Category: Injuries

49ers hopeful for Talanoa Hufanga return in training camp

Talanoa Hufanga is on track for a training camp return, which is great news for him and the 49ers. Here’s what it means for the 49ers’ roster:

The 49ers may have solved their safety depth conundrum. There were questions about Talanoa Hufanga’s availability after he tore his ACL in Week 11 last season, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday indicated the team is hopeful it will get its starting strong safety back during training camp.

This is a pretty significant development for San Francisco, and it means their hunt for a safety in free agency will be for a depth piece instead of a starter. With Hufanga on track for a pre-Week 1 return the ambiguity of the need in the back end of the secondary is eliminated.

San Francisco will still want to add veteran depth. They need some kind of proven commodity behind Hufanga in the event of a setback or if he can’t return to full speed as quickly as they might like. However, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see them add a player via the draft to try and develop as a long-term piece for them with Hufanga entering the final year of his rookie contract.

For now though this is great news for Hufanga. He’ll not only be able to shore up the 49ers’ secondary, but he’ll have a full season under his belt as he hits his first free agency. The All-Pro safety was a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft. He was a First-Team All-Pro in 2022, his first year as a starter, and was putting together another strong 2023 campaign when he got hurt.

Hufanga has started 30 of his 42 games for the 49ers, including 27 in a row before his injury. He’s posted 181 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, seven interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

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Ryan Ramczyk’s injury outlook has taken a dramatic turn for 2024 and beyond

Ryan Ramczyk isn’t making the desired progress after his knee surgery, and there is a “real possibility” he will not be able to play in 2024 and beyond:

Whatever news the New Orleans Saints have received in the last month about Ryan Ramczyk’s health has drastically changed their tone on his 2024 outlook. At the end of February, Dennis Allen described Ramczyk’s surgery as a little clean-up procedure, and said “He’s got a knee that he and we are going to have to manage, but we feel much better about where he’s at today than where he was a month, month and a half ago.”

Fast forward a month and now it’s unsure if he’ll play next season at all. Allen shared bad news with reporters at NFL ownership meetings on Tuesday. It sounds like the surgery was initially thought to be successful, but Ramczyk’s knee is not responding well. This is concerning for the future. His knee has been an issue for a while. The Saints have been mitigating it with set rest days during the week. If his knee isn’t responding well to the surgery, his career may be over. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Saints are bracing for life without him in 2024 and, possibly, beyond.

Offensive tackle now jumps back to the top of the list of Saints draft needs. You can’t hope Ramczyk will fully recover over the next five months. You need to plan for his replacement. Not doing so will only set New Orleans up for failure. Ramczyk could end up being healthy enough to play next season, but it’s clear his time in football is winding down.

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Seahawks injury updates: No timetable for right tackle Abe Lucas to return

Seattle went 0/3 with their replacements for Lucas last season.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald met with the media this morning in Orlando at the annual league meetings. Macdonald shared some interesting nuggets during that conversation, including an update on right tackle Abe Lucas, who recently underwent knee surgery. Macdonald says that he’s optimistic that Lucas can return in time for Week 1 but there is currently no timetable for his recovery – per Brady Henderson at ESPN.

The chronic knee injury that dates back to Lucas’ time at Washington State kept him on the sidelines for 11 games last season. Seattle went 0/3 with their replacements, watching Jake Curhan, Stone Forsythe and Jason Peters all bomb at right tackle in his place.

The Seahawks added some insurance to their roster recently in case Lucas has to miss significant time again. The team has re-signed former offensive tackle George Fant, who should serve as the No. 1 backup option behind both Lucas and left tackle Charles Cross.

Seahawks players are scheduled to report to the VMAC for the beginning of the offseason program on April 8.

More Seahawks Wire stories

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National reaction to NFL banning the hip drop tackle

We’re looking at the player and media reaction to the NFL banning the hip drop tackle at the NFL owners meetings

Defensive coaches around the league will have to do their job even more efficiently after the NFL formally voted to make the hip drop tackle illegal and a 15-yard penalty.

Here are the detailed rules for how it will be enforced.

The NFLPA has been a significant opponent of the rule, and defensive players around the league are starting to react.

NFL defenders will now have to run through the tackle or aim for an even lower target when approaching an offensive player in the open field.

With the move now official, here’s the reaction from players and media.

49ers LB Dre Greenlaw eyeing Week 1 return after Achilles tear

It looks like Dre Greenlaw will be able to return at some point this season, with the LB hoping for Week 1. John Lynch is eyeing something later than that.

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered an Achilles tear in the Super Bowl that put question marks around his availability for the 2024 season. Now the LB is eyeing a Week 1 return according to general manager John Lynch. Lynch is less optimistic about the LB’s quick return.

While Greenlaw is hopeful to be back in the lineup for the 49ers in early September, Lynch is leaning more toward Greenlaw starting the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.

If Greenlaw does start the regular season on the PUP list he won’t be able to practice, but he’d be eligible to return after four weeks. The PUP three-week practice window works the same as the IR practice window. He’d have 21 days from the time the window is opened to ramp up and get in football shape before the team would be required to activate him or shut him down for the year.

