The San Francisco 49ers are headed back to the practice field on Thursday, and they will be incredibly short-handed on offense. Head coach Kyle Shanahan met with the media before practice and said the following list of players will not be participating in practice:
LT Joe Staley
C Weston Richburg
RG Mike Person
WR Dante Pettis
TE George Kittle
WR Pierre Garçon
RB Matt Breida
WR Trent Taylor
This does not mean all eight won’t be playing Monday, but the team is at a point where they have a lot of injuries to rest. Trent Taylor is an addition due to his back issue. He had surgery during the offseason, and Shanahan said at this point they just want to be safe with the wear and tear on his back.
The most interesting comment was that Matt Breida has not been formally ruled out for Monday. Shanahan said he is day-to-day and they have their fingers crossed for this week. On Monday, Shanahan said Breida was doubtful due to the ankle injury he suffered on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The team signed running back Matt Dayes to the practice squad and already has Jeff Wilson available as well. They will compete with each other along with Alfred Morris and Raheem Mostert for an opportunity.
The good news to come out of Shanahan’s comments is that wide receiver Marquise Goodwin will be full go for practice on Thursday. Barring any setbacks, that means he should be good to by the time Monday arrives. The wide receiver corps has been unable to get going with any regularity, and adding arguably their best receiver back would be huge in a game in Lambeau that could turn into a shootout.
The 49ers injury report will also included limited designations for tight end Garrett Celek, cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Jimmie Ward, and linebacker Reuben Foster. With Celek limited, that means eight players are out of practice entirely, and Celek will probably do mostly individual stuff. Conceivably that leaves the 49ers offense with a practice first string lineup as follows:
QB: C.J. Beathard
RB: Alfred Morris
FB: Kyle Juszczyk
TE: Cole Wick (Ross Dwelley as backup)
WR: Marquise Goodwin, Victor Bolden, Kendrick Bourne, Richie James
OL: Garry Gilliam, Laken Tomlinson, Erik Magnuson, Joshua Garnett, Mike McGlinchey
There are some talented players mixed in there, but that’s a pretty rag-tag group all things considered. Again, most of the starters will be back for Monday Night Football, but for Thursday, there are a whole lot of backups practicing. Friday’s practice will likely move most of the DNPs to limited status, and then Saturday will get any additional moved over.
Full injury report
DNP: RB Matt Breida (shoulder, ankle), WR Pierre Garcon (shoulder, knee), G Mike Person (knee), WR Dante Pettis (knee), C Weston Richburg (knee), T Joe Staley (knee), WR Trent Taylor (back)
Limited: TE Garrett Celek (quadricep), LB Reuben Foster (shoulder), TE George Kittle (knee), CB Richard Sherman (calf), CB Jimmie Ward (hamstring)
Full: G Joshua Garnett (toe), WR Marquise Goodwin (hamstring, quadricep), T Mike McGlinchey (knee), S Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder)