Injury updates: Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw return; George Kittle remains out

The 49ers had their first official practice of the regular season Monday, as they prepare for a road trip to Pittsburgh against Mike Tomlin’s Steelers.

Quarterback Brock Purdy was back to his normal workload after a week of “de-loading,” which was a part of his rehab plan. Purdy’s first start of the season will come against a Steelers defense that finished 2022 in the top ten from Week 10 on in dropback and rushing success rate.

According to the beat reporters on hand, San Francisco was without several key contributors:

TE George Kittle

K Jake Moody

LB Oren Burks

S Tashaun Gipson

RB Jordan Mason

WR Ray-Ray McCloud

The players mentioned above did get some work in on the side, including sprinting. Kittle has been sidelined for what seems like a few weeks now with an adductor injury. You hope the team is being cautious with Kittle as it’s a long, long season.

The first official injury report of the season comes out on Wednesday. So we’ll know more about the status of each player then.

Gipson said he intends to practice this week, and that he’ll “absolutely” play Sunday. The 49ers free safety has dealt with some “nicks and bruises,” according to himself.

The good news is defensive starters Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw returned to practice Monday. Greenlaw has been sidelined for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. Greenlaw didn’t seem worried that he’d miss the season-opener, telling reporters he’s “right on time.”

Hufanga had been recovering from a cyst/knee injury for the past couple of weeks. Talanoa told reporters that he’s feeling well, although he’d benefit if a certain edge rusher was practicing:

Gipson said, “right now, we’ve got to focus and whenever he shows up, we know he’s going to be who he is.” You can’t help but wonder how the players are reacting to the elephant (bear?) in the room.

Rookie kicker Jake Moody was kicking on the side of the field, according to the beat reporters. Moody said after practice that he’s “slowing working back into it.” He confirmed that his quad began to bother him a couple of Tuesdays ago, which led the team to shut him down.

The 49ers still have a handful of days to decide whether Moody is healthy enough for Week 1. The team officially announced the signing of kicker Matthew Wright to the practice squad on Monday. They released running back Brian Hill as the corresponding move.