Matt Maiocco is reporting that San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver has been cleared to participate in practice when training camp gets started this Thursday. Culliver suffered an ACL tear early in training camp last year, and spent the season on injured reserve. He participated in the offseason workout program, but did not take part in team drills during minicamp and OTAs.
Culliver comes to camp with a chance to snag a starting job opposite Tramaine Brock. Culliver's primary competition for the job is free agent addition Chris Cook. During minicamp team drills, Cook handled first team reps while Culliver continued his rehab. One of the big questions out of the gates will be who gets the No. 1 snaps in practice and the first preseason game.
During minicamp, Vic Fangio discussed Culliver's injury, describing it as a wildcard in his progress. Until he gets on the field and is running and cutting, we can't know for certain where exactly he stands. That being said, getting him back on the field is obviously a big deal.
Maiocco reported that Culliver was one of the injured veterans who reported to camp last Friday. Rookies and first year players reported last Wednesday, and quarterbacks and injured veterans reported Friday. We now know that Culliver and Ian Williams were among the players reporting with the injured group. Williams was quickly placed on the PUP list, but there has been no word of any other veteran in that group. I bring this up because we all want to know the status of Tank Carradine. Had there been further concerns about his knee, I would have guessed he would already be on the PUP list. Instead, it tentatively appears like he will be ready to go for the start of training camp. Fingers crossed!