The San Francisco 49ers could be close to getting cornerback Chris Culliver cleared for Sunday's matchup with the Chicago Bears. Culliver was on hand for practice today wearing a blue non-contact jersey. That means he moved past the initial phases of the concussion protocol and has a good chance of playing on Sunday.
The protocol requires a player exhibit no concussion symptoms while at rest, and then again after exertion. He can then practice, and must clear a contact test before the game. That is likely to happen on Saturday. In the meantime, my guess is he will be listed as questionable when the final injury report is published on Friday.
Fellow starter Tramaine Brock is less likely to play. He once again did not participate in practice, as he continues to rehab his sprained toe. He has one more day to get in some work, but at this point it would not surprise me if he was inactive on Sunday. If he is unable to play, all indications are that Perrish Cox would get the start in his place. If Brock is inactive, Chris Cook would likely be activated. Vic Fangio talked about the cornerbacks on Thursday, and he mentioned that Cook could see some action. Given Dontae Johnson's performance last week, I'd have to think Johnson would remain ahead of Cook on the depth chart.