Vic Fangio updates Glenn Dorsey, Tramaine Brock, NaVorro Bowman status

In news that probably does not surprise many of you, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he does not expect Glenn Dorsey or Tramaine Brock to play this weekend. Brock has not practiced yet, while Dorsey was limited on Wednesday. Fangio said that Dorsey is making progress, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Dorsey's absence, combined with the release of Demarcus Dobbs, opened the door for Tank Carradine to finally get some in-game opportunities. Carradine has seen his role increase, and Ray McDonald's finger injury resulted in a season-high 28 snaps on Thursday against the Seahawks. If the team can stay healthy on Sunday against the Raiders, I suspect we see Tank's snap count go down a bit. Although it has come due to injuries, it is nice to see him get out there and show what he can do. I'm going to get a look at his tape sometime soon, hopefully this weekend.

Fangio was also asked about NaVorro Bowman's status, and he provided a fairly realistic perspective. Bowman will not be playing this week, and Fangio said he doubts he would play next week given that he would only have a few days of practice in. Previously, Fangio has said it would probably take at least a couple weeks of practice for Bowman to get back into full game shape. Fangio said that time was running out, and that while nobody is giving up, but the schedule is drying up. He stated that it was not a matter of a setback or anything, but rather the fact that it has only been 10 months since a serious operation.

The 49ers have to decide by next Tuesday whether to activate Bowman, or leave him on the injury list the rest of the season. One option is to activate him to the 53-man roster, and then just leave him inactive like they have done with Dorsey. They can wait and see if any injuries occur on Sunday, but if they come out of that game healthy, one option would be releasing one of their numerous special teams specific players. If Vance McDonald gets healthy soon, they could use Asante Cleveland's spot for Bowman while they continue to see if he can return at some point.