The San Francisco 49ers are finishing up their Saturday practice and we’ll have Rob’s practice report in a little bit. In the meantime, it probably would be a good idea to see who wasn’t practicing.
The 49ers have been a bit more fortunate this year to not have any catastrophic injuries or setbacks. Jerick McKinnon hasn’t been used yet and Joshua Garnett is out three weeks with a broken finger, but the constant declarations of “someone being too tight” as Kyle Shanahan would say are absent so far.
On Saturday, there were some notable non-participants:
Defensive lineman Dee Ford missed practice due to tendonitis in his knee. Kyle Shanahan has already said this is a normal thing and something Ford deals with every training camp. The decision to pull him was made by the coaching staff on Thursday. Right now no one seems to be alarmed with this.
Defensive lineman DeForest Buckner also is out with a toe strain. He was kept out on Friday as well, but he was spotted doing 50-yard sprints and manhandling the sled. A question should come up today about the injury, but if he’s running 50-yards, that’s something to lower concerns.
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is out due to his glute tightening up. The severity of it isn’t well known and of all the injuries listed here, it’s the one to keep an eye on. It looks like the coaching staff decided to keep him out on Saturday as well. In his place, Jason Verrett and Greg Mabin filled in. The presence of Mabin is also because Richard Sherman is having a veteran day off. Matt Barrows reports that they are keeping Verrett on a pitch count of sorts, so Emmanuel Moseley has been filling in.
Just a reminder, Jeff Wilson Jr. is also out with a calf injury for two weeks.
It seems like a lot, but none of this appears to be anything devastating. Yet.