Tag: 49ers injury news

‘Real chance’ 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey misses Week 2 vs. Vikings

Christian McCaffrey may also miss the 49ers’ Week 2 game vs. the Vikings per Adam Schefter.

The San Francisco 49ers will have to open their season against the New York Jets without star running back Christian McCaffrey.

They listed him among their inactives for the season opener while he deals with calf and Achilles injuries. However, Monday’s game may not be the only one he misses.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter on the Monday Night Football pregame show reported the decision to bench McCaffrey came down Monday when his calf was tight after getting to the team facility for treatment. He also said the RB may miss Week 2 in Minnesota as well.

“Not only is Christian McCaffrey out tonight,” Schefter said, “but there’s a real chance he’s not gonna play on Sunday either. They play on the road at Minnesota on turf on a shorter week. So, he’s inactive tonight and it looks like there’s a real strong possibility McCaffrey will not play Sunday against the Vikings as well.”

Schefter earlier Monday on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ reported the injuries McCaffrey is dealing with cropped up in Week 17 last season. They also forced him to miss virtually all of training camp and the preseason.

The 49ers have a quick turnaround, playing Sunday in Minnesota with a 10:00am Pacific Time kickoff. With Minnesota’s field turf and the 49ers’ history of losing key players on that surface, they’d be wise to remain cautious with the focal point of their offense.

Jordan Mason will start in McCaffrey’s stead against the Jets, and he figures to continue having a heavy workload in Week 2 if McCaffrey is still sidelined.

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49ers superstar RB has no doubt he’ll play in season opener vs. Jets

Christian McCaffrey has ‘no doubt’ he’ll play Monday.

Some red flags went up around the San Francisco 49ers when running back Christian McCaffrey was listed with calf and Achilles injuries on their practice participation report Thursday.

McCaffrey did his best to eliminate any lingering concerns about his status for the team’s season opener against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

After Friday’s practice he told reporters he has no concerns about his injury and that there’s “no doubt” he’ll play in Monday’s game.

McCaffrey went down with a calf injury early in training camp and missed the entire preseason before returning for a bonus practice Tuesday. His participation in that session was unknown because a participation report wasn’t due for that particular workout.

It’s unclear whether the Achilles was listed as part of the calf injury, or if that was the genesis of the reigning Offensive Player of the Year being shutdown so early in camp.

Either way, there don’t appear to be any lingering effects from the injury. McCaffrey was getting work in on a side field before returning to practice according to reporters on site at the team facility.

Reporters have also noted he doesn’t appear to have any constraints in his movements during the portion of practice open to media.

It makes sense the team would continue to limit his work in practice. He is ostensibly working in without a training camp, so there will be a ramp up period for him as returns to football. Whether he’ll have a full workload Monday night remains to be seen, but all signs point to McCaffrey suiting up when the 49ers kick off the 2024 season.

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Injury concerns remain for 49ers as Week 1 draws closer

The 49ers’ practice participation report from Friday didn’t do anything to quell the concerns that came up Thursday.

The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with a couple of injury question marks going into their regular season opener against the New York Jets on Monday night.

Their Friday practice participation report didn’t do anything to quell any concerns that may have arisen Thursday after the 49ers’ first official Week 1 practice.

On Thursday’s participation report there were seven players either missing or limited during the session. There were no changes to the report Friday:

Did not participate

LB Dee Winters (ankle)
DE Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)

With neither Winters nor Gross-Matos in practice the first two practices of the week, we can surmise they’re both trending toward not suiting up in the season opener.

Limited participation

LG Aaron Banks (finger)
RB Isaac Guerendo (groin)
S Talanoa Hufanga (knee)
WR Jauan Jennings (ankle)
RB Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles)

Back-to-back limited sessions isn’t necessarily bad news, but it isn’t good news either. There’s a chance this group is all full participants Saturday and good to go for Monday. Anyone who remains limited in that session could be in jeopardy of missing the game.

Full participation

LB Tatum Bethune (ankle)
OL Spencer Burford (hand)
P Mitch Wishnowsky (back, knee)

No setbacks here, so good news all around.

