SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. couldn’t believe his eyes early in the second half of Friday’s preseason tie against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Prior to halftime, Luter had worked against quarterback Nathan Peterman. But the Raiders inserted rookie Carter Bradley, Luter’s teammate at South Alabama in 2022, after intermission.
“I was waiting for them to break the huddle, and I don’t know what caused me to look at the quarterback,” Luter said Monday.
He was expecting to see Peterman again. Instead, amidst the chaos of preseason football — which teams treat more like practice from a planning standpoint — he locked eyes with Bradley.
“And I’m like, ‘Man, I’m really going against my ex-quarterback,’” Luter said. “It was crazy because, during the game, I totally forgot he was the freaking quarterback. It was a great experience.”
OUR BALL!! @Luter01_#SFvsLV on KPIX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/JBuYWW5JWt— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 24, 2024
Luter and Bradley were key members of the 2022 South Alabama team that went 10-3 and earned an appearance in the New Orleans Bowl. Bradley threw for 3,335 yards and 28 touchdowns that season and Luter broke up seven passes. The 49ers selected Luter in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft; Bradley returned to South Alabama for the 2023 season before signing with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in April of this year.
“We went back and forth in practice (at South Alabama), for sure,” Luter said with a smile.
And they’d go back and forth again over the second half of Friday’s unusually entertaining preseason game. On a critical fourth-and-goal with just over 11 minutes left, Luter intercepted Bradley on a fade attempt to wideout Ramel Keyton. Later, as the Raiders marched to tie the game with just seconds left, Bradley again attacked Luter with Keyton. Two passes were complete and one, following a review, was incomplete.
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It was good, old-fashioned competition between a pair of former teammates that — at least as far as the scoreboard was concerned — ended in a draw.
“It was great,” Luter said. “And I got a chance to talk to (Bradley) after the game. I’m very proud of him, being able to be signed to them — I hope everything works out for him, for sure.”
Luter, meanwhile, plans to continue working to maximize his chances of eventually earning a starting spot for the 49ers. That won’t happen immediately for the second-year man, as the 49ers are stocked with veteran talent at cornerback, but a productive training camp should have Luter in position to make the 53-man roster.
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Beyond that, the fact that veteran cornerbacks Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Isaac Yiadom and Rock Ya-Sin are all under contract only through this 2024 season means that an opportunity for Luter is on the horizon.
Luter’s work against the 6-foot-3 Keyton in Las Vegas, followed by an interception against 49ers QB Joshua Dobbs at Monday’s practice, highlighted his calling card: his long arms, which measure 32 3/8 inches.
Arm length, hand size and an explosive vertical are the primary calling cards for second-year 49ers CB Darrell Luter Jr., who’d consistently flashed at camp before notching a key INT against 6-3 Raiders WR Ramel Keyton Friday.
Deepest CB room SF has had under John Lynch: pic.twitter.com/RF5lFTKKeE
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 26, 2024
“That’s one thing I try to do every day,” Luter said. “Use my length to my advantage.”
Luter said he’s “a lot more sticky in man-to-man” coverage on the first level of the field than he was as a rookie when he missed the first half of the season with a bone bruise in his knee he suffered during the offseason program.
That slowed Luter’s initial progress as a cornerback. He found his way onto the field via special teams, where a particularly unfortunate play happened in the Super Bowl: a punt hit Luter in the leg, leading to a fumble the Kansas City Chiefs recovered to spearhead their comeback.
Luter said the gaffe was a hard pill to swallow. He rewatched the play multiple times, trying to assess what he could’ve done differently (the ball hit Luter when he was turned away from it). Luter declined to go into further specifics about the play, but he did talk about how he’s put it in the rearview mirror as this opportunity of 2024 beckons.
“One person that I know for sure helped me out is God, I always pray to him about it,” Luter said. “Two, my wife, I always talk to her about things. Whatever is going on in my head, I talk to her about it. She calms me down, gives me peace.”
Odds & ends
• Receiver Danny Gray was an addition to the list of players who did not practice for the 49ers on Monday. He worked off to the side. Yiadom was in full uniform for the first time since suffering an ankle injury, but he ran drills off to the side during practice. Defensive end Leonard Floyd also worked on the side. There was no sign of receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the practice field Monday. His hold-in continues.
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Safety George Odum also did not practice. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday that he rolled his ankle during pregame warmups in Las Vegas, but the injury wasn’t serious. Rookie Malik Mustapha took first-team reps in Odum’s place, registering a clean pass breakup against quarterback Brock Purdy while covering tight end George Kittle.
• Rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall was back at practice for the first time in about three weeks. He wore a blue non-contact jersey and had a protective sleeve over his left shoulder.
Ricky Pearsall back at today’s 49ers practice pic.twitter.com/1lmLl701Ry
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 26, 2024
Shanahan recently revealed that Pearsall had been sidelined by a subluxation — or partial dislocation — of his shoulder. He’d previously suffered a similar issue as a junior in college and during the 49ers’ offseason program.
The 49ers are intent on not rushing Pearsall back to full action so his shoulder can fully heal. He caught one pass from quarterback Brandon Allen during team drills and worked as a punt returner.
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• The biggest offensive play came when Purdy connected deep with receiver Ronnie Bell, who’s one of the players to watch at Tuesday’s roster cutdown. Bell caught seven passes during Monday’s practice. The nicest catch of the day came courtesy of tight end Eric Saubert, who made a one-handed grab on a throw from Dobbs while being covered tightly by safety Tracy Walker III.
• The 49ers released running backs Matt Breida and Ke’Shawn Vaughn and waived punter Pressley Harvin III, offensive lineman Lewis Kidd and receiver Jontre Kirklin to begin the roster cutdown process. They’re at 85 players now and must reduce the active roster to 53 players by 1 p.m. PT Tuesday.
After that point, the 49ers will begin signing players to their 16-man practice squad. Expect many of the players who are cut between now and Tuesday afternoon to re-sign with the team as members of that practice squad.
(Photo of Darrell Luter Jr.’s interception of Carter Bradley: Paul Spinelli / Associated Press)
