium. “Josh Garnett could beat him out, but Person has been the most consistent since Day 1. He has had a real good camp. We'll see what happens these last few days.”

Person wasn't a person of interest until recently.

When training camp started, the competition for the right-guard spot was supposed to be a two-man race between Joshua Garnett and Jonathan Cooper, two injury-prone former first-round draft picks. Both were coming off knee surgeries.

Cooper's rehabilitation from offseason MCL surgery took longer than expected, and he missed most of training camp. Garnett's rehabilitation from knee surgery seemed OK until he banged his right knee on the third day of camp and missed the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, Person missed none of camp or the preseason. He's winning the right-guard competition by default, because the other competitors haven't competed enough.

“I think I've played decent,” Person said Tuesday at his locker. “I'm more comfortable with how I play. If you would have talked to me when I was younger, I would have been worried about making the slightest mistake. Now, it's all about cutting loose and playing ball. I wish I would have learned that earlier in my career.”

Person, 30, never has started a game at guard in the NFL, but has started 18 games at center. Fourteen of his starts came in 2015 when he played for the Atlanta Falcons, whose offensive coordinator that season was Shanahan. The Falcons released Person on October 25, 2016.

In 2017, Person played center again, this time for the Indianapolis Colts and mostly as a backup. He started four games.

“Throughout the years, I have played guard a little bit,” Person said. “It has been nice getting a lot of reps this camp and getting more comfortable there. Guard and center, people think they're pretty similar but they're a lot different. It's a lot more physical at guard than at center.”

This offseason, Person became a free agent and signed a one-year, $915,000 contract with the 49ers, presumably to back up starting center Weston Richburg, who signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract with the team on March 13.

“When I signed here this offseason,” Person said, “my only thought was to come in Day 1 and do the best I can. Wherever that takes me, it takes me. Obviously, I think I have done an OK job.”

So far, Person has started all three preseason games at right guard.

Cooper, one of the other three original contestants in the right-guard competition, has played in two of the three preseason games, but never with the starters, and never on the right side of the offensive line. Only on the left. He seems to be the backup left guard.

Garnett, the final contestant for the right-guard job, also has played in two preseason games. And while he didn't start last Saturday during the 49ers' most recent preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts, he played with the starters every other drive. Garnett and Person switched off. Both played well.

“Josh definitely helped himself out last week,” Shanahan said. “I'm glad we've got another game to watch him. We had a good practice today. We'll evaluate it when we get in there. Look forward to watching him on Thursday.”

The 49ers will play their fourth and final preseason game Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. Starters generally don't play during the fourth preseason game - teams use it to judge backups and decide which to keep on the 53-man roster.

Garnett definitely will play. “I haven't decided yet on Person,” Shanahan said. “We'll see how this plays out.”

If Person plays, that means he hasn't won the job. If he sits on the bench the whole night, the job is his.

NOTES

The 49ers waived safety Chanceller James and signed running back Ja'Quan Gardner to a three-year deal.

Gardner, 23, is an undrafted rookie from Humboldt State who grew up in Ceres - just south of Modesto. The 49ers invited him to their rookie minicamp after the draft in May, but did not invite him to training camp.

Now, the 49ers need him. At least for this week.

“He did a good job in our rookie tryout camp,” Shanahan said. “He was a guy who picked the stuff up in the weekend he was here. We liked him as a person. We always liked his college tape, and he ran well while he was here. We're down some guys and we wanted to make sure we got another guy in here and he was a guy that we had on our short list.”

Gardner said he hopes he gets to play Thursday against the Chargers.