49ers injury report: Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Jimmie Ward dealing with issues

The San Francisco 49ers will walk away from Week 1 with a big road victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but they also are dealing with some injuries. Tramaine Brock left the game with toe injury, Chris Culliver left with a concussion, and Jimmie Ward also left with what are being reported as concussion-like symptoms.

Brock returned to the game in the fourth quarter, right around the time Ward departed. Brock had X-rays on his, and they came back negative. There is some concern about turf toe, but nothing definitive yet. The 49ers were playing with four cornerbacks plus Jimmie Ward. I suspect Brock only went back in because Ward was dealing with his own injury. If Ward had been healthy, I have a hunch Brock would not have returned.

Culliver (and likely Ward, as well) will have to go through the NFL's concussion protocol. It requires showing no concussion symptoms both at rest, and after exertion. Even if they clear the protocol this week, we won't really know for certain until Friday or Saturday. And even then, it might take a last minute leak of information before we know if either has been cleared to play the Chicago Bears.

Fooch's Update: Matt Barrows tweeted this out:

He looked OK after the game but must pass the league-mandated post-concussion protocol ... @BetaZetaDelta Any word on Jimmie Ward?

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 8, 2014

The 49ers were short-handed at cornerback because of the injuries. He mentioned how normally they have another cornerback active, but they did not this time around. He said the team had some 6-DB packages they would have used, but they went out the window with the limited numbers. We'll see what the snap count says tomorrow for the options they did have.

Fortunately, Dontae Johnson and Perrish Cox stepped up in a big way. They had some struggles here and there, but for the most part, they did great work against the Cowboys passing attack. If any of the three injured cornerbacks are unable to play in Week 2, it is safe to say Chris Cook will be active.

The 49ers otherwise seemed to emerge from the game relatively unscathed. The Cowboys on the other hand will likely wake up plenty sore tomorrow. Justin Smith demolished Tony Romo on a pair of sacks, and Dez Bryant took a nasty hit to the lower back. The 49ers remain an incredibly physical team that will leave opponents feeling it the next morning. It's safe to say those 49ers-Seahawks games are going to be extra physical.