Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s what the #49ers injured reserve list looks like with a third of the season down:
The 49ers through six weeks have avoided any major injuries, leaving their injured reserve list much less active than it’s been in recent years.
Cornerback Samuel Womack is the only player who’s gone on IR since the season began., and with six weeks down San Francisco has a couple players eligible to come off of injured lists who still haven’t been activated.
Here’s a quick rundown of what the 49ers’ injured reserve and physically unable to perform lists look like heading into Week 7:
The #49ers announced a couple roster moves and placed CB Samuel Womack on IR.
The 49ers on Saturday announced a handful of roster moves before their Week 2 matchup against the Rams.
San Francisco officially placed cornerback Samuel Womack on IR with an MCL injury he sustained during Wednesday’s practice. He missed the final two practices of the week and was ruled out on Friday’s injury report.
The team also elevated CB Tre Swilling to the active roster for Sunday’s game in Los Angeles. If he appears in the game it will be Swilling’s professional debut.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated Samuel would likely go on IR, and the team’s announcement made it official for the second-year CB. It’s unclear when he will return this season, but Shanahan expressed some optimism that Womack would be re-activated at some point.
A new absence on the #49ers Thursday practice report, but LB Dre Greenlaw returned.
The 49ers in the lead up to their Week 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams remain in relatively good health.
One exception to that is cornerback Samuel Womack who injured hurt his knee Wednesday and was out of action for Thursday’s session. He was the only player missing from the practice.
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who missed Wednesday, was a limited participant Thursday while he works through some groin soreness.
Tight end George Kittle (groin), wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud (wrist) and left tackle Trent Williams (not injury related – resting player) were all full participants. Williams was given a day off Wednesday.
If Womack is unable to suit up Sunday it will leave the 49ers a little thin at cornerback. They have three on the practice squad with Qwuantrezz Knight, Tre Swilling and Shemar Jean-Charles. One of them would likely be elevated for Sunday’s game should Womack’s injury lead to an absence.
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Our #49ers rookie reviews continue with a look at Samuel Womack. His exact role isn’t clear moving forward, but it’s clear he has one of two important roles.
It looked like the 49ers might’ve snagged another steal in the fifth round when Samuel Womack, the No. 172 overall selection from Toledo, took over as the starting nickel cornerback after the first preseason game. He wound up relinquishing that role, but he remains a key part of the 49ers’ secondary heading into his second season.
Womack burst onto the scene with a pair of interceptions in his preseason debut against the Packers. He posted another pass breakup in the preseason finale vs. the Texans and finished the exhibition slate with zero receptions allowed on five targets.
Those showings were enough to get him the starting nickel corner job to kick off the regular season. He was up-and-down in his first two starts as expected, but the 49ers opted to remove him in place of second-year CB Deommodore Lenoir. Eventually Lenoir kicked outside because of an injury to Emmanuel Moseley, and FS Jimmie Ward slid into the slot corner vacancy. Womack was relegated to a reserve CB role and special teams.
While typically this kind of demotion would be a significant knock on a player. It doesn’t appear Womack was playing so poorly though that he’s no longer in the team’s plans. In the first two weeks, both starts for Womack, he gave up five catches for 29 yards on seven targets and allowed a 78.8 passer rating.
This puts Womack in an interesting spot going into Year 2. There’s a chance the 49ers bring back Moseley in free agency and re-insert Lenoir in the slot. That would put Womack in a similar spot to this year where he’s a reserve who contributes a lot on special teams.
Lenoir played well on the outside though, so it’s not out of the question the 49ers leave him out there and let Moseley walk. At that point eyes would turn toward Womack to be the nickel corner.
Either way, the 49ers will need another strong season from Womack. If he takes a step forward in any role, he’ll put himself in a position to be a long-term factor in red and gold.
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Some 49ers predictions for the second half of the season from @nicholasmcgee24:
Will the real 49ers please stand up?
The 2022 49ers enter the second half of the season needing to declare who they are. San Francisco has produced some sterling performances this campaign, but has also fallen short against teams they were favored to beat.
Yet there is plenty of reason for optimism around the team heading out of the bye, with the previous 49ers game one in which they routed the Rams 31-14.
So how will the second half of the season pan out for a 4-4 Niners. Our 10 predictions for the final nine games paint the picture of an extremely positive stretch run for Kyle Shanahan’s team.
The #49ers switched up their starting nickel cornerback last night, which is a sign of how far their secondary has come since last season.
The 49ers made a somewhat unexpected change to their defense Sunday night. When the nickel package entered the game, it was second-year cornerback Deommodore Lenoir as the extra defensive back instead of rookie Samuel Womack who’s been holding down that spot since the second week of the preseason.
It was a little strange seeing a defensive change given how well that unit played through the first two weeks, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday explained the impetus for the move.
“We just liked how he’s been looking,” Shanahan said in a conference all. “We’re always going to try to put the best people out there that we think gives us the best chance to win. And just from the last few weeks and watching him in practice and everything, we felt that was D-Mo and I was real happy with how he played too. I thought he was one of the better guys out there last night.”
