Golden Nuggets: Fred Warner Practices In Full

49ers Notebook: Warner returns, special teams woes, and Garoppolo evaluates aggressiveness

“The takeaways here are that Fred Warner will be back this week after missing the first game of his career. He said Wednesday that was a “terrible” experience and that while he tried to lobby to play, he came to the realization that if he re-injured himself, he’d likely be out for another four weeks, and that hamstrings have a healing timeline that can’t be rushed. Deebo Samuel and Dee Ford’s statuses are still up in the air, with both hoping to practice on Thursday.”

Transcripts: What Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Richard Hightower said ahead of 49ers-Bengals

“The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters before today’s practice. Here is everything they had to say.”

K’Waun Williams explains why the 49ers defense remains confident

“He was among Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded defenders during Sunday’s game between the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. The cornerback’s 74.7 overall grade from the outing is a personal season-high. Despite this past weekend’s disappointing loss, Williams remains optimistic about the 49ers’ playoff hopes.”

Branch: Bad sign: 49ers’ special teams coordinator Richard Hightower faces media barrage (paywall)

“Hightower was asked a season-high 13 questions, and he responded with 2,085 words during a 12-minute, 50-second news conference that was 31 seconds longer that of head coach Kyle Shanahan. Why all the sudden interest in the 49ers’ special teams? It’s not one of the many questions Hightower was asked, but the 16-year NFL veteran knows this about his job: The more he’s talking, the worse things are going.”

Barrows: Kyle Shanahan talks up Ambry Thomas, wants 49ers rookies pushing for bigger role (paywall)

“Why wasn’t Ambry Thomas in uniform for six of the first eight games this season? It wasn’t because the rookie was struggling at cornerback. It was because he wasn’t very good on special teams.”