The San Francisco 49ers returned to practice on Thursday, and it appears that once again, Joe Staley is not participating. According to the beat writers, Alex Boone and Vernon Davis were both participants, and Quinton Patton was on the field wearing a blue no-contact jersey.
Jim Tomsula said that Staley had his leg rolled up last week. He wanted to sit Staley on Wednesday to get him back to 100 percent. He obviously is not there yet, and his status for Sunday is up in the air. Tomsula will meet with the media Friday morning before practice, and I am sure will get some questions. I am guessing Staley's status will depend on what he can do during Friday's practice.
My guess is Staley will gut it out come game day if this is an issue, but if he does not play, it raises plenty of questions about the line. Alex Boone would be the most likely candidate to move to left tackle. The team could start Trenton Brown at one of the tackle positions, but given the importance of left tackle, I would be surprised if it wasn't Boone. If that's the case, then the question becomes who handles left guard. Brandon Thomas and Ian Silberman would be the two options if that was the case.