The San Francisco 49ers have returned for training camp, and physicals are currently underway. They are not fully wrapped up, but general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan announced some early news for the injury lists.
The best piece of news is that Richard Sherman has been cleared to return to practice and is expected to be practicing on Thursday. Shanahan said he will have a 2-day on, 1-day off practice schedule. This also means that Sherman earned his $2 million roster bonus.
Here are the players the team already knows will be on injury lists:
Active/PUP: OG Jonathan Cooper, WR Trent Taylor, LB Dekoda Watson
Active/NFI: LB Malcolm Smith, S Marcell Harris, DL Kentavius Street
Smith was an unexpected inclusion. Lynch said something came up with his lower leg in the past week, and Smith let them know about it. It sounds like he is mostly recovered from it, but the team is playing it cautious. Additionally, Lynch said Cooper, Taylor, Watson, and Harris had all advanced through the rehab process, but the team is being cautious, particularly with regard to conditioning. They don’t want to send them out on the field at less than ideal shape and potentially aggravate an injury.
Once a player practices, they are not allowed back on the PUP or NFI lists, so it makes sense to be cautious. It also gives them a chance to see what reserves can do. Shanahan said that Brock Coyle would likely start in place of Malcolm Smith while the latter remains on the NFI list. Reuben Foster is the other starting linebacker even with his two-game suspension coming up.