49ers Injuries Coming Out Of The Bye Week

One of the big pluses of the bye week is the opportunity for a team to get players healthy and back on the field. The 49ers did not have a ton of injuries leading up to the bye, but they had enough that the week off comes at a good time.

Heading into the bye, the 49ers had been without Braylon Edwards, Moran Norris, and Tramaine Brock for the last month or so. Additionally, Adam Snyder (stinger) and Parys Haralson (hamstring) dealt with injuries in the Lions game. The 49ers are not perfectly healthy, but all things considered the first half could have been a whole lot uglier.

As the team comes out of the bye week, it will be interesting to see how they move some of these folks back into the lineup. Braylon Edwards will move back in opposite Michael Crabtree at wide receiver. The 49ers have done enough in the passing game to get wins, but adding a sizable threat like Edwards will be a big help. He is a big body that can get physical as needed. He's valuable in the red zone because of that size, but really he is valuable across the field.

Tramaine Brock is likely back to mostly special teams duty due to the emergence of rookie cornerback Chris Culliver. Shawntae Spencer is sufficiently healthy to be a fourth cornerback as needed so I've got to think Brock will be handling special teams duty, with the possibility of still being inactive from week to week.

The big question mark is Moran Norris. Bruce Miller has emerged as a solid fullback option although he is still learning the position and prone to mistakes on occasion. Matt Barrows made an interesting point in an injury discussion. He suggested the 49ers would be more inclined to use Norris in the short-yardage jumbo formations where he does not need to get to a second level block. You can still pass from the formation but the 49ers have shown a willingness to line up with every intention of running and just pound it right at the opposition.

The other issue is getting seven players for the inactive list. That is not quite as big an issue, but one to consider since you could potentially be sitting special teams contributors. The 49ers special teams has been the best in the NFL thus far, so it is something they would likely consider closely when inactivating certain players.