Dante Pettis Desperately Needs a Strong Training Camp

Training camp officially kicked off for the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.

Sunday marks only the second time that the players will actually be together to practice and show the coaching staff what they have. With OTAs eliminated as well as the preseason, there is a significantly larger emphasis on performing well in training camp.

One player that desperately needs a strong camp is wide receiver Dante Pettis.

2019 was supposed to be his year to shine, but he failed miserably to star on a Super Bowl contending team despite multiple opportunities. He just became unplayable and it’s gotten to a point where injured players from last season are going to be shown more attention this season than him.

Pettis is definitely in the doghouse, and with the receiver room loaded up, it’ll be insanely difficult for him to climb back up the ranks. This is why he needs a strong training camp. It won’t be enough to get him more snaps on offense, but it’ll certainly help his case that he isn’t a lost cause.

For a player who has blown almost all of his chances, he needs to ball out every chance he gets. Some big plays in camp by dusting some defenders will certainly make Kyle Shanahan revisit why he fell in love with Pettis in the first place. It’s a long shot for Pettis to do it since his opportunities will be limited in training camp overall.

But it is all about what he does with those limited chances.

It’s essentially do or die for him this season with the 49ers having no room for dead weight. He could very well be cut prior to Week 1 or traded for a lowly seventh-round pick. The clock has just about ran out on Pettis.

Will he be able to make a strong case for himself in training camp?