49ers expect to have full 53-man roster available after bye week

The San Francisco 49ers head into their bye week with a chance to get as healthy as one could expect at this point in the season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told the media on Tuesday he anticipates everybody on the 53-man roster being able to practice next week.

The team’s injury report from Monday included cornerback K’Waun Williams suffering a stinger late in the game, but he checked out fine on Tuesday. Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin took two blows to the head that seemed concerning. He returned to the game after an independent examiner checked him out, and Shanahan said he did not have any concussion symptoms Tuesday morning.

Additionally, safety Jaquiski Tartt, linebacker Reuben Foster, and wide receiver Pierre Garçon all were ruled out prior to the game, but Shanahan anticipates them practicing next week when the team returns to prepare for Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This will be the first time in a while the team, should have all 53 players available for a game. Having ten days off between Week 9 and Week 10, followed by a bye week in Week 11 can really help a team get at least moderately healthy. Injuries are going to happen, but this was about as ideal a three week stretch as the 49ers could hope for on the schedule.

That also means we’ll see some changes to the snap count when Week 12 rolls around. I’ve posted the snap count below, and you can also check out the gamebook PDF.

Kendrick Bourne ended up with the most snaps at wide receiver, but his number will decline when Garçon returns. Dante Pettis was plenty active, but Bourne has been the guy who moves into the starting lineup when Garçon is out. Pettis did have a bump in work this week, playing 56 percent of offensive snaps. If all the receivers are healthy in two weeks, I’m curious to see how the workload is split between Bourne and Pettis.

On defense, getting Jaquiski Tartt back raises questions about the backup role. Antone Exum likely remains the backup and gets a heavy special teams workload, but what happens to rookie Marcell Harris? He was the backup strong safety this week with Tartt injured, but will he find himself inactive in Week 12?

Reuben Foster should be back as well, which means some changes in the defensive structure. When Foster has been out, Malcolm Smith starts at weak side linebacker, next to middle linebacker Fred Warner, with Mark Nzeocha serving as the strong side linebacker. When Foster has played, Smith has been the SAM, while Nzeocha has been more of a special teams player.