Saturday’s practice will be the team’s final tune up for Monday’s game at Levi’s Stadium. After that session we’ll get a full injury report that gives us some certainty as to who will be available (or not) against the Jets.

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49ers star safety returns to practice for first time since ACL tear

A great bit of injury news for the 49ers at Thursday’s practice!

There was a welcome sight on the practice field for the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.

While left tackle Trent Williams continues his holdout and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk remains absent from practice, strong safety Talanoa Hufanga returned to action for the first time since tearing his ACL in Week 11 last season.

The 49ers activated Hufanga from the Physically Unable to Perform list at Tuesday’s final cut deadline, indicating optimism that his return was eminent. He wasn’t on the field for the portion of Wednesday’s practice that was open to the media, but he was there Thursday in uniform at least for individual drills.

The Athletic’s David Lombardi had video of Hufanga:

Whether Hufanga will actually be ready for the season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 9 remains to be seen.

The club activated him which was a positive sign, but they also re-signed veteran safety Tracy Walker to the practice squad. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the expectation is for Walker to be elevated for Week 1, which casts doubt on Hufanga’s availability.

His participation in Thursday’s session is a good sign that he’s continuing to trend the right way. He’ll get three days of practice in beginning next Thursday as the team’s first week preparations officially start. At that point we’ll get a better indication of how close Hufanga is to returning.

Even if he does miss the opener, his return to game action shouldn’t be far off.

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2 49ers WRs, potential starting CB return to practice after preseason ends

More good injury news for the 49ers:

The San Francisco 49ers returned to practice Monday after wrapping up their three-game preseason slate Friday night.

Monday marks the final practice before Tuesday’s 1:00pm Pacific Time deadline for rosters to be cut from 90 to 53 players. San Francisco let go of a handful of players Monday morning with no surprises in the first group of cuts.

In some good news for the 49ers, a handful of key players returned for at least part of Monday’s session.

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings were on hand for individual drills. Pearsall also got into the team portion of Monday’s practice. Cornerback Isaac Yiadom was also in the mix for individual work.

Wagoner also noted running back Christian McCaffrey, defensive end Leonard Floyd and left guard Aaron Banks all did work on a side field, but weren’t involved in team or individual drills.

Pearsall was in a blue non-contact jersey during practice as he works his way back from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for virtually the entire preseason. He also dealt with a hamstring issue that kept him out of the early part of camp. His return to Monday’s session is a good sign for his availability in Week 1.

Jennings was held out of the last couple of preseason games because of an oblique injury. He figures to slot in as the third wide receiver behind Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. If Aiyuk winds up missing any time or getting traded, Jennings is the first option to elevate to the No. 2 WR spot.

Yiadom was working through an ankle injury throughout the preseason. He’s a potential starter in the secondary along with Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir. The coaching staff will have to decide whether Yiadom will start outside with Lenoir in the slot, or if rookie Renardo Green will be the slot corner with Lenoir and Ward manning the outside. Who starts may be determined by Yiadom’s health by the time Week 1 rolls around.

Injuries have been hard on the 49ers throughout the preseason. That they’re getting key players back before Week 1 begins in earnest next Thursday is a good sign that things are trending the right way for San Francisco in time for the games that count.

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49ers All-Pro safety won’t practice in preseason, Week 1 status in question

Talanoa Hufanga won’t practice the final week of the preseason, which puts his Week 1 availability in question.

The San Francisco 49ers’ Week 1 defense could look a little different than anticipated.

When strong safety Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL in Week 11 last season it appeared he might be able to return in time for the start of the 2024 campaign. The expectation entering training camp was that he’d be able to return at some point during the preseason. That’s now been thrown into flux.

Despite a recent positive update from a doctor visit, Hufanga isn’t going to return for practice leading up to the preseason finale according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. There’s hope Hufanga could still play in the season opener, but his number of days to practice and ramp up for the season are quickly dwindling.

The preseason finale is Friday against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. If Hufanga can return for the practices during the final week of August, he may get enough work in that the team is comfortable lining him up Week 1.

