Injury updates from 49ers last practice before regular season schedule begins
The 49ers on Monday had a final pre-season practice before they begin their regular-season practice schedule Wednesday.
While there’s no official practice participation report due for Monday’s session, there were still some notable injury-related updates from reporters on site.
Matt Barrows of the Athletic noted strong safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety George Odum were all practicing. They’d all been dealing with injuries from the preseason. Odum on Monday didn’t wear his blue non-contact jersey.
Kicker Jake Moody was also working out during the session. Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Moody’s kicks were all between 30 and 40 yards.
While there was some good news on that front, there were also some notable absences:
TE George Kittle
Kittle is still dealing with a hip injury and was not participating in Monday’s practice. While that’s not necessarily a good sign, Barrows did note that Kittle was on a side field doing sprints. The 49ers would love to see their star tight end healthy in time for Week 1, so it makes sense they wouldn’t try to push it early in the week.
FS Tashaun Gipson
It’s unclear what Gipson is dealing with that he’s out of practice. The team may just be letting the 33-year-old rest as much as possible leading up to the regular season, but Wednesday should give us a better indicator on that front.
RB Jordan Mason
Head coach Kyle Shanahan called Jordan Mason “day-to-day” after the preseason finale where Mason sprained his foot. His absence Monday isn’t a huge surprise given how close the team is to the regular season. The good news for San Francisco is its RB depth is perhaps the strongest part of its roster so Mason won’t have to rush back.
LB Oren Burks
Burks sprained his PCL in a collision with Raiders WR Davante Adams during the 49ers’ joint practices against Las Vegas before their preseason opener. Shanahan noted at the time Burks would miss the rest of the preseason. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to start the regular season, but practice participation reports throughout the week should tell the story there. Linebacker is another place the 49ers have a ton of depth though so they won’t need to rush Burks back.
WR Ray-Ray McCloud
It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if McCloud is still out of practice and missing Week 1 while he recovers from wrist surgery he underwent during the preseason. The original eight-week timeline Shanahan laid out had McCloud on track to return in Week 4, so a Week 1 return would be well ahead of schedule. That McCloud was running on a side field is a good sign of his progress though.