Even if Greenlaw returns by Week 5 or 6 it would be a huge boost for the 49ers’ defense. They added LB De’Vondre Campbell this offseason to likely fill in for Greenlaw. Whether Greenlaw takes back his starting Will LB spot or jumps in as an overqualified Sam LB will be determined down the line, but the fact he’d be ready to play at all is surely welcome news for Greenlaw and the 49ers following the timing of such a devastating injury.

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2 key 49ers undergo offseason surgery, expected back by camp

2 49ers All-Pros had offseason surgery, but both are expected back by training camp:

Two 49ers All-Pros had offseason surgery according to general manager John Lynch. Cornerback Charvarius Ward and tight end George Kittle both underwent core muscle surgery this offseason, with both expected back for the start of training camp per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.

Ward had posted about his surgery on social media, but there was no confirmation on exactly what the surgery was. Given the location of the procedure the assumption was that he’d had a core muscle operation. Lynch on Monday confirmed that.

Kittle’s surgery wasn’t as public. It’s not a surprise the 49ers’ star tight end was banged up at the end of the year given his playing style.

It’s unclear at what point either player needed the procedure, but the good news for San Francisco is that both should be back by camp. Missing offseason time is never great, but there shouldn’t be much concern that either Ward or Kittle will be ready to play once they’re cleared and training camp starts.

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Zac Taylor comments on Joe Burrow’s injury comeback timeline

Another injury update on Joe Burrow.

The latest update on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow sounds quite a bit like the last one.

And that’s a good thing.

Speaking with reporters at the NFL’s annual meetings this week, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor gave a similar, positive update on Burrow’s recovery from the season-ending wrist injury.

“It’s positive,” Taylor said, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson (h/t Ben Baby). “It’s right on schedule, and so we’re encouraged with everything we thought it was going to be and where he’s going to fit into our offseason.”

That’s in line with everything members of the organization and Burrow himself have said publicly over the last few months.

Burrow had recently suggested that his target to get back throwing is mid-May, which would mean right around the team’s organized activities.

Interestingly, Burrow also revealed that he’s considering changes to his offseason working training regiment in response to recent injuries.

Barring something unexpected, the next major Burrow update should be around the time of the draft when coaches and team personnel get in front of microphones again. Then, May, Burrow’s expected date to ramp up.

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Chase Young undergoes neck surgery after signing with the Saints

Chase Young underwent neck surgery after signing with the Saints. He isn’t expected to be ready for training camp:

This sure dampens the mood for New Orleans Saints fans. Their team’s shiny new free agent acquisition is going on the mend until July — if not longer. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Chase Young underwent neck surgery after signing a one-year, fully-guaranteed $13 million contract with the team.

Schefter says that while Young is expected to return in time for the start of the regular season in September, recovery from this procedure will “sideline him into training camp.” So fans shouldn’t expect to even see Young on the practice field until August. Young played through the injury last season for two different teams but requires this now procedure in order to continue his career.

While Schefter says that teams were aware of this medical situation, and that “the Saints were comfortable moving ahead with it,” it’s very disappointing for a team with such a lengthy history of injuries at the defensive end position. Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner, both first-round draft picks, spent extensive time in trainer’s room early in their careers. Young is quite literally following in their footsteps. Hopefully everything will go as planned so that Young can hit the field in Week 1 and make a positive impact.

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Celtics release lengthy injury report ahead of Detroit Pistons game

The Boston Celtics will be missing multiple members of their starting lineup when they face the Detroit Pistons on Monday (March 18).

The Boston Celtics have released a lengthy injury report ahead of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday (March 18). JD Davison, Sam Hauser, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford are all out due to injury, while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are listed as questionable. Kristaps Porzingis could make his return to the rotation after missing the Celtics last five games.

With so many players likely to be absent from the Celtics rotation, head coach Joe Mazzulla must get creative with his substitution patterns and the combinations he puts on the court. Fortunately for Boston, the Pistons have been struggling all season, winning just 12 of their 67 games this season.

Boston holds a 9.5-game lead at the top of the Eastern Conference. As such, they’re under no pressure to win their game against the Pistons.

Assuming Porzingis and one of Tatum or Brown are cleared to play, they should still have enough talent to grind out a victory to end their back-to-back on a strong note. The Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards on Sunday (March 17).

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Bills’ Spencer Brown had offseason surgery

Here’s how we know:

Evidently Spencer Brown went under the knife at some point this offseason.

According to a source named Dion Dawkins.

After Dawkins signed his extension with the Bills, he was discussing offseason plans during his video conference call. Dawkins noted the O-line group had some things planned as a group but a few curveballs changed that.

One being Mitch Morse was released… another was Brown having surgery.

Brown potentially having surgery was not announced by the team. Last offseason in 2023, Brown had surgery on his back.

During last year’s regular season, Brown only was ever listed on the injury report with shoulder and knee problems. Banged Up Bills, a Bills injury analysis content creator, believes it was likely only a minor issue. There is likely no reason to worry for Brown’s long-term health.

Dawkins revealing Brown’s surgery can be found in the clip below:

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