The 49ers on Monday had their first practice of the week leading up to their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. While no official injury report is due until Wednesday, there were some notable names absent early in the team’s session that’s open to reporters. There were also some key players back in action after missing the last portion of training camp.
Not on hand according to reporters on site in Santa Clara were wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, along with center Ben Garland. Defensive ends Dee Ford and Nick Bosa, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk were all participating.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch haven’t necessarily been optimistic about Samuel’s chances of playing in the opener, but they’ve also not ruled him out entirely. He suffered a Jones fracture in June that had a 12-16 week reported timetable for return. Playing Sunday would put the second-year receiver on track to land at the front end of that timeline. His lack of participation Monday doesn’t have a significant impact on whether he’ll play Sunday. A better indicator will come Wednesday after an off day Tuesday.
Aiyuk sustained a mild hamstring strain during camp and was labeled as week-to-week. Shanahan had similar reservations about the rookie’s return, saying the team was hopeful they’d have him for the start of the regular season, but never stated outright he’d return. The training staff will probably aim to be cautious with a hamstring injury for a young player.
The Garland absence isn’t a huge surprise. Shanahan was hopeful for his return, but as with Aiyuk and Samuel, tempered the expectations. Garland suffered an ankle injury in camp, but the team’s roster construction with Hroniss Grasu’s release indicates at least some optimism that he’ll be available. If not, Grasu would likely come off the practice squad.
Bosa, Ford and Juszczyk all sat out time toward the end of camp with minor ailments. It sounded during camp like it was purely precautionary with the goal of having all three healthy for the start of the season. Their presence at Monday’s practice is a good sign they’ll be ready to go by kickoff.
The 49ers open against the Cardinals on Sunday in Levi’s Stadium at 1:25pm Pacific Time.