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NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is reporting a source told him LaMichael James suffered a dislocated elbow. When asked how long James might be out, Rapoport said he should miss about a month. If this all proves true, this would seem to indicate it is a fairly straight forward dislocation, and not one that involves extensive ligament damage that requires surgery. Mike Garafolo is reporting the same news, and Matt Maiocco, Eric Branch and Matt Barrows all confirmed as well
This not "good" news per se, but this could also be a lot worse. A month likely costs LMJ the entire preseason, but means he would hopefully be back for the first or second week of the regular season. This means Carlos Hyde and Jewel Hampton will see a whole lot of work during the preseason. I have to think the 49ers will sign another running back just to serve as a camp body for third and fourth quarter preseason action. They have enough camp bodies around right now that releasing one of them for a running back is not going to be a major issue.
Amidst all of this, I think Ray Ratto summed it up best:
If Frank Gore takes one more snap this preseason, someone needs a gentle firing.
— Ray Ratto (@RattoCSN) July 27, 2014