49ers Passed Over by Hard Knocks

Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers just let out an enormous sigh of relief.

They will not be on any version of Hard Knocks this year. The NFL announced today that the Buffalo Bills will be featured on Hard Knocks: Training Camp this year.

In addition, Hard Knocks: In Season will follow the NFC East division. The 49ers were a prime candidate to be followed by Hard Knocks this year. It is something Shanahan wanted to avoid.

Sure enough, he gets his wish as the 49ers were passed on by Hard Knocks this year. Here is the press release from the NFL on the Hard Knocks news.

"HBO and NFL Films re-team to present two upcoming editions of the groundbreaking series, Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills debuting Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO with new episodes of the five-part series premiering on subsequent Tuesdays through Sept. 2, and Hard Knocks: In Season with the NFC East debuting this December. Both series will be available to stream on HBO Max."

As thrilled as Shanahan and the 49ers will be that they have evaded Hard Knocks again this year, there will come a time when it will be their turn.

It could very well occur next season for them. At this point, all the 49ers are doing is kicking the can down the road. They will have to accept it eventually.

But I think it will come at a time when they are more prepared for it. This year's training camp looks perfectly set up without distractions.

The 49ers took care of every player who was due for a contract extension. There will not be any contract drama involving George Kittle, Brock Purdy, or Fred Warner.

It seems the 49ers have finally shown growth, or they swore to themselves they would never be in a situation similar to Brandon Aiyuk last training camp.

In any case, the 49ers will have a training camp free of distraction for the first time since 2019.