The San Francisco 49ers’ defense might catch a break in Week 6. Green Bay Packers wide receivers Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison are “likely to be inactive” for Monday Night Football, according to ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
Cobb and Allison were both limited throughout the practice week due to hamstring injuries. If inactive, this will be Cobb’s third straight absence. Allison suffered his hamstring injury last week and sat out Week 5.
Davante Adams will be starting for Aaron Rodgers, and the rest of the wide receiver corps will include rookies Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown, and J’Mon Moore. The Packers could also decide to elevate DeAngelo Yancey or Keon Hatcher from the practice squad. Last week, St. Brown had three receptions for 89 yards and Valdes-Scantling had seven receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Tight end Jimmy Graham will be a player to watch as well. After a relatively slow start through the first four weeks, he had double digit targets in Week 5, finishing with six receptions for 76 yards. It was his first game with double digit targets this season.
This is a boost for the 49ers beleaguered secondary, but it will still be interesting to see how the Packers maneuver Davante Adams around the field. Richard Sherman will stick to one side of the field, and given the struggles of Ahkello Witherspoon and others opposite Sherman, I have to think Adams gets a healthy number of snaps on that side of the field.