Tag: 49ers injuries

49ers to activate TE George Kittle, K Robbie Gould vs. Cardinals

George Kittle and Robbie Gould will be back for the #49ers this week against the Cardinals.

The 49ers will get some reinforcements Sunday when they take the field at Levi’s Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday confirmed the club will activate tight end George Kittle and kicker Robbie Gould off injured reserve.

Both Kittle and Gould went on IR after Week 4. Kittle aggravated a calf injury the 49ers thought he could play through. Gould hurt his groin during pregame warmups.

Without Kittle the 49ers have leaned heavily on tight ends Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner. While they’ve acquitted themselves well as blockers, they’ve left something to be desired as receivers. Kittle’s playmaking in the passing game will be a welcome addition for a 49ers club looking for some consistency through the air. This season Kittle has 19 receptions for 227 yards, but he’s yet to find the end zone. San Francisco will need that to change once he’s back on the field.

Kicker Joey Slye filled in nicely for Gould and made a couple big kicks, but he also missed a pair of extra points. Gould this season has drilled all 11 of his extra points and is three-for-four on field goals. His lone miss was a 52-yard try in the season opener.

The 49ers (3-4) kick off against the Cardinals (7-1) at 1:25 pm Pacific Time.

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49ers practice report: Elijah Mitchell, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams return

The #49ers on Thursday got a few key starters back in practice.

The 49ers got a bit of good news on the injury front during Thursday’s practice. Their three key offensive starters who all missed Wednesday’s session were back in action, which is a good sign for their availability Sunday in a crucial showdown vs. the Arizona Cardinals.

Here’s what Thursday’s participation report looked like:

Eli Mitchell, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams all miss 1st Week 9 practice

The #49ers didn’t have a trio of key offensive starters in their first Week 9 practice.

The 49ers and Cardinals are both dealing with significant injury problems going into Week 9. San Francisco’s health woes are highlighted in the trio of offensive starters missing to open their week of practice.

On the other hand, they’ll get healthier with a couple players due to come off injured reserve.

This will be an important week to follow practice reports closely because even small bits of news will be significant with the importance of the players potentially in or out.

49ers optimistic DE Dee Ford, LB Azeez Al-Shaair will return vs. Cardinals

The #49ers had two players out of Sunday’s game because of concussions, but both are expected back Sunday vs. Arizona.

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The 49ers defense was shorthanded in Chicago in part because of a pair of key players sitting in concussion protocol. Defensive end Dee Ford and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair both missed Sunday’s game, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday said he doesn’t anticipate either player missing a second game.

San Francisco didn’t rule either player out in Friday’s injury report, listing both as ‘doubtful’ before downgrading them to ‘out’ Saturday.

“I am optimistic about them next week,” Shanahan told reporters on a conference call. “They were close enough that we took it all the way until Saturday. But usually when it’s not looking good on Friday, that’s why we put them down as doubtful. We held out hope that’s why he took them with us out, but still a long shot this week. Much better today and hopefully that will be cleared by Wednesday.”

Ford is second on the 49ers with 3.0 sacks this season, but they still managed to sack Bears QB Justin Fields four times without him. Defensive end Samson Ebukam saw additional work with Ford out and took advantage with his best game as a 49er and his first sack of the year.

Al-Shaair has seen an increased role since LB Dre Greenlaw went on injured reserve with a groin injury. The former undrafted free agent has acquitted himself well with more playing time. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles got the start in his place Sunday and played well with a couple tackles and a QB pressure.

The 49ers will need as many healthy defenders as possible to pull off an upset over the Arizona Cardinals, so Ford and Al-Shaair’s returns would be welcome for San Francisco.

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49ers FS Jimmie Ward out 1-2 weeks with quad injury

The #49ers likely won’t have free safety Jimmie Ward for a week or two because of a Grade 1 quad strain.

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The 49ers appear to have avoided a disaster with free safety Jimmie Ward. He left Sunday’s win over the Bears in the fourth quarter and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game with a quad injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday said Ward would miss one or two weeks with a Grade 1 quad strain, although he didn’t fully rule him out for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.

Losing Ward for a week or two isn’t ideal for San Francisco, but Shanahan sounded after Sunday’s game like he feared a potential long-term issue.

“Pretty big concern. I don’t know yet,” Shanahan told reporters. “But I think when you talk about pulling a quad, it’s very similar to pulling a hamstring. And we’ll see if that’s the case on it.”

He left the door open for Ward to play in Week 9, but he didn’t sound optimistic about those chances.

Veteran Tavon Wilson filled in for Ward in Chicago and would be the starter if he’s unable to play against Arizona on Sunday.

Ward this season has started all seven games and has 40 tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

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49ers to open practice windows for TE George Kittle, 2 others in lead up to Week 9

The #49ers are set to open practice windows for George Kittle, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Robbie Gould.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday had some positive updates on a handful of players presently residing on injury lists. Tight end George Kittle, kicker Robbie Gould and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. are all set to have their practice windows opened in the first step to getting each of them back on the active roster.

Kittle went on injured reserve after a calf injury got progressively worse following the 49ers’ Week 4 loss to the Seahawks. He missed the requisite three games, including losses to the Cardinals and Colts, and a win over Chicago. His return at full strength would add a sizable boost to the 49ers’ passing attack where backup tight ends Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner don’t offer much.

The 49ers lost Gould at the same time they lost Kittle. The veteran kicker hurt his groin during warmups in Week 4 and went on IR the following week. His return comes at an ideal time. Joey Slye, who was brought in to replace Gould, has missed two extra points and a field goal in three games. Having a reliable, consistent kicking game could be a crucial element to any playoff push San Francisco plans on making.

It’ll be interesting to see when exactly Wilson gets back into action. The expectation is that Kittle and Gould would be able to suit up in Week 9 against the Cardinals, but the timeline could be different for the running back who got hurt during the offseason program. He tore his meniscus in a bizarre incident in May. He went on the Physically Unable to Perform list before the season started and now he has a three week window to either return to action or go on season-ending IR.

The most recent timeline for Wilson’s return was late November per Shanahan, and this puts him roughly on track for that if not a little earlier.

Jumping back into action won’t be as easy for Wilson though who didn’t get to participate in any training camp or preseason. He hasn’t suited up for a game since Week 17 of last season and will likely need more work to get ready.

San Francisco has a crucial stretch of their schedule coming up with back-to-back home games against the Cardinals and Rams before hitting the road to take on the Jaguars in Jacksonville. They’ll need to win two of those games to keep their playoff hopes alive and being as healthy as possible will be vital to securing a couple victories.

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49ers injury update: FS Jimmie Ward ruled out vs. Bears

Jimmie Ward has been ruled out with a quad injury. Two backup safeties in for the #49ers.

The 49ers defense suffered another injury in their secondary. Free safety Jimmie Ward has been ruled out of the rest of San Francisco’s game in Chicago with a quad injury.

Ward was hurt early in the fourth quarter. There’s no word on the specifics of the ailment but the fact he was ruled out so quickly isn’t a great sign.

Veteran Tavon Wilson is in the game for him alongside rookie Talanoa Hufanga who started in place of the injured starting strong safety Jaquiski Tartt.

49ers DL Javon Kinlaw to have season-ending knee surgery

The 2021 season is over for #49ers DL Javon Kinlaw.

The 49ers won’t have second-year defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw for the rest of the 2021 season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday said Kinlaw had knee surgery that will end his season after just five games.

Shanahan on Thursday said Kinlaw was in Los Angeles exploring his options for a knee injury that had impacted him since training camp and forced him to miss the season opener and the 49ers’ Week 7 game against the Colts. Kinlaw wound up going with surgery in hopes to benefit long-term.

“Yeah, Kinlaw ended up having a surgery,” Shanahan said. “They went in there and looked at the stuff, he’ll end up going on IR. He’ll be out this year. We’ll have an announcement on it, so there’s a lot of things that went into it that they found. But I think the good news is they feel they solved the problem. And obviously, it hurts, him not going to be with us this year. But just talking to the doctor and not me personally, but [general manager] John [Lynch] and our doctors talking to him. They feel, he feels that he found the issue and he thinks that’ll be good news for us next year.”

A knee problem was flagged by some teams ahead of the 2020 draft where San Francisco selected Kinlaw No. 14 overall. He missed two games last season, but it was clear it was going to be a bigger issue this year when he missed the week coming out of the bye.

Season-ending surgery hurts the 49ers’ interior depth in 2021, but Kinlaw figures to be a significant piece of their defensive line moving beyond this season.  He was brought in to fill the DeForest Buckner role and his knee injury limited him from making a jump in Year 2.

If he can be healthy going into next year and take the step the team anticipated him making this year, he would prove to be a key piece of a defensive front that continues to spearhead their defense.

 

49ers practice report: Deebo Samuel returns, Trent Williams still out

Deebo Samuel’s return highlights the #49ers’ Thursday practice report. But it’s not all good news.

The 49ers’ Thursday practice report had a couple key changes from Wednesday as the 49ers’ injury situation continues to neither improve nor get worse.

Here’s a look at Thursday’s report and the notable changes:

49ers have reinforcements coming at defensive line, linebacker

A #49ers DL could be returning from IR just in the nick of time, and more front 7 help could be on the way.

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The 49ers on Wednesday opened the practice window for defensive lineman Kevin Givens in hopes of getting him back as a heavy piece of the rotation as early as this week in Chicago. They’ve yet to open the practice window for linebacker Dre Greenlaw, but his return could be coming in Week 9 when the 49ers return home to face the Cardinals.

Givens went down with a high ankle sprain in Week 2 and went on injured reserve. His return comes at a good time for the 49ers with DL Javon Kinlaw possibly facing season-ending surgery.

The 49ers expected Givens, an undrafted rookie in 2019, to step in and be a key piece of a deep defensive front. He hasn’t been able to contribute much, but he’ll get plenty of work when he does come back. Givens has played 16 games in his career and posted 1.0 sacks, 21 tackles and five tackles for loss.

Greenlaw’s injury was a blow to a 49ers linebacking corps that’s had some depth issues. He hurt his groin on a pick-six in the first week of the year. That remains the 49ers’ lone interception this season. The team placed Greenlaw on IR the following week.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said there’s no real chance Greenlaw returns for Week 8, but he was more optimistic he could be back by Week 9 when the 49ers begin back-to-back divisional games at home against the Cardinals and Rams.

Greenlaw, a 2019 fifth-round pick, has started 23 of his 30 games as a pro. He has 184 tackles, two interceptions and 2.0 sacks. Azeez Al-Shaair, who is typically the Sam linebacker, has taken over the Will spot with Greenlaw out.