The second-year fifth-round pick from Oregon rewarded his coaching staff’s faith with a strong performance. He was consistently around the football, good in coverage and aggressive against the run. Pro Football Focus had Lenoir allowing five receptions for for 32 yards on seven targets.
This is a good spot for the 49ers to be in, and a stark departure from last season when they had a hard time finding starting-caliber cornerbacks. Now they’re in a place where they have two good players on the outside with Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley, and now they have two nickel options they can feel good about playing. If Jason Verrett comes back healthy San Francisco could quietly have one of the better secondaries in the NFL.
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The 49ers’ PFF grades through two weeks have a couple of surprises:
The 49ers’ 2022 season is off to a strange start. They lost a game in a downpour in Chicago, and then won a game where they lost starting QB Trey Lance for the season.
A result from the odd first two weeks is a 1-1 record for the 49ers, but a sense of gloom hanging over the club with emotions running high following the Lance injury and Jimmy Garoppolo’s return to the starting lineup.
While the QB conversation has dominated the headlines, there are some other performances that have jumped out this season that come as a little bit of a surprise. They’re also things that could help carry the 49ers to a division win and perhaps another deep playoff run.
We dug through the Pro Football Focus grades from the first two weeks and picked out a few things that were a bit surprising that could also get the 49ers on track to another NFC championship game appearance.
Watch: Samuel Womack is really good.
Still Tippin'
📺 #SFvsHOU on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/VyG1EkhK6b
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 26, 2022
49ers rookie cornerback Samuel Womack has been exceptional in the preseason and if he hadn’t already cemented his job as the starting nickel cornerback, he should’ve sealed it Thursday in Houston. After a 49ers turnover, the defense generated a takeaway in the red zone when Womack wrestled a pass away from a Texans receiver. The ensuing tip went right to safety Tarvarius Moore who hauled it in for his first interception of the preseason.
Why did the 49ers let go of Darqueze Dennard despite him getting most of the 1st-team nickel reps in camp?
The 49ers’ first batch of roster cuts had one semi-surprising inclusion. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard, who appeared to be the frontrunner for the starting nickel cornerback job, was let go ahead of Tuesday’s cut-down deadline.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in his post-practice press conference was asked why Dennard was let go. The first-team reps, it turns out, were more a product of his veteran status than his leg up in the running for the starting spot.
“We didn’t think he was going to earn that spot,” Shanahan said. “Whether he is out there with the ones or not, no one really is slotted that way, except for the depth charts we have to give you guys before preseason. So we wanted to give him opportunities, being the vet and with younger guys coming in, but we got to see enough where we felt the younger guys were going to have a chance, so we want to give them some reps. And Dennard’s been awesome for us when he helped last year stepping in, in that game. He was a good player for us this offseason. And we’ll see how these guys do and if doesn’t work out, hopefully someday can come back.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the 49ers added Dennard to their practice squad if he’s still available when rosters are trimmed to 53. He originally joined the club ahead of Week 18 last year and wound up playing 21 defensive snaps in that game. He was inactive in two playoff contests, but contributed on special teams in the divisional playoff win in Green Bay.
With Dennard no longer with the club, there was immediate speculation that rookie CB Samuel Womack snagged the job following a two-interception performance in the preseason opener. Shanahan didn’t outright confirm Womack had won the job, but he’s the clear frontrunner.
“Yeah, [CB Samuel] Womack [III],” Shanahan said. “I think everyone saw him during the game and he did a real good job. He’s done a decent job in practice too. We have some safeties who we can mix there also. So there’s still some competition, but yeah, we’ve been happy with how he’s been so far.”
The competition for that starting job isn’t particularly fierce, especially with injuries in the secondary forcing the 49ers to move some pieces around. Dontae Johnson is also out with fractured rib cartilage, which takes one player who might push Womack out of the running.
San Francisco selected Womack in the fifth round in this year’s draft out of Toledo where he was a team captain and team-leader in pass breakups three years in a row. If he can start and play effectively, it’d be another huge Day 3 draft win for the 49ers’ front office.
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The 49ers appear ready to start rookie 5th-round pick Samuel Womack at nickel corner. What if their bet doesn’t pay off? @nicholasmcgee24 explores their options:
One of the biggest questions surrounding the 49ers’ defense going into 2022 surrounded the identity of K’Waun Williams’ replacement at slot corner. One game into the preseason, it looks as if that question has been answered.
The Niners this week surprisingly cut Darqueze Dennard, who had been listed as the team’s starting nickel corner on the unofficial depth chart and got first crack in that role in San Francisco’s exhibition win over the Green Bay Packers.
Dennard’s release seemingly hands the job to rookie fifth-round pick Samuel Womack, who outshone Dennard with two interceptions in an outstanding debut.
But is Womack up to the challenge of starting in a pivotal position on the defense, and what insurance do the 49ers have at nickel should he endure rookie struggles they cannot afford?
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest San Francisco’s confidence in Womack is well-founded, but the 49ers are not out of alternatives at nickel if the gamble on a late-round rookie does not pay off.