However, if there’s any delay and he can’t get on the field before Week 1 practices begin the following week, the team could opt to hold him out until he’s able to get a handful of sessions in where he can ramp up and really test his surgically-repaired knee.

The good news for the 49ers is veteran George Odum has filled in nicely for Hufanga on the first-team defense in camp this year. That means San Francisco won’t need to rush the 2022 All-Pro back to action.

They may not want to rely on a full season of Odum as a starting safety, but he’s certainly acquitted himself well enough for the team to feel good about starting him to open the season.

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49ers superstar returns to full practice after dealing with foot injury

One key player was back to full practice for the 49ers on Wednesday.

The vibes haven’t been great lately for the San Francisco 49ers.

It seemed for a stretch like only bad news was coming out of Santa Clara with the prolonged Brandon Aiyuk hold-in, Trent Williams’s holdout, and an injury list that seemed to grow every day.

One of the early injuries in camp was foot irritation for linebacker Fred Warner. In a bit of good injury news for the 49ers, Warner was back as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

It didn’t appear as though Warner’s injury would be one that held him out for a prolonged period. He was even back at practice before Wednesday but was not participating fully.

Still, the 49ers needed a win on the injury front and Warner returning as a full participant before the team’s second preseason game is good news.

It’s unclear whether Warner will play Sunday when the 49ers host the New Orleans Saints. Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated some starters might play since the club had to cancel their joint practices with New Orleans. Those joint sessions are typically classified as game reps for the 49ers so they don’t play their starters in the game.

Given that Warner is just now returning to full practice the team may hold their All-Pro linebacker out of Sunday’s action. Either way, he appears to be on track for Week 1 which is the best news the 49ers could’ve gotten.

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49ers injury update: TE Cameron Latu expected back for training camp

Cameron Latu is expected back for training camp, but the road to a roster spot is steep for the #49ers 2nd-year TE.

The 49ers tight end room is going to be crowded come training camp. Second-year TE Cameron Latu is expected to return for camp after undergoing a procedure on his knee that cost him all of last season. He’ll join recently-signed TE Logan Thomas in the competition for roster spots behind George Kittle.

Latu, who is entering his second season after the 49ers selected him No. 101 overall in last year’s draft, missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury. San Francisco placed him on IR before final cuts which made Latu ineligible to return even if he’d been healthy enough to.

The expectation was always that he’d be back in time to compete for a roster spot in 2024. Now that he’s gotten through his rehab without any setbacks he is officially on track to return for camp according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Latu did not participate in OTAs and is not participating in mandatory minicamp.

It’ll be a bit of an uphill climb to a roster spot for Latu. His fellow 2023 draft pick Brayden Willis made enough inroads last season to be active for the Super Bowl. Thomas is probably the frontrunner for the TE2 spot going into camp. Newcomers Mason Pline and Eric Saubert will also be in the mix during camp, along with Jake Tonges who spent most of last year on the 49ers’ practice squad.

Still, the competition behind Kittle is wide open and getting a full training camp should help Latu make some headway in that battle.

Last preseason Latu played in all three games and caught four of his six targets for 55 yards and one touchdown.

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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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49ers injury update: WR Deebo Samuel feeling better, won’t practice to begin week

Deebo Samuel is feeling better, but he still isn’t practicing Wednesday.

The 49ers had good and bad news on injured wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in a press conference before practice told reporters Samuel is feeling better, but the do-everything WR still isn’t in line to practice to begin the week leading up to the NFC championship game.

Samuel hurt his shoulder early in the 49ers’ divisional playoff win over the Packers. He avoided a fracture like the one he sustained in Week 6 against the Browns, but there’s still a question mark over his availability for Sunday’s NFC title game vs. the Lions.

Shanahan said there are no additional absences for San Francisco on Wednesday.

Any progress is a plus for Samuel at this point, but it seems unlikely we’ll have certainty on his status until kickoff.

The 49ers and Lions kickoff Sunday at 3:30pm Pacific Time from Levi’s Stadium.

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